Paradise Kiss, Book 2

Great.". This is one of my favorite mangas of ALL TIME! Great art, wonderful characterization. Just plain good work. Would recommend!

I like this volume a little better than the first one, because we get to know the whole cast a little more and get some hints as to what drives the characters. Yukari does seem a bit weak in most of the volume, but she starts to pull herself together toward the end, trying to establish herself. I thought her weakness was actually well done and sets up her trying to carve a place for herself. All I know is I can't wait to get my grubby paws on volume 3. I haven't been this hungry for the next volume of a comic in ages!...

The drwing style is a bit wierd, but possible to adjust to. And so worth doing so!Yukari is one of those perfect kind of girls: Very studious, always obeying her parents wishes, never doing anything unexpected, wrong, or, well, anything except perfect. She doesn't have an easy time with it, though. When she runs into a punk and a transvestite on the street one day and is asked to modle clothing for them, she adamently refuses. At first. But then she meets George, the designer for Para-kiss, and she has to wonder if she should accept their invitation into this new, wonderful, and forbidden world.

Yukari agrees to model for Paradise Kiss (George, Isabella, Arashi, and of course Miwako) and they begin to work on THE DRESS to enter in the competition. Yukari becomes attach to George in a romantic relationship but knowing George he'll just go for anyone! ;P We are introduced to new characters that are from Ai Yazawa's previous work, Gokinjo. Miwako and her sister, Mikako (she's introduced in this volume) looks exactly the same when in fact, Mikako is much older than her little sister.

Judged on merit alone, Vol. 2 of ParaKiss gets 5 STARS. I gave it a 4 because its not a story that many people (i.e. males and girls under 16) will appreciate.Yukari's experiences are definitely filtered through a feminine perspective. Males are likely to have trouble relating to her thoughts and reactions. Girls under 16 are likely to be enthralled by Vol. 2's racy (but not raunchy) heat........but in Vol. 2, George starts to show that cool guys like him can be downright *c-o-l-d*. Girls under 16 tend to like "fantasy romance"--ideal love stories where the arguments never escalate beyond cute InuYasha/Kagome banter. They want to see their daydreams on paper....whereas ParaKiss Vol. 2 will appeal more to older girls, who know heartache and will be able to reflect on their own experiences.That said, other parts of ParaKiss Vol. 2 actually cracked me up laughing. When Arashi gets mad at George for deciding to do a difficult design, look at what's in Arashi's hand! And after Geroge tells Yukari to return some books on the library, look at what the rabbit is doing on the couch behind him. ParaKiss Vol. 2 is sternly dramatic at times, but it is not too heavy-handed.

The cover isn’t what’s pictured. The “good” condition is literally brown. It’s so disgusting. Do not buy this.

I liked the first one a little more, but this is a good follow-up all in all. If you're into the girl-changes-for-the-weirdo-boy story line, then this is good for you. But, personally I would have preferred Yukari being stronger on the whole. But, I guess you gotta love 'em. A good book for starting an Arashi fan club though, he's just so CUTE in this one. Well. Good Luck Caroline!

ご存じの人も多いと思いますが前作『ご近所物語』の続編ですが、絵柄がさらに美しくなりキレイで何よりも登場人物たちの魅力的なキャラクターが秀逸。[ご近所]を読んでいた人なら色々懐かしい場面もたくさん出てきます。そして会話のテンポが良くておもしろくどんどん引き込まれます。学校や仕事、恋愛、人間関係や人生に悩んでる人にぜひ読んでほしいです！！

もうちょい完全だったら気持ち良いくらいに男ウケする人物だと思う。ただ完全では決してなくおまけに不器用さも災いして、なにかヘタクソな所がありますよね。それがもどかしくて切ないだろう？とゆう事なのかなと思いました