Itazura Na Kiss Vol. 04

Itazura Na Kiss Vol. 04

Kotoko-san, will you go out with me?” says cute freshman, Taketo-kun. He liked her since high school and since Kotoko and Irie-kun aren’t exactly an “item”, he thought he might have a shot at becoming Kokoto’s boyfriend. Unlike Irie-kun, Taketo-kun is kind, generous, and sweet to girls; and Kotoko decides to go out on a date with him.

Will Kotoko have a change of heart? Irie-kun’s father’s business is in a big financial trouble, and reluctantly agrees to help him for awhile and, of course, Kotoko would do anything to be able to spend every day with him, so she applies as a part-time office assistant. But, ditsy Kotoko realizes that office work isn’t as easy as it looks — she’s creating more work for everyone there!

Biographical Notes:

Tada made her debut in 1977, when still a high-school student, on Shueisha’s “Deluxe Margaret” magazine. Tada’s stories belong to the shoujo genre of manga and feature love stories centered around young female characters and their love interests. The storylines include comedic moments and are characterised by essential and sharp drawings. Some of Tada’s most popular works are Aishite Knight, Itazura na Kiss and Kimi no Na wa Deborah.

Itazura na Kiss (Mischievous Kiss) – begun in 1991 and never completed – was by far Tada’s most successful work in Japan. It tells the love story between Kotoko and Naoki from high school until after their marriage. The series inspired also an illustrated art book “Itazura na Kiss Illustration Shuu” and two novels written by Nori Harata and published in Shueisha’s “Cobalt” series.

In 1996 a live action Japanese TV series based on Itazura na Kiss was also produced, starring Aiko Satoo as Kotoko and Takashi Kashiwabara as Naoki. In 2005, the series was adapted into a Taiwanese drama under the name of It Started With a Kiss. Kaoru Tada died on 11 March, 1999, aged only 38, following a domestic accident which occurred while she was moving to a new house with her husband and son.

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