Sacred First Kiss: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:first kiss.jpg|link=Shifters|frame|DOUCHE!]]

 

{{quote|'''Mai:''' Who are you, anyway?

'''Mai:''' I know that! Ugh...how could I have given up my first kiss to this girl?

'''Mikoto:''' Fine! I'll give it back! (She kisses Mai.)

 

This is a [[Japanese Media Tropes|Japanese cultural trope]]. Whether they're a boy or a girl, a Japanese teen's first "adult" kiss on the lips is a momentous occasion. It is something to be built up to and shared with a very special person—something that is remembered for the rest of one's life. A spoiled or stolen first kiss is an occasion for profound angst and even anger. Consequently, in any anime plotline involving teen romance, the first kiss is an important milestone in the development of both self and relationship.

This attitude does exist in the West to some degree, but it is not nearly as significant as it is in Japan, especially for boys. Western culture has the first kiss as a proud "rite of passage" and sometimes a cause for celebration even if it was with a complete stranger. See [[First Kiss]], the parent trope, for more info.

 

{{examples}}

* Ranma's first kiss in ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is the occasion of great violence, as a self-absorbed playboy iceskater steals a kiss from [[Gender Bender|girl-form Ranma]]. And when we say "violent", we mean 518 punches; by the time he's done, the skater in question is unconscious on his feet.

** Akane's first kiss was also 'taken' in a similarly crazy fashion, as Ranma kissed her after sitting on her lap while under the influence of Cat Fu.

** In a post-episode [[Omake]] in which Naruto and Lee debate which of them would be better for Sakura, Lee points out that Naruto gave his first kiss to Sasuke, and Naruto frantically tries to cover it up.

* An example of [[Indirect Kiss|indirect first kiss]]: When Nina in ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' learns that her roommate Erstin administered CPR to her after a near-drowning, the [[Kiss of Life|excessively sexualized image]] of the "[[CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable|CPR]]" that flits through her mind (and her peeved expression) make it clear that she considers her first kiss lost.

** Shizuru kisses Natsuki once while she's asleep. Near the end of their fight, Natsuki returns the kiss when Shizuru draws her close and embraces her.

* More on the topic of CPR: one of the episodes of ''[[Blue Seed]]'' is titled [[Excited Episode Title|"Innocence! Love! My First Kiss?!"]]. [[Kiss of Life|Guess what it was actually about.]] Momiji does initially reject the idea that this can count, but in the next episode decides that it ''was'' her first kiss—pretty much confirming that yes, she does have feelings for Kusanagi...

* In ''[[Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl]]'' Hazumu and Yasuna share their first kiss, very much to the dismay of Tomari who happens to enter the room at that moment.

* Souichiro Nagi ([[Tenjou Tenge]]) has his first kiss "stolen" by Aya. He spends the rest of the anime pissed off and avoiding her.

* In ''[[Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne]]'', Jeanne/Maron's first kiss is stolen by her rival Kaitou Sinbad, {{spoiler|who is her later love interest Chiaki in disguise.}}

* In ''[[Code Geass]]'', the [[Student Council President]] Milly holds an impromptu school-wide contest: Anyone who manages to catch the cat running around campus will get a kiss from a Student Council member of their choice. Two of the girls on the student council, Shirley and Kallen, team up to try catch the cat, horrified by the thought that someone might steal their first kiss.

** The odd part is that most of the students are western. Raised in Japan, but a Japan where a lot of the culture has gone away.

*** This might just be the creators either not realising or not caring about the different traditions. Another possible example of cultural wire-crossing comes when the various characters are at {{spoiler|Shirley's father's funeral}}, and Rivalz remembers that he had been flippant about it before realising what had really happened. As he apologises he bows in a decidedly Japanese fashion, despite the fact that he's Brittanian, and so is the person he's talking to.

** It doesn't help that Setsuna [[Hates Being Touched]] in the first place.

* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', Asuka forcibly claims her first kiss from Shinji, holding his nose while their lips are locked so that he is about to pass out by the time she lets him go.

