Mischievous Kiss: A Comparative Review of Versions

The Japanese series is known in English as “Mischievous Kiss – love in Tokyo.” It is a second adaptation of the manga and anime “Itazura na Kiss”. Across Asia, there are many adaptations. In Taiwan, “It started with a kiss” and “They kiss again” were released in 2005. In South Korea, “Playful Kiss” came out in 2010. Thailand released “Kiss me” in 2015. Taiwan presented a new version, “miss in Kiss,” in 2016.

However, the First adaptation was Itazura na Kiss, 1996, Japan. Its other title in English: Naughty Kiss / Teasing Kiss

The creator of the story was Kaoru Tada(多田かおる). She was still part of the staff for the 1996 adaptation. This was before her death in 1999.

 The Original Plot goes like: As Kotoko ran to a meeting, she bumped into Naoki and their lips met. Naoki showed his disgust and Kotoko started to idolize him because he was good at everything. When Kotoko’s house burned down, her father’s good friend Machiko invited them to move in with her family. It was then that Kotoko realized Naoki was the elder son of Machiko. Machiko took up the role of a fairy-godmother to bring the two together. Gradually, the icy-cold Naoki who disliked girls started to feel for Kotoko.

As far as I noticed, only the 1996 adaptation starts with a Kiss. The other adaptations that came after start with the Love letter. The most recent Japanese version “Mischievous kiss love in Tokyo 1” (2013) follows the same path. Its starts with Kotoko trying her love letter declaration. So, in honesty the name should change to “started with a letter”. This fact creates a gap that doesn’t answer “how did Kotoko fell in love?”. No, it wasn’t with the Irie’s ceremony speech. It was the accidental first kiss that happened moments before the ceremony started. Another difference is in the last part of the drama adaptation from 1996 and the original story. Kotoko moving to college abroad to study nursing doesn’t happen in this 2013 version.

Of course, the story and character follow him can be seen as Cringe behavior. But are you any different when you meet your first love? The first love can be cringe from an outside perspective. It really depends on who sees the behavior. The first love is pure and innocent. It never encounters rejection and deception. This purity is one reason why, in Japan, people under 19 years old die from “broken heart”. No, I don’t mean heart attack, I mean reason for their suicide. In the 2020, around 150 people under 29 years old committed suicide by broken heart.

So, in every version, Kotoko gets rejected by Naoki on the attempt of delivering the letter. However, between Japanese versions, the 1996 version shows Kotoko studying in another prefecture. In the 2013 version, Kotoko and her father move to a different house. They did this because they felt guilty about Naoki missing the Tokyo University Entrance Exam.

There are few main points I would like to mention about all adaptation’s versions:

• Japanese are not known to be disrespectful against rescue, or firefighters, forces. At least in one or two of the versions, there is a character who seems to disrespect society norms. This character invades an unsafe place against the authorities’ orders. The Japanese hazards events such as earthquake and tsunamis, you don’t risk your life for a photo. In my perspective, if you didn’t remember at the time the world crash, what’s the point of going back. If I was on that situation, I would grab my cat.
• The whole concept between Class A and Class F. This concept is demonstrated by the highest-scoring students in A and B. These students can also include people interested in the science and math departments. The other classes have lower scores in the exams. They have people with a wish or interest in English learning and Arts. So, we can easily say the representation in all animes, mangas and dramas are a little exaggerated. Because the degree of the preference to separate the highest score from the lowest also depends on the school policies.
• English knowledge. Japan is known for not having a high level of English speaker skill. What you can say or write in Katakana way will have more success than the real English speaker talking. Nonetheless, due to the Tokyo Olympics that scenario changed a little as the borders open slowly, the returnees, also known as the people returning to Japan at this moment, find Japanese Speaking English and guide people in the airport for the next flight, which is on another terminal and outside the typical Bag Tag system (airlines inside Oneworld alliance, like JAL, share Bag Tag system which lets you catch the next flight without having to check and recheck. Airlines inside the Staralliance, like ANA, share the same bag system. In a normal day, alliances don’t share bag systems).
• Another thing not really in tuned with all versions. It’s how creative people are destroying Kotoko’s house. We have fire. There’s a little earthquake with 1 or 2 intensity. There are stones falling from the sky. The floors shake due to the car passing by. I am surprised they still haven’t come up with something more extreme like a sinkhole and godzilla appears. ( I am joking but you know what I mean)

Finally, if you still question yourself about how good the Jdrama is on Viki, here’s a fact. Viki is part of the Japanese Platform Rakuten. 44 434 viewers rated the drama. The total result is a 9.3 score out of 10.

Emotional Ranking:

• 💕 Romance: 💕💕💕💕 (4/5) – A slow burn love story with ups and downs.
• 👻 Creepy factor: 👻 (1/5) – Some cringe moments, but more innocent than eerie.
• 🔥 Action: 🔥 (1/5) – Minimal action, but plenty of emotional clashes.
• 😭 Drama (Emotional impact): 😭😭😭 (3/5) – Heartbreaks, rejections, and personal growth.
• 🌸 Popularity: 🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸 (5/5) – Beloved across Asia, with adaptations in five countries.

🎶 OST & Popularity

The Japanese adaptations did not produce global hit songs, but the franchise itself gained worldwide fame. Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo remains a streaming favorite on Viki, where over 44,000 viewers rated it 9.3/10—proof of its enduring appeal.