Koi Kaze
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Template:Infobox animanga/Header Template:Infobox animanga/Anime Template:Infobox animanga/Footer Koi Kaze (恋風 Literally "love wind" or "love fever" in this context. A Japanese term for being bound by one's love for another. Koi (love) + kaze (fever). Also romanized as Koikaze) is a five-volume Japanese manga that was adapted as a 13-episode anime television series. It tells of a love affair between a 27-year-old brother and his 15-year-old sister. The manga, authored by Motoi Yoshida, was serialized in Kodansha's The Evening. The anime went into production before the manga was completed, and as a result the endings are quite notably different. This is one of the first mainstream anime series about incest — here, a romantic relationship between siblings — to be widely marketed in the U.S. Koi Kaze was first broadcast on TV Asahi in 2004; however, the station did not air the eighth episode, "Dew Frost," because it dealt with the topic of divorce, which remains taboo in Japanese society. The episode was streamed on the official Geneon website and was included in the DVD release. Koi Kaze was released on DVD in North America by Geneon in 2005.
The focus of this anime relates to the issue of genetic sexual attraction, a condition where two people who are related but have been apart may find themselves attracted to each other more than to complete strangers.
The story
Born twelve years apart, siblings Koshiro and Nanoka were separated when their parents divorced and moved to different parts of Japan; as a result, they both grew up hardly aware of the other's existence. The story begins when 15-year-old Nanoka moves to Tokyo to live with her father and brother, the latter being 27 years old and employed by a marriage-arranging company. Koshiro first encounters Nanoka by returning her dropped train pass. Despite their age difference, they feel a brief spark of connection before they go their separate ways. Soon after that, they encounter each other once again near an amusement park, where they go on an impromptu date. While riding the Ferris wheel, the two open their hearts to each other and discuss their recent romantic woes. Nanoka comforts Koshiro when he breaks down and cries, and he realizes that he is very attracted to her. Right after the date, they meet their father, and are startled to realize they are siblings. Koi Kaze is about Koshiro's love for Nanoka, his conflicting drive to obey societal norms, and Nanoka's growth into womanhood and her growing feelings for her brother.
Koi Kaze is a 3-DVD, 13-episode series. The first DVD, "The Reunion", deals with the two siblings learning to live with each other, Koshiro trying to suppress his attraction to his sister, and Nanoka awakening as a young woman while developing an attachment to her brother. The story is continued in "Budding Attraction", where the two come to realise their true feelings for each other. The final DVD, "The Decision", concludes the story as Koshiro chooses to move out and sever his ties with his family, until his sister finds and confronts him.
Characters
- Koshiro Saeki (佐伯 耕四郎) - 27-year-old Koshiro is a great bear of a man with a rarely-shaven beard, who works for a marriage-arranging company. Though he initially comes off as an insular, gruff man verging on unintentional boorishness, it is more accurate to say that he is someone who feels subtle and powerful emotions, but lacks the eloquence to express them. His natural protectiveness of Nanoka wars with his strong attraction to her and his sexual frustration since his breakup, and he is often brusque with her as a result.
- Nanoka Kohinata (小日向 七夏) - 15-year-old Nanoka is in her first year of high school. She is a bright and active girl, largely typical of her age group. She is attached to her newly-rediscovered older brother, and is easily annoyed with his brusqueness. It is unclear whether she is aware of his attraction, but her own seems to be growing. Her friends periodically tease her about having a "brother complex", which has more truth than she's willing to admit to anyone besides herself.
- Zenzo Saeki (佐伯善三) - Koshiro and Nanoka's father, who was divorced by Makie after having an affair. A man in late middle age, he is prone to bouts of hysterical worry, and is somewhat clueless. Still, he cares for his children (although he clearly favors Nanoka), and does his best to make Nanoka feel at home in her new surroundings. Later episodes reveal that he is an architect.
- Shoko Akimoto - Koshiro's ex-girlfriend, Shoko is an office lady who hates her job. She broke things off with Koshiro just prior to the series' start, claiming that she had fallen for someone else. In the first episode, Shoko asks Koshiro a question that will haunt him throughout the series: has he ever loved someone from the bottom of his heart? She appears again in episode 4, and the evening she and Koshiro spend together raises even more questions about how she regards him.
- Kaname Chidori (千鳥 要) - Koshiro's supervisor at the marriage-arranging company, Kaname is about the same age as he. While often critical of him for his daydreaming or sloppy appearance, she regards him as an elder sister does a younger brother, and encourages him where she can. She is among the first to note the strange tension between Koshiro and Nanoka.
- Kei Odagiri (小田切 圭) - One of Koshiro's coworkers, the nerdy Kei is a complete lolicon pervert, constantly trying to meet high school-age girls. After he finds out about Nanoka, he is constantly after Koshiro to set the two of them up.
- Futaba Anzai and Ouko Tamaki - Nanoka's friends from school. Futaba, the bespectacled and pigtailed one, is frenetic and a rumormonger, but not unthoughtful, and is the closer of the two to Nanoka. Tamaki, the cooler and more worldly of the two, tends to serve as a counterpoint to Futaba.
- Makie Kohinata - Koshiro and Nanoka's mother, and Zenzo's ex-wife. Living in a town an hour away by train, Makie runs a hair salon. She is a direct, motherly woman who thinks little of her former spouse. Like him, she favors Nanoka slightly over Koshiro.
- Kazuya Miyauchi - A popular and attractive boy in Nanoka's class. He's initially introduced as a possible rival for her affections, but in the manga he has a forbidden love of his own and is infatuated with the school librarian. Unlike Futaba or Tamaki, Miyauchi does not tease Nanoka about her "brother complex" and tells her not to take their joking to heart.
