Kimikiss pure rouge - 24 (Final)
The Asuka who leapt through time. (My final impression is included.)
Summary:
Unable to get ahold of Eriko, Kazuki hopes that she has not forgotten about their meeting. Finding that Narumi and Nana have not seen her either, Kazuki desperately searches for Eriko. On the school rooftop, he fears that Eriko may have seen him with Asuka. Kouichi and Yumi seemingly enjoy themselves during the festivities, but both of them have other things on their mind. When the two visit the maid cafe, Kouichi is only able to ask where Mao is. While advertising for her class, Mao runs into Kazuki who is wondering where Eriko is. She is surprised that he and Eriko have had a date planned, but Kazuki quickly rushes away before she can get more details. Kouichi realizes that he has forgotten his phone outside, leaving Yumi to retrieve it. Yumi meets Mao shortly after, who wonders if she is enjoying herself. Mao begins describing how Kouichi changed when he found out that Yumi was moving away, guessing that Kouichi would hold Yumi dear. Mao suggests that her big sister role may finally be ending with Kouichi and Kazuki finding love, then asking for Yumi’s hand. Embracing her, Mao leaves Kouichi to Yumi again. After Mao leaves, however, Yumi is only able to look at her own hand.
Tomoko finds Kouichi’s phone, and Eiji notices this from a distance. When Eiji passes by Kouichi in the hall, he correctly guesses that he has realized Mao’s feelings. Kouichi implies that he has Yumi, but Eiji recalls that Mao constantly had the same eyes that he does. He suggests that she would only lie to herself to prevent hurting him, but apologizes for doing something unnecessary before Kouichi can reply. When Mitsuki meets Kazuki, she suggests that it seems like he is always chasing after Eriko. She believes that love may not all be about happiness, but that it is also a very wonderful thing. Asuka is relieved after her meeting of Kazuki, but she passes by Eriko in the park. She wonders what she is doing there, when Eriko correctly guesses what Asuka has just done. Eriko expresses that although it was nice to have realized her feelings before, she is now afraid. This makes Asuka remember what Kazuki said earlier about Eriko’s loneliness, so she tells Eriko that everyone is also afraid. Making a jump from the swing set they are on, Asuka tells Eriko that nothing will start if she runs away.
As the festivities end, Akira thanks Megumi for her help. He wonders if she would attend the camp fire with him, and she agrees with a bit of hesitation. Finishing up duties in their class, Mao and Eiji wish each other luck with their dreams. Kazuki continues to search for Eriko with Asuka’s advice in his mind. When he passes by the park, however, Eriko is no longer there. When Kouichi sees Mao at the camp fire, he is unable to stop himself from jumping up. He sees that she is actually interacting with her classmates, but he then decides that he must talk to Yumi. Alone in a classroom with her, Kouichi can only apologize to Yumi for having to break their promise. He finally admits that he likes Mao, desperately bowing in front of Yumi. Already knowing Kouichi’s feelings from watching him, Yumi only thanks him for properly telling her. Yumi wishes that they can spend their last day together with smiles, suggesting that she will be alright because of the amount of courage that Kouichi gave her.
Kazuki finally finds Eriko on the school rooftop, but she can only wonder why he isn’t angry. Kazuki brings up what he heard from Mitsuki, but Eriko further wonders how Kazuki does not hate her who is only running. She describes the belief she once had about being able to save herself by finding that she could live alone, but recalls that her experiment failed because of Kazuki. Now grasping onto Eriko’s hand, Kazuki states that he will chase after Eriko no matter how much she runs. Eriko wonders if it is okay for her to fall in love with Kazuki, and now in tears, she shares a kiss with him. After a great amount of struggle and thought, Kouichi rushes through the city with memories of Mao in his mind. When Kouichi meets Mao on a bridge in the city, he tells her that he has broken up with Yumi. Mao is still insistent on Kouichi’s promise with Yumi, but he confesses his feelings to her. Promising to never hurt her again, Kouichi runs to Mao. The two both agree that they love each other, and share a kiss under the firework lit sky.
ED: We are shown everyone enjoying themselves under the fireworks in their own ways, and several of the most dramatic scenes of the series.
