Itazura na Kiss Episode 4 Review

Itazura na Kiss is something that I tentatively decided to pick up and very nearly dropped after the first episode. Nothing about it stood out to me: two high school age people are forced together into awkward circumstances with the understanding that they will eventually fall in love. I have not seen the source material, be it manga, light novel, or graphic novel for Itazura na Kiss, but given the context of the series, it really doesn’t take a genius to figure out where it’s going.

I have to say that after the third episode, my opinion of Itazura na Kiss had improved. This week with Itazura na Kiss episode 4, I am actually quite glade I didn’t drop it straight off. While it is superficially another romance comedy anime, it presents the story from a completely different perspective.

A reversal of the roles, Kotoko is the one who is actually interested in the guy, Naoki, despite her denials every episode that she could ever be in love with a monster like him. Much to my personal pleasure, Naoki at this point has absolutely no interest in her, and spends his time giving her crap and using her feelings against her. He is intelligent enough to know of her feelings, and cold enough to make her cry for it. He does this again in Itazura na Kiss episode 4, although his plan seemed to have backfired.

I also love Yuuki as a character. Let’s face it—Kotoko has a corruptive influence on this rare intelligent and hard working kid. He honestly dislikes Kotoko because he, like Naoki, perceives her existence to be utterly beneath him. Yuuki does not dislike her out of a perverted sense of “protecting” his older sibling; he does not dislike her for no obvious reason; he does not warm up to her just because he is a kid and she is a girl. Even after she saves him from the pool, he still manages to maintain a negative attitude towards her.

If you do not like romance comedy animes, Itazura na Kiss isn’t for you. If you do like romance comedy animes but have lost faith in them because they don’t seem capable of deviating from an archetype, Itazura na Kiss might restore something. Itazura na Kiss episode 4 uses typical plot and setting devices but the difference in perspective paints it in a whole new light.