Itazura na Kiss

Itazura na Kiss has a very interesting premise where the story does not end once the main couple gets together, but continues throughout their lives together for a decade or so. Unfortunately, the idea of a good story ends there. The execution and the characters are terrible.

First of all, Kotoko and Irie are completely mismatched. She is a klutzy idiot, he is a stoic and cold genius completely devoid of all emotion. Kotoko reminded me too much of the Sailor Moon character and it made me dislike her even more. After they finish college and begin working, Irie becomes even less likable in his treatment of Kotoko. The writers try to excuse his behavior by him always being perfect in the past, which prevented him from feeling jealousy. Um, despite his personality, isn't he human too? But nevertheless, no matter how badly he treats her, she still forgives him and at the end they live happily ever after.

The little incidents during their married life, starting with their honey moon where a random woman tried to break them apart, do not fit into the story at all. They are episodic and have no impact on any of the major characters. None of them learn from those experiences and they continue behaving like nothing happened.

Overall, I found the series superficial, boring, and too cliche. There is no natural romance here, just a couple of mismatched characters who were forced to fall in love because the writers decided so.