Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo is a 2013 Fuji TV Japanese TV drama. It fights with Hana Yori Dango for the number one spot for dramas in my heart. I love them both and have probably seen Mischievous Kiss 8 or more times (I lost track). In a dram like this, become so invested in these characters, it’s sad.
Genre: comedy, drama, romance (but not too much)
Episodes: 16
Summary
Mischievous Kiss is the story of Kotoko Aihara who decides to confess her feeling to Naoki Irie via letter. Upon confession, he rejects her causing her to be the talk of the school. On the same day, she moves into her newly build home, but after an earthquake the home is destroyed. An old friend of her dad offers his home for their stay, but it turns out to be the home of Naoki.
Review
I don’t want to be redundant, but I do love this drama. Japanese dramas are hard to come by for some odd reason. This is one of my favorites. The drama cliches aren’t too big and the romance isn’t too heavy (which I hate sometimes even though I love romantic comedies). Even though Naoki’s dad owns his own business and was “rich,” he lived in a modest home (I liked that). Even though Kotoko and her dad were homeless, they didn’t make it about that. What I mean to say is that it wasn’t a rich man/poor woman story even though the circumstances were made for it (I liked that).
Story
This story has been remade several times (Playful Kiss, It Started with a Kiss, Kiss Me, Miss in Kiss) for a good reason. It is an excellent story that resonates with a lot of people. This version is character-strong with even the most annoying characters turn out to be likable in their own ways. The adaptation from the manga was well-done. They also kept the story short, sweet and to the point (which is my favorite thing about Japanese dramas).
Characters
Remember how I said Mischievous Kiss is character-strong? It is. I love them all. Kotoko (Honoko Miki) is the female lead. She is often impulsive, but gets a lot of respect from me for being tenacious and for having the ability to focus on a single goal (Naoki). Naoki (Yuki Furukawa), the male lead, is seemingly cold, but if you pay close attention he is only like that with Kotoko. He doesn’t know how to react or handle her. It’s obvious for viewers, but when you look at it from Kotoko’s point of view it’s very discouraging for her.
Kin-chan (Yuki Yamada) is Kotoko’s male counterpart. Just like Kotoko, he has the same genki spirit and tenacity. Despite being annoying, he is also very mature (and responsible). He has a big-heart and he deserves all the good that comes to him in the second season. I suffered extreme second-lead syndrome with him. Not because I wanted him to be with Kotoko (she and Naoki are a perfect match), but because he’s a character you end up caring a lot about and want to have a happy ending.
A few other characters include Jinko (Nanami Fujimoto) and Satomi (Kasumi Yamaya), which are Kotoko’s best friends. I love Satomi’s clothing style btw and Jinko, like me, is occasionally too outspoken.
Then there’s Naoki’s mom, Noriko Irie (Tomomi Nishimura). This woman has way too much time on her hands. She is completely invested in her son’s romantic endeavors. She drives Naoki away while he attempts to let her know he’s in charge of his own destiny.
There are a few more characters, but one that I want to mention is Kotoko’s dad, Shigeru Aihara (Yoji Tanaka). The relationship between him and Kotoko seems very authentic. His concern and his care feels real. I think in a few of the other adaptation you don’t get the same feeling.
Also I feel I need to mention Mr. Sudo (Masaki Kaji). He is my husband’s favorite. He seems like a character straight from the manga.
Production
I hate talking about production when it comes to Japanese dramas. To me, it seems the Japanese are very story driven and don’t care too much about the production, which you will see in this drama as well (but it gets better in the second season). While the Koreans will make a huge effort in creating beautiful scenes, the Japanese tend to make up for it in interesting, fun, and relatable characters.
So I’m going to be honest, production sucked. The lighting was terrible and sometimes the camera angles were a bit…creative. You will find overacting. It was over the top, but I love it. In fact, I love overacting when given the right circumstance.
Music
Another characteristic of Japanese dramas is not having an amazing OST. I’m okay with it since I mostly watch dramas for story and characters. But at the same time, music can enhance the mood of a drama. I do like the opening music. It’s very catchy especially when you’ve listened to it several times.
There are also some instrumental tracks that do enhance scenes; but if you were to ask me about them, I think I could only hum one or two of them.
Favorite Scenes
You know I have favorite scenes, but with this drama I even have favorite episodes–that’s how good it is.
I’m that sad person that compared the same scenes from all the other adaptations (skipped back and forth between each). This one has the most scenes that I like the most. There are some scenes in It Started with a Kiss that I like better. The Umbrella scene has the same feeling in Mischievous Kiss as it does with It Started with a Kiss. But I also like the umbrella scene in Kiss Me because 1. it shocked me. I wasn’t expecting it after seeing the many adaptation 2. it’s basically women empowerment. I liked that. So here are the scenes that I like:
Quotes
“Set a thief to know a thief.”-Yuki
“College education won’t determine your worth.”-Kotoko
“To get to your destination there are different paths to take. Even if it looks like a detour. You may find something important along the way.”-Naoki
Afterthoughts/ Recommendations
My favorite thing about this romance is you don’t get that we like each other immediately fast whirlwind type of love. You don’t even get that I hate you, but have fallen in love with you type of love. With this drama you get that I don’t even realize that I feel this way about you type of love. Which is refreshing in my opinion.
Some recommendations:
Adaptations: It Started with a Kiss, Playful Kiss, Kiss Me, Miss in Kiss
Living together: Full House (Korean and Thai), Personal Taste, Hotaru no Hikari
Drama to Life
Culture
Travel
Hambagu (I made this for Good Morning Call 2)
Handsewn amulet
Apron
Valentine’s Chocolate (I made these for Good Morning Call)
Yakisoba
Kotoko-Naoki-Sudo-Matsumoto date
Hair/outfits
Study schedule
Bistec en Bourgeouise
Pork Cutlet Sandwich Recipe
School in Japan
Hello, Nice to see your blog.
And also, i love Mischievous Kiss Love in Tokyo.
Btw. Do yo know what university was the location for this drama? There’s no Tonan University in real life, isn’t?
Thank you.