Koi Kaze [manga]

[Kwokinator]

This particular section doesn't really see much use, and seeing that I just finished rereading one of my all-time favorite manga, I decided to write a review about it.  If you hang out in the channel a lot, you've probably heard me raving about this series.

The subject matter is very delicate, and not everyone can accept it.  That's because this series revolves around incest.  In particular, incest between two blood siblings.  The only other major shounen series that I can recall offhand that deals with this is Angel Sanctuary, and even that just leads into and gives way to a fantastic fantasy adventure, Koi Kaze's plot revolves around it.  So, it's best to keep an open mind when you read this series... unless you're me ^_^

Delicacy of the matter aside, this manga is excellent.  It's the story of 27-year-old marriage counselor Koshiro Saeki and 15-year-old Nanoka Kohinata.  Their parents divorced when Nanoka was still a baby, and they haven't seen each other since.  The story begins when Koshiro's father tells him his sister is coming to live with him because she was admitted to a high school in the area.  He doesn't know what she looks like anymore, because it's been so long...

That's the start of the story to the series, without giving anything major away.

Did I mention the manga is excellent?

Unlike what you may expect (because so many hentai anime and manga features incest prominently.  Not that I've seen any, of course not ^_^), it's not executed crudely, and there's nothing obscene in the manga, it's mostly pure, innocent love.  The series is primarily angsty, but there are comedic and cute moments, especially early on, and there's WAFF too.  

The pacing is done very well.  You never feel that it drags, nor does it seem to rush at any point, and the story is crafted such that it keeps you turning page after page without realizing you just spent most of the evening reading the five volumes of manga.  The siblings' relationship progresses slowly (but not gently) through the manga, but not so slow that you lose interest.  There's no filler in the series, every chapter contributes to the plot and continues moving the plot along.  The general feeling of the series is very bittersweet, with just the right amounts of bitter and just the right amounts of sweet.  Unlike a lot of series of this length, Koi Kaze doesn't feel like it's unfinished after you finish reading the manga, nor does it feel like it could be done in less pages, the series resolves nicely.

Raving aside, there are slight problems with the manga, but mostly the technical side.  Namely, artwork.  The artwork can get a bit of time to get used to, especially since it seems to differ from most manga in that the mangaka decided to colour most everything with pencil shading instead of just colouring all the black parts with a computer or something.  It gives the feeling that the mangaka is really giving the series that personal touch instead of just throwing everything on a computer or something, but might be slightly off-puting for some people.  I really liked it, but some people might not.  The art is also somewhat inconsistent.  Sometimes Nanoka looks really young but sometimes she looks older, and Nanoka looks noticeably different after volume 3, although there's a bit of a timeskip in that.  However, these are just cosmetic details that don't really detract much from the manga.

9/10 for being gutsy with the subject matter and being good enough to execute it brilliantly.  Would've given it 10/10 if it hadn't been for the minor art problem I mentioned.

There's a 13-ep anime adaptation too, published by Geneon.  I might give it a similar review or add a reply here if I ever get the time, engery and desire to watch it, but I never really found the compulsion to watch the anime after reading the awesome manga.

Yes, I know this review isn't objective in the least bit, so sue me ;p