Itazura na Kiss



A manga by Kaoru Tada that debuted in 1991, Itazura na Kiss follows the story of senior high schoolers Kotoko Aihara and Naoki Irie. Rejected by Naoki, the guy she likes, Kotoko comes home to find she has no home. Her house collapsed in an earthquake (in a fire in the live action adaptation), and she and her father have to live with the family of a friend of her father's. By sheer coincidence, the son of said family is Naoki; perhaps now, Kotoko can get through to him...

Notable in that, unlike conventional shoujo, the time-frame spanned by this series in universe (from Kotoko's flashbacks to her freshman year of high school to the very end where ) spans roughly a decade and a half.

This series is so popular that, on top of the Japanese live action and anime adaptations, it has been made into two Taiwanese live action TV series and a Korean live action TV series.


 * Accidental Kiss: The story opens with one of these, as Kotoko and Naoki crash into each other in the school corridor.
 * Aloof Big Brother: Naoki.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Yuuki, Naoki's younger brother.
 * Author Existence Failure: Kaoru Tada died in 1999 before she could finish the manga. She did plan out the ending, which was used in the anime.
 * Babies Ever After: In the anime,.
 * Book Dumb: Kotoko Aihara and the others in Class F.
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Naoki, at least until he finds his true calling as a doctor.
 * Camp Gay: Motoki, or should we say "Moto-chan".
 * Cute Clumsy Girl: Kotoko.
 * Courtly Love:
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Naoki
 * Elevator School
 * Even the Guys Want Him: We can't blame Motoki for being all over Naoki, hmmmm?
 * First Kiss: Kotoko and Naoki manage to do this several times: the very first is an Accidental Kiss, and they later kiss in nonromantic ways before they both accept the romantic relationship and the real first kiss.
 * Genre Savvy: Chris likes so much the Yamato Nadeshiko concept that she researches quite a bit about it.
 * Gold Digger: Kotoko's friend Marina, who became a nurse JUST so she could find a rich doctor to marry.
 * Gratuitous English: Naoki and Christine converse this way in one episode.
 * Hopeless Suitor: Both subverted and played straight.
 * Hospital Hottie: Who wouldn't want to be taken care of by Dr. Irie and Nurse Kotoko? Seriously!
 * Ill Girl: Akiko
 * Innocent Cohabitation
 * Kansai Regional Accent: Kinnosuke has a very thick Kansai dialect. He also has the lively personality to go along with it.
 * Lethal Chef: Both Kotoko and and her Mother.
 * Live Action Adaptation: One in Japan, and two in Taiwan. They debuted well before the anime did. A new one will soon debut in Korea.
 * Love Bubbles
 * Love Dodecahedron: Kotoko loves Naoki, as does his classmate Matsumoto; Kinnosuke loves Kotoko, who loves Naoki, who went out with Chris (Sasuiko in the manga), who loves Kinnosuke; and who does Naoki love? -- An interesting example of a non-closed love polygon.
 * Me Love You Long Time: Genderflipped with Chris, who wants a Japanese boyfriend and comes to Japan specially for that.
 * Missing Mom: Kotoko's mother has died before the start of the story, and she lives with just her father.
 * Ojou: Not only is Chris Robbins rich, but her family has ties with nobility. Heck, Charles was even invited to her and Kinnosuke's wedding!
 * Plucky Girl: Kotoko, and how.
 * Shojo
 * Shipper on Deck: Naoki's mother makes it clear from the start that she thinks Naoki and Kotoko are perfect for each other. She also tries her best to sabotage Naoki's interactions with other women so that he and Kotoko will end up together.
 * The Idiot From Osaka: Kinnosuke.
 * They Do: Gets much better You wouldn't miss much by skipping the first season.
 * Time Skip: Heavily used. A Time Skip occurs after the following events:
 * Naoki decides to change his degree to medicine. (Time Skip of half a year)
 * After Kotoko's capping ceremony, a Time Skip of four years where we are taken to Kotoko being a fully fledged nurse.
 * After Kotoko has
 * What Does She See in Him?: Chris and her mother, Maria, both have very strange tastes in men. They apperently find guys like Kinnosuke "sexy".
 * More of a general thing, but Naoki's mother wonders what girls see in Naoki's cold personality. (as do many of the other guys in the series).
 * People often say something to this effect in series when they find out that Naoki . Anime cut down on this a lot from the manga.
 * Yamato Nadeshiko: Out of all the lead girls, English-born Christine aka Chris, acts the most like one. She's beautiful, domestic, and keen on Japanese cuisine. She also makes a refrence to Yamato Nadeshiko in episode 19 and [[media:itazura-162.jpg|wears kimonos with ease]].
 * Yūko Gotō - Christine (Also, she shows off her Surprisingly Gratuitous English in one episode. "Surprisingly" because she also voiced Kate.)