Itazura na Kiss

When her newly-built home is razed to the ground by an earthquake, low-achieving, clumsy, and troublesome third-year high school student Kotoko Aihara is forced to share a roof with the school's—and possibly Japan's—smartest student, Naoki Irie. Kotoko is not actually a complete stranger to Irie-kun; unfortunately, a single love letter that she tried to give him in the past has already sealed her fate as far as he is concerned. Throw in some quirky friends and a meddlesome mother, and Kotoko might not even have a snowball's chance in hell of winning the older Irie boy's heart. Yet Kotoko remains optimistic that, because she now lives in his house, her unattainable crush on the genius since the beginning of high school has never been more within reach.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Aihara, Kotoko Main

Mizuki, Nana Japanese

Irie, Naoki Main

Hirakawa, Daisuke Japanese

Irie, Noriko Supporting

Matsui, Naoko Japanese

Irie, Yuuki Supporting

Park, Romi Japanese

Ikezawa, Kinnosuke Supporting

Sakaguchi, Shuuhei Japanese

Irie, Kotomi Supporting

Kaneda, Tomoko Japanese

Robbins, Christine Supporting

Gotou, Yuuko Japanese

Kamogari, Keita Supporting

Canna, Nobutoshi Japanese

Shinagawa, Marina Supporting

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Matsumoto, Yuuko Supporting

Masuda, Yuki Japanese

Yamasaki, Osamu Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director

Nagasaki, Yukio Sound Director

Kanasaki, Takaomi Episode Director, Storyboard

Tsuda, Naokatsu Episode Director

Reviews

Jan 7, 2025

Beagle313

Recommended

[Spoiler-less review] Having watched a fair share on different romance anime I yearned for something more, something else. Never in a milion years would I expect an anime almost my age to fullfill my needs.
Why should you watch it: It is very different. It shows a love story from start to a kindof finish. It doesn't end in a first kiss, it goes after the happily ever after most shows end on. In a span of 25 (or rather 24 + 1 bonus story) episodes we get sweetest romance blended with slice-of-life and comedy, which slaps even after a decade and some. It should be ... on every romance lover's list, because it's unique, well-made, and just fun to watch.
A quick quality rundown:
Characters 9/10: Ah, the good 'ol smart guy - airhead girl dynamic. But this time? It actually makes sense. The characters have their own flaws: Kotoko is dumb an clumsy, Naoki is cold-hearted at times etc. But they have a counterbalance of relationships and virtues to make up for them, making them much more believable and the storytelling that much better. The supporting cast serve as more than tools, with their own sub-plots and lives (like Kinnosuke, you'll love him after some time) that again, make the story better. One thing that keeps them from getting a perfect 10/10 is that Kotoko's friends were a bit bland compared to the rest.
Art 9/10: It's an old anime. So it has an old artstyle. I know, shocking. But it still looks great despite the years. One thing I have to say sbout the style is the fact the characters have more than wardrobe. It helps with consistency, but kills uniqueness. That's were ItaKiss excells. Overall, very good with some outstanding moments.
Story 10/10: Hooo boy, where do I begin! It's an example that shoujo should learn from. It get's points just for showing more than the first kiss, but their whole young lives. From work, through meetings with friends, cheering, crying, to just living their lives, we see it all. One thing it lacks is the silce-of-life tag on MAL. It really goes far and beyond the romance genre to give us a good experience.
Enjoyablity 9/10 (subjective): I watched the show in three days, so yeah, it was easy to binge. It reignited my love for romance and older anime. I really don't know what kept me from watching this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 3, 2026

atbrightstories

Mixed Feelings

It would actually be a good anime if we didn't constantly see the male characters slapping the women they "love."
In some ways it's funny, in others it's annoying. Both characters are quite strange, so I think they're a good match. I've watched the anime and two different TV series based on it; it's become a story I watch out of habit, but it always feels that way. Naoki in the anime might be the best of them all, though. At least he told Kotoko "I love you" a few times. The others just say "I know." I'm quite curious about what the manga is like. ... Maybe I'll read it someday.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 14, 2026

salonime

Not Recommended

I wanted to write this review because I did not see enough reviews criticising this show. The fans seem either absolutely blind to the content portrayed, lack critical thinking skills or are from the Victorian era. Honestly, even women in the Victorian era had better expectations from their husbands.

Romance: There is absolutely NOTHING ROMANTIC about this anime unless you consider constant verbal abuse and zero chemistry to be "romance". I would rather let my kids watch hentai and take away values about love from that than Itazura na Kiss. I saw many positive reviews and it is considered to be one of those classic romance ... anime that you are supposed to watch. Nonetheless, I got this absolutely horrible psychological horror disguised as romance. At this point I am beginning to wonder if the untimely death of the mangaka was a good thing and spared us all.

Comedy: I did not find anything funny in this show. I have watched amazing comedies, from Saiki K to Nichijou so giving this pos anime a comedy tag is straight up blasphemy.

Art style: I had to wash my eyes with soap.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Itazura na Kiss Episode 19 Discussion ( 1 2 ) MagicalEmi - Aug 16, 2008	81 replies	by Zedynoz »» Jan 25, 5:02 PM
	Poll: Itazura na Kiss Episode 18 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Kokujin-kun - Aug 10, 2008	88 replies	by Zedynoz »» Jan 25, 4:37 PM
	Poll: Itazura na Kiss Episode 14 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) zvuc - Jul 10, 2008	157 replies	by Zedynoz »» Jan 24, 6:35 PM
	Poll: Itazura na Kiss Episode 25 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Kokujin-kun - Sep 25, 2008	100 replies	by Masamune-Shoyo »» Dec 21, 2025 1:34 AM
	Poll: Itazura na Kiss Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Jei_Ken - Sep 19, 2008	155 replies	by zoeeeee999 »» Nov 25, 2025 9:20 AM

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