Impression:
Ahhhhhh! It was the School Days ending! They were on the bridge and everything!!! Sigh……kidding. Now, excuse me as I forgive Kimikiss for the past half season of pain and anguish. This episode was pretty much good all around. Even though I didn’t want it to happen for the longest time, I definitely started seeing the inevitability of Kouichi finally approaching Mao. With this episode, it didn’t come off bad at all. Yumi’s great role played a big part in it all though. Eriko’s end was everything I was hoping to see, with all the loose ends tied up perfectly. I really loved how it all came back to the swing set, and Asuka definitely helped to trigger the final events. What else is there to say? You deserve it Kazuki. I also giggled a bit at some of the minor characters’ roles. Since when was Mitsuki the all knowing prophet of love? It’s funny that she has been reduced to a character for giving off really weird fanservice. I still find Megumi’s sudden attraction to Akira hilarious too. It’s time for the final impression, but if you’ve been following along with me until now, you probably already know what to expect.
Final Impression:
When I decided to pick up Kimikiss early in the Fall season, it was the start of experimenting with writing about a more serious romantic show. I typically enjoy watching these types of series, so I was quickly hooked after watching the first episode. With a strong start and an interesting premises for most of the characters, Kimikiss was pretty well accepted by anyone who watched it. After a couple of twists and turns in the middle, however, things started to get frustrating. There were several episodes that had me wanting to pull my hair out, and at some points, the only thing I really wanted to say was some distasteful comments towards Mao. The last couple minutes of each episode might have been a saving grace for appreciation, but it did end up seeming a bit overdone and predictable towards the end.
Most fans quickly developed favorites in characters, and that probably created a bias for everyone. I myself only really cared for Eriko’s side of the story, but I know there were several who were more sympathetic towards Mao and Kouichi. The situations presented in each episode were very realistic, but they might have been too realistic. This again left too much to be frustrated about, rather than enjoyment of a typical love story. I think most would agree with me when I say this, but I believe that Kimikiss would have been much stronger as a 12 episode series. Going on for 24 episodes, it sometimes seemed like they were simply trying to make the story drag on. The difference between this show and H&C or Nodame (the two most comparable shows), is that those shows had many other themes besides romance. In the end, I am glad that i watched Kimikiss. It was one of the more enjoyable shows of the Fall, and I certainly didn’t despise watching it during the Winter. In all honesty though, I would probably have enjoyed it more in one sitting rather than having to write about it every week. I guess that wouldn’t have been as fun for you guys though, since that involved a ridiculous rant from me each time. At least the train ride is finally over, so we can now simply remember the enjoyable parts of the trip.
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Excuse me while I go and strangle Kouichi to death…
Ah, yes, fickle-mindedness wins again (thank you, TokiMemo and Suzuka, you’ve scarred romance anime forever). And, mind you, it wasn’t Yuumi who broke it off. Imagine the impression this would have on budding little Japanese boys, “Oooh~ If I find somebody I like better, it’s okay to break up with my current GF!”
Bah… I just don’t care anymore…
On the other hand, hurray for Kazuki x Eriko (with Asuka as the bridge…)!!! Hiiragi and Megumi look good too.
Well, the parts that I enjoyed watching were Kazuki, Asuka and Eriko’s side of the story. The ending was as expected, I guess from everything that happened in the 2nd half the series. I think 24 episodes was too long and filled in the gaps with the circling and confusing us who’s gonna end up with who.
Maybe I got biased halfway earlier too when Mao appeared to be the matchmaker but then realized her own feelings. I dunno. Perhaps 12 or 13 episodes would have been less dragging to watch?
…
Aww, hell no. Well, this means I won’t catch up with the rest of it. -_-;;
Asuka’s an angel, she was, and she’ll always be~
Yeah, won’t be catching up on what I missed either. Drop for me. Had the chance to do something decent, but really failed for me since I could not stand Mao.
This was not what we wanted in the story! http://subculture.animeblogger.net/images/kimikiss/kimikiss24_11.jpg
This is what we wanted! http://subculture.animeblogger.net/images/kimikiss/kimikiss15_11.jpg
Have that with this! http://subculture.animeblogger.net/images/kimikiss/kimikiss15_12.jpg yeah! Watch them kiss and watch as your love fades and dies! But nooooooo they had to get together in the end >=(
This anime just sends out all sorts of bad messages:
-Don’t wanna have a long-distance relationship? Take the easy way out and find somebody “closer-to-home!”
-It’s okay to just pick out any girl for a sample before you try the main dish. It’s an all-you-can-eat buffet!
