Paradise Kiss ep.6

November 18, 2005 | 15 Comments

Wow, what happened to this episode? Have the animators suddenly been given enough budget to produce the series properly? Because I think the production values looks unusually good here with lots of close-ups and facial shots. Just look at some of those Yukari's glamour shots. It seems as if the animators have saved all of the budget for this episode alone. Either way, I am happy to see this. It also helps that the storyline starts to become interesting as well. Franz Ferdinand fans will also be happy to know that there's a little advertisement for the band in one of the episodes' scenes. Anyway, I hope the good quality continues right through the end because I really like the ending for this series and would hate to see it ruined by lousy animation and direction. As a sidenote, according to Akadot there will be a Paradise Kiss shop in the Odaiba area from November 19th 2005 to March 31st 2006.

The episode begins with Yukari telling Mikako that she thought Mikako is actually Miwako. Mikako is a bit unhappy that she's mistaken as her sister but gets down to the business and takes Yukari inside a restaurant. Mikako then introduces Yukari to a group of people with whom she'll be working with. Among of them is a photographer who turns out to be Tsutomu, Mikako's husband, and the glittery make-up guy, Seiji. As Yukari tries to calm herself down so that her cheek doesn't blush heavily, Seiji asks her why she took this job. When Yukari doesn't answer, he immediately assumes that Mikako forces her into doing this. Mikako is unhappy to hear this and orders Seiji not to talk bad things about her. Yukari seems to be happy to hear this friendly banter between everyone in the studio. So she begins to reminisce about her own life after she moves with her mother to Tokyo, and how it changed after she meets the George and the others.

Back to the present time, Yukari finally completed her make up and dress session so she gets ready to strut herself. Much to everyone's surprise, Yukari is a natural at posing for the camera to the point that she looks like a professional. As Yukari is being dressed up and given make up over and over again, she realises how much she enjoys the experience and wants to be a part of this world. After the shoot is over, Mikako invites Yukari to have lunch with everyone. Yukari, however, politely refuses, claiming that she has another appointment to make. Mikako immediately guesses that Yukari has a date with George and begins to mention some of George's wonderful qualities. Yukari, however, is happier with the fact that Mikako and Seiji express their interest to work with her again in the future. On top of this, two people from the restaurant then ask her if they can take a photograph with her.

Once Yukari returns to Atelier, everyone admires her photograph and comments how professional she looks in the photo. Isabella thinks that the photo shoot must be quite hard. Yukari agrees but also thinks that it was very exciting. Later on, George takes Yukari back to Arashi's flat and they talk about how today is October the 21st but the show will be on November the 20th. That means they only have a month to complete the dress. George, however, doesn't seem to worry much about it. He then tells Yukari that she looks pretty and wonders if he can kiss her. Meanwhile, Arashi is seen taking Miwako back to her house then proceeds to leave to go back to his own home. Miwako, however, pulls him a bit for a kiss. At the same time, George and Yukari are still sucking face although they don't look like they're enjoying the kiss. After some hesitation, Yukari decides to invite George to come inside the apartment.

Meanwhile, Arashi is now seen arriving inside his parent's house. Much to his surprise, however, her mother informed him that Hiro has come to visit Arashi. True enough, Arashi finds Hiro inside his room busy studying. Apparently Hiro is interested to know if Arashi knows Yukari. Back to Yukari, she is now seen looking nervous even though she's the one who invited George inside the room. She also becomes disappointed after George decides to leave after making her some tea. Yukari tries to ask George not to return but ends up crying instead. George decides to comfort her then picks her up like a newlywed. At the same time, Arashi finds out that Yukari is actually Hiro's classmate. Cut to a scene of Yukari and George making out on top of Arashi's bed. Miwako, just happens to be in front of the door and is about to press the bell when she realises what's going on inside and tries to leave quietly. On her way down, however, she sees Hiro about to climb up the stairs to see Yukari. This is quite uncomfortable.

But Miwako quickly shuts Hiro before he can say anything and tells him that if he's here to see Yukari, she's currently engaged in...uhm...'Hentai-play'. Yeah, I get it and I'm sure you do but unfortunately Hiro is either naive or slow. Meanwhile, inside the room, Yukari and George are seen having their first sex together. George wonders if it hurts but Yukari denies it. George thinks that his...uhm...let's just say that George thinks that 'little George' is big. Anyway, before they know it, 'little George' is already inside the 'home base'. 'Haitta', indeed. o_o Meanwhile, Miwako and Hiro are seen talking inside the park and Hiro tells her that he knows how Yukari has been alienated by her own mother. He, however, doesn't know what Miwako means by 'Hentai-play'. LOL. Miwako quickly retracts her statement and tells Hiro that it's all just what she thinks and nothing actually happens. The next day, Yukari claims that being with George is similar to being in Paradise.

Impression:

Well, that was uncomfortable. This is not the first time I've seen sex scenes but this is the first time I saw two characters talking about what they do while they're having sex and for some reason, it feels more graphic than if they just show full body nudity. I just felt that I'm intruding in something that I'm not supposed to see. I think this is mostly because the sex scene between Yukari and George is quite a personal one and as such, it feels weird to have to watch the two doing it for the first time. Despite this, I have to say that I like the episode a lot. This mostly has to do with the storyline becoming more interesting but also because the animation is a lot better than the previous 5 episodes. As a final note, why on Earth, does everyone calls Yukari as 'Caroline'? I'm beginning to have difficulty writing her name as Yukari now because my brain ends up going on 'Caroline' autopilot every time I think about her character.

© memento 2003