Koi Kaze

Amongst all the adrenaline-pumping action, zany comedy, melodrama, and over-the-top lunacy of anime, there are a rare few series that go out of their to seriously deal with sensitive issues. Koi Kaze is one such series. It is a gentle, honest, and ultimately heart-breaking story that deals with an issue most other shows would avoid (or in the case off anime, play of as a joke). Needless to say the exploration of taboo is not something everyone enjoys. However, Koi Kaze explores its issue with a maturity and truthfulness that makes it a true gem. The issue in question is incest (with a large age differenceon top of that), as the story follows the relationship between Koshiro Saeki and his younger sister, Nanoka. Now, incest is not exactly an issue anime shies away from, but it is rarely explored seriously. Usually, it is used in anime for shock factor, Hansel and Gretel from Black Lagoon for example, or to satisfy some strange otaku fetish. However, by dealing with the issue maturely, Koi Kaze depicts what people in this kind of relationship might actually be going through. The relationship between Koshiro and Nanoka is constantly in a delicate balance, as the two struggle with their feelings (especially Koshiro). However, it also packs more genuine warmth and feeling than most typical anime relationships, which makes the conflict with taboo all the more potent. While there are definitely some very discomforting moments that will doubtlessly be too much for some viewers (notably a scene that takes place in the laundry room in episode 4), they only strengthen the story and its themes. The subject matter being as controversial as it is, puts tremendous importance on the characters, and luckily Koi Kaze is blessed with an incredible pair of leads. Koshiro is in his late 20s and is starting to feel the weight of his years, becoming somewhat apathetic and emotionally numb, but also having a deep rooted frustration, especially in light of a recent break-up. It is easy to feel his pain and sympathize with him even as he struggles with personal issues that are, in all honesty, pretty creepy. On the other side of the spectrum, there is Nanoka who is still in high school, and dealing with the insecurities of adolescence, particularly concerning boys. The anxieties these two characters face and the way they find comfort within each other feels so real, so plausable, that it is actually kind of scary. The rest of the cast falls strictly into supporting roles. They all have distinctive and believable personalities, but they just feel like background compared to the two leads. An exception is Koshiro's co-worker, Kaname Chidori (No, not from Full Metal Panic), who plays a pivotal role in the later episodes, and my personal favorite character from the show. There is also Koshiro's other co-worker, Odagiri, who is an intolerable pervert and failed comic relief; it would have been better if he had not existed. On the technical-side, Koi Kaze is a mixed bag. The visuals, while not bad, are on the prettier side of unimpressive. The subdued color scheme is quite nice, and it is nice to see normal looking people in an anime, but nothing really pops out. The backgrounds are pretty standard and are what you would expect from any slice-of-life. The animation is passable, and at times quite good, especially in the sequences with petals or Nanoka's hair are being blown in the wind; but overall it certainly nothing to write home about. The music of Koi Kaze, however, is another story. The beautiful orchestral pieces, highlighted by piano, are just a joy to listen to. Even with the art being so-so, scenes are beautiful with this soundtrack supporting them. Add to that director Omori Tatahiro's cinematic sensibility, which makes the best of the visuals, and you have an impressive, if flawed, presentation. Due to it's content, Koi Kaze is not an easy anime to recommend. Incest is an uncomfortable topic, added to that is the large age difference of the main couple, and may people will immediately (understandably) be turned off by it. For those who do get over the subject matter , you will be hard pressed to find a more mature, well-written tale of forbidden love.