-You’re friend just hooked you up with a hottie. Congratulations. Now thank her by paying more attention to her than your current girlfriend.
-It’s okay to talk about other girls in front of your girlfriend. They don’t get bothered by it at all.
Grrr… I think I’ll go watch Ichigo 100% to calm myself down…
XD. I think even Ichigo 100% is better than this and I thought Ichigo 100% was bad.
Well, I guess JC Staff reprieved themselves just a little, but it isn’t the full closure I would have liked. 24 episodes was more than enough to complete this story but they wasted too much time screwing around in the mid to late development. They found themselves a bit too short on time, so now I have been hearing there is supposedly going to be an OVA episode on the DVD release… we’ll see. All-in-all it has been a good series that could have been a great series with better episode time management a few more developed sub-plots and another pairing to boot. That would have kept it a lot more interesting faster paced during those slower episodes we suffered through… and for crying out loud, not so frustrating.
Surprised Kouichi got the guts to end it with Yuumi. I guess he and Mao deserve each other… well good luck! Glad Kazuki and Eriko were reunited and seem happy. Cool to see Akira and Megumi just might be starting a little of their own. Sorry to see Yuumi, Asuka, and Kai without… and they were the three most mature of the bunch at the end. If the OVA is a reality, I hope it is an after story; would like to see what happens the day after.
The last I heard, there was going to be a dvd episode or something.
It’s not like Kouichi cut things off after Yuumi left…I didn’t get the impression that it was a matter of convenience. It irritates me that Kouichi didn’t make things clear earlier, but don’t really mind the Mao ending. Of course, I like Yuumi better =P
Now to watch the latest True Tears and comment on the pairings there =X
@ DK
You entirely missed the point of the series through your errant fanboy remarks. Kouichi never felt anything more than a crush of sorts for Yuumi; but the writer’s execution was at fault for spending too much time in the middle.
Kai/Mao and Kouichi/Yuumi probably shouldn’t have gone as far as they did, since they had a Kouichi/Mao ending in mind from episode 1. The 12 episode remark is probably the most accurate, and that’s the real problem with the show. The pacing was dragged out for the sake of slice of life filler, while the pairings got dragged through the emotional conflicts for too long.
Oh by the way try to blog S.A or Special A this coming spring 2008…
Ah all’s fine except for yumi when i thought of it. Really pity her, she gonna leave with a broken heart. Usually for most cases i’m able to find different perspectives and somehow console myself by finding the reason that causes the broke up, but in kimikiss i can only blame it on kouchi’s wishy washy attitutde.
[...] from the links above, be sure to check out the finale entry from the Subculture Anime Blog, and the review from the Star Crossed Anime [...]
JP & I were hoping that someone would get their neck sliced open…but it didn’t happen
All in all it was a decent anime for its genre i believe, only the end was not entirely satisfactory, characters were left to be lots of things left unknown, and lots of things happened. The last episode had more than the entire series to sum it up.
This is what I wanted!
http://subculture.animeblogger.net/images/kimikiss/kimikiss23_11.jpg
This is what shouldn’t have happened!!
http://subculture.animeblogger.net/images/kimikiss/kimikiss24_09.jpg
I wanna cry now…T_T
Eriko…YOU SUCK!
The Kimikiss ending gets a FAIL…out of 5
Let me quote my post in another blog:
“The ending was far from perfect IMO. I find it pitiful that the anime did not steer to the course that I thought it would (except for Kazuki X Futami). I mean, guys, seriously. Kouichi never really even thought about Mao during the years that she was not present. He didn’t even remember her immediately when she first came into his house during episode 1. It was CRYSTAL CLEAR since the beginning of this anime that Kouichi had feelings for Hoshino, and Hoshino for him. I find it really disgusting that Mao suddenly confessed to Kouichi when he was already with Hoshino. Don’t you think that becoming the bridge for a relationship to form and then suddenly blurting out your “suddenly-realized-I-love-my-childhood-friend-who-is-younger-than-me” feelings is SO VERY WRONG. And trying to fill the gap by toying with Kai’s feelings? What’s up with that? What’s even more disgusting is how Kouichi suddenly shifted from Hoshino to Mao. It was evident in Kouichi’s actions that he was determined to be with Hoshino forever. He was ready to work part-time and visit Hoshino frequently. He made a promise that was seemingly resolute. I think they are great as a couple. Then all of a sudden his feelings wavered because of a silly confession from Mao?!?! What an awesome display of a weak-willed character! He even broke down and broke his promise with Hoshino during the best part of the festival. OMG. Could it go any more wrong?