* In ''[[Fruits Basket]]'', when Tohru gets out of the hospital, she and Kyo kiss. He then confesses that it wasn't their [[First Kiss]]; he had [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|kissed her while she was unconscious]]. Strong reaction on her part.

** In Kyo's defense, he didn't know that she was unconscious at the time. She was semi-conscious just a few seconds before.

* Miaka and Tamahome's first kiss in ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' is one of the things that sets off {{spoiler|Yui's [[Face Heel Turn]].}}

* In ''[[Hot Gimmick]]'', Hatsumi's first kiss is with {{spoiler|Ryoki}}, and she tries to convince herself that that didn't count, and that her first kiss is with {{spoiler|Azusa}}.

* In ''[[Paradise Kiss]]'', when Yukari and George's first kiss gets interrupted, he nonchalantly tells her that next time they will continue where they left it and he will "''kill her with pleasure''". Naturally, this being ''[[Paradise Kiss]]'', they go from "first kiss on the lips" to {{spoiler|"kinky bondage sex"}} in no time flat.

* In ''[[Kodomo no Jikan]]'', Aoki is rather upset when Rin steals a first kiss from him. Aoki is 23; Rin is a ([[Fille Fatale|rather precocious]]) 9.

* The first kiss between Kaoru and Aoi in ''[[Ai Yori Aoshi]]'' is [[Squee|all]] [[Tear Jerker|kinds]] of [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|great]].

* Nagasumi in [[Seto no Hanayome]] has his first kiss with San's bodyguard, [[Even the Guys Want Him|Masa]]<ref>well, technically it was just CPR, but whatever</ref>- from that point forward cliche anime love theme music plays over a close up of the bodyguard with a background of falling rose petals every time Nagasumi sees him.

* When the Gate—who looks like a young girl—forces [[Ah! My Goddess|Peorth, Urd, and Skuld]] to kiss her as part of her quest for [[What Is This Thing You Call Love?|knowledge]], Skuld moans that she hadn't even kissed Sentaro (a mortal boy in whom she's shown significant interest) yet.

* Do you know how [[Big Bad|Lucia]] established how evil he was to Haru's group in ''[[Rave Master]]''? He stole Elie's first kiss ([[Laser-Guided Amnesia|probably]]). Elie was devastated, and Haru was ''pissed''.

* In ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]'', a First Kiss is one of the main plot points {{spoiler|early on, when Dio steals the one that was rightfully Jonathan Joestar's. Suffice to say that Dio's misdeeds [[Complete Monster|quickly pile up after that]].}}

* In ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'', [[No Sense of Personal Space|Italy]] hugs and kisses his friend Japan on the cheek as a morning greeting. Japan, not used to such physical closeness, freaks out. ("Wha-what are you doing? That was my first time, you know!") Made even funnier in the anime where the kiss is left out, hence showing Japan spazzing out over a single ''hug''.

** The 'fall into a kiss' is repeated the second time Snow is freed, without the freaking out (though Ginta still gets chewed out for it).

** Earlier, Dorothy kisses Ginta on the cheek as thanks for helping to retrieve Bappo. He mentally apologizes to Koyuki, who isn't his girlfriend at this point.

* It must be noted that it is not at all uncommon for one or both... participants in a given H-Manga to be more worried about the first kiss than their actual virginity.

* ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' [[Playing with a Trope|plays with this]]: when offered a kiss as [[G-Rated Sex|G-rated]] [[Intimate Healing]], Yurika stops him with the explanation she's never been kissed; earlier, however, a flashback established she stole her first [[Glomp|thirty kisses or so]] from Akito(who [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it).

* ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]] Girl's Side 2'' sets up an [[Accidental Kiss]] early in the game. If it happens with Hikami Itaru, he worries anxiously that the heroine has "lost something important," clearly with this trope in mind.

* ''[[Seiken Densetsu 3]]'': You can have a scenario where Hawkeye kisses Lise, and she totally freaks out. While Westerners probably found that hilarious, Japanese players probably found that brazen, outrageous and shocking!

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

[[Category:Kissing Tropes]]

[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]