Welp...this is going to be a controversial review. Yet, I feel I have to write it. I heard that Koi Kaze was a very beautiful and moving romance, so I put it on my watch list. I just finished "His and Her Circumstances", and I loved that one so much I wanted to start a new romance anime. Koi Kaze isn't exactly what I went in expecting. Can a talented artist make any foul subject beautiful? That's one of the things Charles Baudelaire experimented with in Flowers of Evil. Within that collection, there is a poem called "Une Charogne" or "The carcass". The poem wascalled indecent and grotesque upon release because it vividly describes a rotting female corpse and describes the corpse in sexual terms. The speaker isn't at all repulsed because he accepts that death comes for us all. Even the most beautiful women will one day resemble the horrible corpse. Koi Kaze is the writer of Baccano and the director of Baccano attempting to tell a beautiful romance between a 30 year old man and his 15 year old sister. Not step sister mind you. I mean full on blood relative. There is a LOT of sister fetish stuff in anime, but it's always played as a joke. They know it's a gross fetish and don't want to be accused of seriously condoning it. It's the stuff of echii and hentai where one can indulge in their most depraved and secret fetishes. Koi Kaze is a dead serious romance for adults. The series doesn't say our young lovers are correct, but it doesn't say they're wrong. The series wants you to see the relationship as beautiful, but it's up to the audience to decide. I've decided...and I don't like it. I watched a series where a guy has sex with a robot girl and I was fine with it. She's full artificial intelligence and they're in a consenting relationship. They won't produce children, but not everyone needs to have kids. I watched an anime where the guy ends up with the girl who murdered his family. I thought it was a tragic, yet beautiful and moving romance. I'm pretty liberal with my anime romances. I have to put my foot down on Koi Kaze though. It turns out that deep within the dark recesses of my soul, there lives an angry and self righteous eugenicist. I call him Fritz! Koi Kaze manages to bring Fritz to the surface. He wants to kill these 2 immediately to protect the gene pool. He also wants to use government policing to reduce the global fertility rate and genetic engineering to increase human IQ. Fritz is an asshole and I don't condone his opinions. Thanks to Koi Kaze though, I've had to confront my own shadow. I now know that he lives within me and I'll never be truly rid of him. Thanks Koi Kaze! The first episode starts with our male hero Koshiro meeting the high school first year Nanoka on a subway. Both of them have recently been dumped and can each sense the other's loneliness. Nanoka invites Koshiro to a theme park and he accepts. They share a romantic Ferris Wheel ride together and you already know these 2 are going to bang soon. At this point it's just pedophilia, but we find out they're siblings at the very end of the first episode. What follows is a carefully written and wonderfully presented romance...that makes me want to vomit and summons Fritz from the dark depths where I keep him repressed. The art is by the same studio that did the first Kino's Journey, which I love. I'm not a big fan of the character art though because everyone has a white mouth instead of a red one during lip flaps. It's a minor detail, but I hate it! The music is another strength of the series. Of course, it could be playing the most angelic music in the world and I would still hate this show. Overall, I would suggest this anime only to those who can be VERY open minded. There is talent and effort here. However, I was too repulsed to get a lot of personal enjoyment out of it.

Koi Kaze (13 Episodes) There's only one way to put this series and that's simply amazing. The series Koi Kaze is one of those rare gems that truly stimulate the human mind and lets it's audience in on the real nature of life and how something like incest that might be grotesque to some can actually be something so beautiful. I'll admit I was a bit skeptical at first but Koi Kaze demonstrated how a masterpiece should convey it's characters feelings, emotions, and problems. Koi Kaze is about an ordinary man named Koshiro who works as a wedding planner.He lives at home with his father and goesabout his daily commute as per usual. One day however a fateful encounter changed his life forever. Koshiro met a beautiful young girl named Nanoka on a train, As she was leaving she had dropped her pass, Koshiro picked up the pass and returned it only too notice that this girl was very young and very beautiful. A seemingly normal encounter one would say, "o' how mistaken you are". As fate would have it Koshiro was getting a house mate and that this person would be his long lost sister. Koshiro layed eyes on this new house mate only too find out that it was the girl whom he had met on the train. The road to love and incest soon followed as the characters fight their feelings for each other. The animation was decent and at