I’d have to rate this ROMANCE ANIME a 1 out of 5. Yeah. Just because of that ending. Sue me. When I reached halfway through this anime I thought I’d give it a 4 out of 5. But not even the power of Kazuki X Eriko would be able to save this anime. Believe me guys, I would have preferred a School Days ending than this. Think about it. I did. This ruined the image of what love is. If you think otherwise, then you are as weak as Kouichi.”
Yumi is a great character. Even when dumped she acted so gracefully and forgiving. If I am Kouichi I would have chosen Yumi. Actually for most romance anime I prefer the long hair, gentle, good with study yet shy character however 90% of the time they lose. And with this anime there is no exception to this romantic anime general rule - childhood friend/sister without blood relation wins.
Typical ending.
Unfortunately this tired, lame, stale childhood friends turned lovers plot is so overused it makes me want to hurl. I pray they don’t do this same crap in True Tears too.
Well, at least Kazuki remained true to Eriko in spite of all the bumps in the road. He found his sweetheart and didn’t waver. Chalk one up at least for the long haul, it’s the only relationship that survived from beginning to end.
Kimikiss has effectively repelled me from romance-centered anime, sigh…
Ah Kouichi was weak, but decent ending. If it had ended with Yuumi and Kouichi it would have been one of those “spawn into infinity” endings; Sketchbook-style, but I don’t think it had the beauty or resolve for that sort of end. The more abrupt approach, worked, but it falls a bit short of creating something truly memorable, though it is a good experience while its happening.
^^
so much for the freakin baton pass!!!
The only thing that I was rooting for was Eriko and kazuki kissing in the rooftop and cheering them on. Nice Tsundere
other notable cheers were Megumi(again another Tsundere)and Akira, the Nan and Narumi(Nice Udon), Mitsuki and Eiji
now for my impression
Kimikiss was one of those anime that might impacted me during the fall seasons and its name looked promising seeing the first Ep ended with a kiss. but as it went on and dragged on it was turning into those 2 sided arguemnts, shes the one or the other type of anime. Both stories are seperate love triangles and it was given that it looked like school days in the “which one are you rooting for” kinda of way. For Kouichi I think my thoughts of him are that he thinks that for a older “pretend sis” he just wanted to take a more eaiser path like what Makoto did, and that just not the reason for why I hated him. I thinked that when Mao confessed to him, he was thinking that it was okay to love an older and more mature person/childhood friend. and also one other thing. She was a nerd back then!! and when she came back looking so hot and sexy, Kouichi was like “Dang, I wanna bang that chick!” and just took that road instead of Yumi. Again not motivated by love, he wanted to take the easier path. I consisder him one of the worst prontagonist ever. He just might even sit next to Makoto in a way.
But of all I was yelling at my computer screen “No!” for like the moments that was inevitable to come even though I knew this crap was going to happen:
Kouichi says to yumi “We need to talk”, NOOOO!
Kouichi says “remember that I promised……….”, NOOO!
Kouichi says “I can’t do those and I’m sorry”, NOOOO!
Sorry if im ranting this on and on but now to a more calmer side.
Eriko’s story was very interesting from the very beginning. The way they are now just came from a simple experiment and thats a fantasy everyone should have. but when she grew to love Kazuki, she got confusing for a reason that I do not know. Maybe she afrid of something? anyway the way they took on that, was awesome and til the end, they kissed for the third(am i right)time. this time it was for real. and I hope they shall live happily.
still what was the freakin baton pass for?
it was like: “Oh, I shall pass my slutiness to you my child now go on and make me proud”
Kimikiss, kimikiss…. you are one weird anime. I think my score for this will be 6/10 considering the nice Eriko x Kazuki ending. Only thing that was nice. the rest was like crap. And the rantings over.
I too, found Eriko’s story to be one of the most interesting aspects of Kimikiss. For what it’s worth at this point, I will try to summarize in short, from all the clues and background on Eriko gleaned from the series and basic human psychology, what I believe to be the reasons behind her state of mind.
