Koi Kaze

Koi Kaze (恋風) is a 13 episode dramatic romance based on the manga of the same name by Yoshida Motoi.  The anime originally aired during the Spring of 2004.

 

    Saekiu Koshiro, a large and quiet man, lives with his father in Tokyo, working at a company that provides match making and wedding planning services.  His girlfriend leaves him for another man, blaming his disinterest and general lack of direction in live for her change of heart.  One day on the train he sees a high school girl and begins to yearn for her. She drops her train pass as she leaves and he rushes out to give it to her, further deepening his instant love of this unknown girl. A few days later he and a coworker attend a meeting for work and are given tickets to a nearby amusement park. Koshiro's coworker pushes them off on him as they are leaving. When they exit the building the same schoolgirl from the train is in front of the building. She is waiting for her father. Koshiro, blinded by his lust for her, asks if she would like to join him at the amusement park for a while. While on the Farris wheel, they begin talking about each others relationships. Koshiro breaks down after he realizes how miserable of a human he is and the girl comforts him in a motherly fashion. They end their fun at the amusement park and as they are parting ways the girls father shows up...it's Koshiro's father.

    Koshiro's parents divorced when he was younger, he stayed with his father, his baby sister went with his mother. Koshiro neglected to visit his sister or mother in the twelve years they have lived apart and had all but forgotten about her existence. Nanoka, who uses their mothers last name Kohinata, has decided to move in with Koshiro and their father so she doesn't have a long commute to school and was happy to finally be with her brother and father after all these years.  Koshiro's initial feelings of sexual attraction to his younger sister causes him a great deal of mental turmoil.  In order to fight off his feelings for her, he turns offensive and crass when dealing with her. He yells and scolds her all the time in a futile attempt to drive her away from him. As the series continues Nanoka begins to fall in love with her brother, regardless of his attitude, causing him even more emotional strain.  

 

    Before I go any further I should probably tell you that this series is not some twisted hentai. It is a tasteful (as possible for the context) well-written and engaging drama. The entire atmosphere of the series is very soothing and dreamlike, with moody backgrounds and softly tinkling piano music. It is well done and quite mature, yet disturbing in subject matter. THE REST OF THIS REVIEW FOR THE MOST PART CONTAINS SPOILERs, SO BEWARE!!!

    I was under the impression that it was going to be about Koshiro fighting his demons, not attempting to succumb to them. The series stays at that level until episode 12, were it all crashes in and passes the point of no return...the point of no salvation...Koshiro even states that himself near the end of the episode. I think going the way it did is a brave, yet disturbing, move on the creator's part. A series like this would not be readily accepted in the United Sates, let alone played on a major TV network (it aired on TV Asahi). I was rather surprised to see that it was released on DVD in 2005 in the States. In the end they succumb to their primal urges and the need for another humans touch and do what siblings should never do...yet it ends with an open ending. 

 

    The last segment does not clear up whether they decided to continue their relationship, end their relationship or end seeing each other all together and forget all that transpired. *Scratching head* Anyways, the series, regardless of the subject matter, was well done and enjoyed (minus the subject matter). The entire time I was watching in horror as Koshiro slipped closer and closer. I was begging him to come to his senses, hoping for a normal non-damaging ending. Not to say that the series mentally scarred me, I would like to think I'm mature enough to handle such taboo subject matters without questioning the fate of the world. I was just hoping that the characters wouldn't be as flawed as they turned out to be. I was hoping for what I lambaste, predictability and normalcy. For a large part of the show I was on the edge of my seat wondering when he was going to end his downward spiral on the end of a rope. After they consummated their mutual feelings I was on the edge wondering how large the fall out was going to be. The series is quite sweet and very moody, so if you are one who is not afraid of an off-kilter subject and enjoys well done romance/dramas check this one out...just make sure you can accept the fact that you are watching a series about incest without feeling like bathing in holy water and acting like your watching a hentai flick.

 

The series was released on DVD in North America.