Paradise Kiss ep.5

November 11, 2005 | 14 Comments

I don't get this version of the series sometimes. When the scene calls for a dramatic moment, the anime goes comedic instead. But when the scene is supposed to be comedic, the animators completely miss their mark and just go on as if nothing has happened. This is really unfortunate because the anime has now reached an interesting point within the story. However, it's hard to enjoy the story when I get distracted by awkward cuts, scenes that miss their mark, and weird landscape shots. That last one was especially annoying in this episode. I love my art-y screenshots as much as anyone. But I think there's nothing art-y about a shot of an empty grass field or the outside of an apartment building. Especially not when they're drawn in a generic manner and without a specific focus given to a particular object within the scene.

This episode itself begins with Isabella arriving at Atelier inviting everyone to have lunch since she just made some roast beef sandwiches. Since the weather is nice, George suggests that they all go to a park for a picnic. Isabella, however, realises that Yukari is late, prompting Miwako to tell everyone that today Yukari is going to tell her mother about everything. Everyone is worried about this so Isabella asks George if he will save Yukari if she's in trouble. George, however, refuses on the ground that he doesn't like to get involved. As the four prepare to leave Atelier, Miwako remembers that Yukari said that she's going to run away from home if her mother refuses to understand. Isabella is horrified to hear this and wonder what they will do if Yukari comes while they're still out having picnic. Because of this George asks Miwako to give Yukari a call but in the end this is not necessary because Yukari manages to arrive before they leave.

Yukari, however, arrives with two bags, suggesting that she's running away from home. She tells everyone how last night she told her mother about everything and was rewarded with a slap across the face. Because of this, that night Yukari thought a lot about many things and eventually decided to leave her home. Upon hearing this, Isabella and Miwako reassure Yukari that they'll support her decision, prompting George to remark that Yukari has 'bad friends' because they don't try to persuade her to return home. Anyway, Miwako tells everyone that in that case she needs to go back home and clean a guest room so Yukari can sleep there. Yukari, however, doesn't want to inconvenience Miwako and therefore wonders if it'll be okay if she sleeps in Atelier instead. George objects at first on the grounds that everyone pitches in for the rent. But when Arashi tells Yukari that she can stay if she pitches in as well, George objects the idea anyway.

Yukari, however, continues to argue for her case on the base that she's going to get a part-time job while everyone's at school. The others are quite surprised to hear this especially after Yukari tells them that she's going to quit school. She thinks since she's not taking an entrance exam, there's no point on going to school. Miwako thinks it's cool that Yukari is going to ditch school but Arashi begs to differ and ask George to set his girlfriend straight. George, however, thinks that this is up to Yukari herself. In the end, Yukari ends up boarding at Arashi's house since he himself stays at Miwako's. Apparently Arashi does this because he doesn't think it's right for Yukari to stay with a guy after running away from home and ditching school. On top of this, Arashi thinks George is not the kind of guy who can make a woman happy so he warns Yukari not to get too close to George. Yukari seems to be quietly agree with the warning.

The next morning, Miwako comes to bring Yukari some breakfast as well as to offer her a job at a new Happy Berry shop. Caroline is happy to accept it although she wonders a bit if she's cut out for it. Miwako, however, assures Yukari that she will be fine so she encourages her to give her sister a call. Because of this, Yukari comes to Happy Berry in the afternoon to attend her first job interview. Anyway, Miwako's sister, Mikako is surprised when she finds out that 'Caroline' is actually Yukari, an unusually tall Japanese girl. Mikako then gets straight to the point and tells Yukari that the truth is the position has been taken by another person. Nevertheless, she asks Yukari if she has a free time tomorrow. Meanwhile at school, Tokumori is worried about Yukari. But when he asks Yukari's friend, she doesn't have any idea either and thinks that Yukari probably run away with a guy. In fact, it seems she doesn't care much about Yukari.

Back inside Atelier, Yukari informs everyone that even though she doesn't get the sales position, she was offered a job as a model for Zipper magazine by Mikako. Yukari, however, thinks that she was chose because Mikako couldn't find anyone better but the gang tells her to get a grip and some confidence in herself. The next day, Yukari is on her way to the photoshoot when she receives a phone call from Tokumori. Apparently he's worried because Yukari is not at school during test. Yukari, however, tells him that she's not doing the test because she just got a once in a lifetime chance. Nevertheless, she wishes Tokumori the best during the exam. Tokumori, who feels sorry for Yukari, decides to tell Yukari's friend that Yukari can't come because she's sick. The episode then ends with Yukari running confidently towards a waving Mikako as she assures herself that she's going to be okay despite being deserted by her parents and the world.

Impression:

Yukari's last word really strikes a chord with me here. I know how hard it was to start a life for oneself in a big city without any help or support from family members. Yukari is actually quite lucky because she actually has friends who care about her but most people often have to fend for themselves without any help from any kind of friends. I do, however, question her decision to ditch school and get a full-time job. I guess I'm one of the old-fashioned people who think that you need education in order to get ahead in life. Although I supposed the kind of knowledge that one needs in order to become a model can't be obtained from school. Anyway, I'm surprised to see that this episode still has not completed the second volume of the manga. There are only a small amount of material left in the second volume but with only 7 more episodes left, I do wonder if the animators will be able to cover the next 3 volumes of the manga.

© memento 2003