Children with high IQ tend to react differently than the average kid, often resulting in pranks, teasing, avoidance, etc… leaving them feeling a bit ostracized. Sometimes they will be befriended only to be betrayed and made a fool of, which can be pretty devastating by itself. Even worse, adding to the trauma, Eriko lost her mother, I believe at about 5-8 years old; series never made clear whether by divorce or death. Many children assume they did something wrong to make their parent no longer love them (feelings change) and caused them to leave. Children with high IQ also tend to over analyze as well. This was the main tipping point that left Eriko feeling so much pain she decided to remain alone and have no emotional attachments. Her father is also away from home much of the time.
Eriko went the extreme and assumed feelings will always change, you’ll always end up alone, so why have any attachments at all; it’s best just to stay alone in the first place. Having lived half her lifetime in this emotional vacuum, she was unable to understand the feelings that were awakening within her during “the experiment”, so she became frightened of them. That, coupled with the assumption that feelings will always change, left her expecting the same unbearable pain she experienced before, or worse. Hence, the fear and avoidance that was crippling her.
Kazuki was always returning to Eriko, his feelings for her growing, and her feelings for him growing. Her fear always drove her back to wanting the safe haven of solitude. Fortunately, Kazuki and Asuka prodding her back into the mainstream of life, provided the impetus she needed to forge ahead and begin undoing those many years of errant thinking. Eriko herself initiated “the experiment” in an attempt to “save herself” one way or the other. She’s lucky she picked the right guy to experiment with and in the end, found the love and happiness she didn’t think was possible.
That’s my take on it, anyway.
@Jauken7
thats very nice man
your right that epople with a high IQ have their different take on things and react differently
but its also very nice on how both their feelings for one another were strong but whenever in doubt they managed to place thier hopes back and be together at last.
the only reason I watched Kimikiss was their unique story
[...] one thing that I think KimiKiss really excelled in, though, was being very interactive-friendly (for lack of a better word), encouraging viewers to get out there, pick a side, and get into the [...]
wow, just had to spoil myself with the ending, I would have definitely dropped the series if eriko didnt get the happy ending. That whole arc was the only hook that kept me watching the series. But it seem like i would like it and will keep on watching it. Thanks
LOL, Analytical Critic I’m affraid you just don’t see the beauty, perhaps you should be less analytical and should have approached the show with a humble/simple mind and heart from the start. The end result was just right, not perfect but just right. He kept his feelings locked away probally because how he saw Moa as a sister figure, that can throw you off as nobody wants to love their sister in a romantic way unless you’ve got some…issues. This is why it probally wasn’t “CRYSTAL CLEAR” from the beginning because childhood love is not quite like adult/mature love, what I’m saying is they probally didn’t really see how they felt for eachother, but in the course of the show, some sooner than others, look back and re-interpret those feelings since they’re older and begin to see that they’ve always loved eachother since they were kids. I found the ending fitting and heart warming to say the least. I myself had a childhood love but it was only recently I figured that I’ve always loved her, I don’t know where she is but that’s another story I don’t wish to share, I guess that helped me to better fully understand this show, I give it a perfect 5*/5*
Oh and being 1 year old is NOT wrong, jesus it’s not like she’s 5-7 years older.
Good luck in your new tomorrows Kouichi and Moa, I wish you the best!
@W0LF
Keywords: Episode 1 up to ‘episode of Mao’s confession’, Kouichi x Yumi = CRYSTAL CLEAR
Let me repeat: CRYSTAL CLEAR. Also, nowhere in my post did I state that loving someone older is wrong. That is also CRYSTAL CLEAR.
A crappy ending imo,i liked the Eriko x Kazuki story though like most of you did ;d
I still can’t understand though,i can’t imagine how did he get to love Mao if the only thing that i’ve seen was him pity her because he couldn’t say that he loved her and then it started evolving into something,prolly love but it just started of him feeling bad for Mao,this is not a good enough reason to break up with someone you trully love Hoshino…,honestly what a bullshit…,half of the series he loved Hoshino and in the last few episodes he realised that he didn’t
Err… The Mao-Kouichi relationship happens in real life, you know. I found it quite convincing, and I can certainly empathise with it (the whole realising that the friendship is more than just that). And I like how the story left some eggs broken in the end. That’s life, I guess. Besides, from my perspective, the more interesting girls get the attention in the end, so I found it very natural. Though, of course, that might seem a bit superficial.
where did you see the last episode
i didn’t find