time the imagery was vibrant and quite elegant. The animation definitely fit the tone of the series. The audio quality was also excellent. The voice casting was perfect fitting each character well. The music for the series fit the emotional sequences to a tee. In all this series had a perfect blend of element for a Slice of life drama. every encounter the characters faced felt as though you could feel their pains and anguish. There were times were I actually felt nervous for the characters and how they went about facing there problems. In conclusion Koi Kaze was simply a masterpiece. If anyone is looking to get into a Slice of life that deals with a topic that not many take seriously and wants a real life take on the subject of incest. Then please do give this series a watch. Rating: 10/10

Koi Kaze’s premise is not a conventional romance title. The series is an exploration on incest, one of the biggest societal taboos of humanity and it is sure to make many people uncomfortable upon first seeing it. I went through that feeling when I first heard of the series in 2005. And in an e-mail reply I got back from Koshiro’s English dub actor Patrick Seitz in that same year, it was surprising to him that the title was even licensed and distributed in America. Here’s a passage from said e-mail that I’ve kept for a while now: “When Liam, the director, told me about theshow's subject matter, I was pretty taken aback--not by the prospect of playing such a character, which I relished as the challenge it was, but at the fact that Geneon had slated it for a release in the first place. Like you said, who in their right mind is going to toss a serious anime serious about incest onto an unsuspecting (and largely unprepared) Western audience?” The major strengths of Koi Kaze are the screenwriting and the lead characters. Both blend quite effectively at creating a believable focus on the awkward developments of Koshiro and Nanoka’s relationship. These two characters are at different stages of their lives and have different levels of understanding on the norms of society. Throughout much of the series, Koshiro finds himself in an internal conflict over how to deal with the growing feelings he has for Nanoka. He knows such feelings are forbidden in society yet he is trying to be honest with himself. As a result, being around Nanoka makes him feel awkward as he quite often acts coldly towards her to hide how he truly feels. Nanoka is just starting off high school and comes across as a naive girl at first glance. While not knowing of many of the societal norms expected of her, she is honest and direct with how she expresses herself towards others, especially in tense situations. The girl also has a playful side to her personality that she exhibits on occasion in Koi Kaze. In regards to the development of this forbidden relationship, Koi Kaze carefully treads a delicate line with the handling of the relationship without giving in to the conventional clichés that are found in many romance anime titles of recent memory. The characters have their imperfections and all their decisions have repercussions that they grow to accept as the series presses on. In addition, Koi Kaze maintains a neutral position in how to make viewers judge Nanoka and Koshiro’s relationship. The series neither approves nor disapproves of the relationship and there is no clear ending to the series. Instead, we are just left to wonder what kind of future that the pairing will have and whether or not we could make the decisions they made if we were in their situation. Beyond the two main characters, the secondary ones are a mixed bunch. Nanoka and Koshiro’s father, Zenzo, is constantly worried about Nanoka and is quite clueless over the problems between his two children. Koshiro’s co-worker, the lolicon Odagiri, often kills the mood of some of the tense situations that take place. Mother Makie appears quite level-headed with supporting her children, but doesn’t have much time onscreen. Koshiro’s girlfriend and Nanoka’s classmates do their parts at pushing each protagonist towards coming to grips with how they really feel. Koshiro’s supervisor Kaname Chidori is the best of the bunch with her role towards the later third of the series. In terms of visuals, the artwork seems lacking as scenery is rather simplistic in detail and colors look rather faded. Character designs, while just as simplistic, show a good diversity of looks adding to the real life believability of Koi Kaze. Compare a rough and unshaven man like Koshiro to the innocent beauty of Nanoka to catch my drift. The soundtrack features soft, light tracks that do well to accompany the delicate mood of this series. The show knows when to play its music or to keep things silent during specific scenes. Koi Kaze is a series that won’t be for all viewers. The themes of the series will keep some viewers from watching it and only those with an open mind would be able to take in what they see. If you are one with an open mind, then you can look forward to a mature, tasteful, and honest look at a controversial issue that has not been seriously explored in anime.