Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss follows Yukari Hayasaka’s tumultuous life of balancing high school and cram school in order to get into a good college to please her overbearing mother. The young Japanese girl has little happiness beyond a stolen moment captured by her camera on a field trip with fellow classmate Hiroyuki Tokumori. However, everything in life can and will change in an instant when a few students from the Yazawa School of Design happen to notice this troubled girl rushing through a busy crowd on the street. Featuring character designs by Yuki Nobuteru (The Vision of Escaflowne, Heat Guy J) and popular J-drama actress Yu Yamada in her first seiyuu role, Paradise Kiss: Volume 1 takes us into the world of Japanese fashion design and how to cut your own path in life. (more…)