Maria Grigera

ASN3993 & ASN5932

June 13th, 2021

Drama Analysis

Both dramas have many things in common, the biggest one would be that they both are an

adaptation of the manga named “Itazura na Kiss” by Tada Kaoru, which later on became an

anime. Both dramas follow the same timeline, series of events, and characters, but in a way, they

can adapt it to their own culture, that is why the names of the characters are different in Korea,

Itazura na Kiss is Japanese so Mischievous Kiss did not have to do many changes to achieve that

because it is the same culture, but for Playful kiss, since it is Korean, they had to make

adjustments to have the audience relate more profoundly.

In Mischievous kiss, Kotoko’s father owns a sushi restaurant and he is the chef in it, that it’s

because it is relatable to Japanese culture and that’s how the manga/ anime has it, while in

Playful kiss as we watched in episode one Oh Ha-ni’s (Kotoko) father owns a ramen place, it

makes more sense that he would run that style of the restaurant since it is more traditional to the

Korean culture. What makes the anime stand out is that it is one of the only ones that show the

life of the couple from the beginning and later develops into marriage, children, and even a

professional path, which is something that we do not see a lot in anime. Asian culture, in general,

is conservative, they do not show affection in public if possible and they do not like to share

about their relationships if it can be avoided, in the dramas we see how Irie and Bong Joon-gu

show dislike at all times when Kotoko and Oh Ha-ni show their love in public or when they

make them feel like they have no other choice but to express their feelings. It is normal in both
cultures to feel uncomfortable with such interactions but at the same time, they seem to enjoy

romantic dramas that can overcome this dilemma.

Korean culture seems to be a little bit more outgoing compared to the Japanese one, as we

learned in this class with K-pop and J-pop idols, Korea shapes their idols to be sexy and daring

while in Japan they prefer to maintain the innocent image. Mischievous kiss main character

Kotoko appears to be more naive, in Episode 12 when Irie and herself are having a serious

conversation about their feelings, she never stops playing the innocent role, not even when he

mentions sleeping together, at all times she seems to be almost like a child, while in Playful Kiss

Oh Ha-ni’s character is more adolescent like, her expressions and actions seem to be of a

teenager in love which grows to become a woman in love. When comparing both dramas to the

famous “kiss under the rain” scene Kotoko and Irie express their feelings in a more passionate

way which appears to be a little contradictory to what they usually act like. In playful kiss, it

appears to be less dramatic since the characters show more emotions throughout the episodes.

The genre of the dramas is Romantic comedy, so at all times we are watching how the main

characters go through series of funny misunderstandings, dramatic arguments, touchy feeling

scenes, and character development, both dramas show how Kotoko and Oh Ha-ni fight for their

love, a message of perseverance which makes it relatable to the female audience, in a way it is

expressing that it is ok to stick up to their feelings no matter what because it will be worth it long

term.

The dramas are unique because they are very unique to their own culture, Playful kiss was able

to get fully converted to the Korean style, it has all the characteristics of a Rom-com Korean

style, handsome lead, smarter than anybody else, mother figure, funny and clumsy partner, a

place to gather and eat delicious food. Mischievous Kiss in the other hand, as I mentioned
before, for being a manga/anime adaptation, it is rare to find a drama that would show such

character development coming from a couple that shares romantic feelings, overall, the dramas

do a great job portraying what Asia is, they can show the western culture how a couple behaves

from a young age to an adult one, and they can do so in a fun way which makes it more

entertaining and interesting to the foreign cultures.

Sources:

Tada, K. (2019, December 23). Mischievous kiss：love in Tokyo - Episode 1(ENGLISH Subs)/
惡作劇之吻～Love in Tokyo - 第 1 集(繁體中文字幕). Retrieved June 14, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z7WEqh3uWM

Tada, K. (2013). Mischievous Kiss -Episode 12. Retrieved 2021, from

https://www.crunchyroll.com/mischievous-kiss-love-in-tokyo/episode-12-toward-
everyones-own-dream-648949

Tada, K. (2012, October 24). Playful kiss - Playful Kiss: Full Episode 12 (Official & HD with
subtitles). Retrieved June 14, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=OA2qNUzj4l8