Thoughts on the Paradise Kiss movie

[lelei]

I went and saw the movie tonight and am pleased to say that it was wonderful! I had my expectations built up quite a bit after seeing the preview a gazillion times, but it was even better than I was expecting. I won't spoil anything by summarizing, but it diverges from the manga a lot--especially the ending (so if you hated the ending of the manga

Comments

[himemiya__anthy]

I'm so glad to hear it was good! I can't wait to see it when it comes out subbed. :D Yukari looks so pretty. I'm a little sad that they didn't keep her weirdly short bangs though. :P

[lelei]

Haha, I honestly did not expect to like her as Yukari at all--from the posters her image seemed totally off (ditto for George and Hiro, actually) but in the end I was very pleased with her performance. But yeah, I didn't mind the bang length so much as the un-evenness of the fringe... still ripe for mockery-from-friends that way, though!

[love_michiyuki]

Glad that the movie seems to not be the total disappointment I anticipated, but overall reading this depressed me, since I remembered that Paradise Kiss was among the part of my collection that was stolen :(

Also not too happy to hear the ending got changed.
I really liked it because it was realistic!

[lelei]

It's funny because when the final volume came out in the US a ton of people were complaining about the ending and I was also thinking, "no, this is realistic, and that makes the story more meaningful." I guess the satisfied people just weren't as out-spoken about their thoughts on the ending.

It's been so long since the last time I read it though that it didn't bother me and I was able to consider it as a quasi-separate entity.

[biscuitchan]

I just watched the trailer....and they changed the blue dress!!!!!!
how can you change something THAT amazing????

[lelei]

Honestly, even in the manga I was never as into the blue dress as everyone else was. The other clothes George had made (the stuff Yukari was wearing to job interviews and day-to-day) struck me as much more beautiful and innovative. So I felt the same way during the movie.

But even though the dress didn't blow my mind, her runway walk still really captured the dramatic feel of that scene for me--I teared up a bit! （´∀｀）

[scribbled_mess]

ooh, the news of a changed ending is disappointing. The ending was one of my favourite things about parakiss. It was a realistic view of a relationship for once. Changing that is just... I don't know.

[lelei]

While I totally agree about the original ending being excellent, I'm sure they changed it for the same reason they didn't color their hair or go quite as overboard with the outfits, etc. It was a pretty high-budget film and they needed to keep it marketable to a wide audience (so no real need to pull in fans that are probably already going to see it anyway.)

Everyone's comments are making me wonder if I'm totally desensitized to Japanese totally-incongruous adaptions already... XD

[scribbled_mess]

I understand that concessions have to be made for a mainstream audience but I thought the ending was a massive part of the story and would be one thing that wouldn't change. It's so bittersweet and beautiful.

I didn't know Japanese adaptations were known for making incongruous changes! If that's the norm then I'll take it. I'll still be curious to watch the film and see it play out in live action.

[lelei]

Well, as annoying as the discrepancies are, in Japanese media's defense (XD) most of the time drama/movie adaptations are made before the source material (usually novel/manga) is actually completed, while it's still in a popularity boom. So it is kinda rare I think to change something that was already completed.

On the plus side it made me totally nostalgic about the manga and now I'm going to re-read it in Japanese this time! :D

[ghrelin]

Funny they made a live action movie, considering the manga was loosely based on the movie Velvet Goldmine...

[xsethsownstarx]

Was it really? I've never heard that before..

[lelei]

err, no, not really. The stories are totally different. It's been said that the character designs/clothing in ParaKiss were inspired by the movie (i.e. 70s glam rock), and George mentions it at one point in the manga.

[ghrelin]

Check out the first volume of the manga - she quotes Velvet Goldmine on the back and there's a reference in the manga to it too. George is completely based on Brian Slade in Velvet Goldmine. And Brian Slade is based on David Bowie.