Once in a while, the regular magazine on the shelves will have this special SEALED issue and that never fails to pique my curiousity on what's featured for the month. Matthew's commentaries on Koi Kaze ep 11 had the same impact on me. It was the special edition; the engimatic, secret entry of Koi Kaze. I took Matthew's advice and restrained myself from reading it. Instead, I went to marathon the Koi Kaze eps in my possession in order to get to the episode in question.

And it was a REALLY intense experience. Serious sis-con stuff, definitely not recommended to those adverse to incestuous love.

While I enjoyed Onegai Twins and Da Capo, (both having sis-con elements), Koi Kaze disturbs me. Oh that doesn't mean it's not good, it was disturbingly good. The disturbing part is of course the incestuous theme while the good lies in its in-depth and realistic character development. Koshiro's (bro) struggles are a poignant reflection of the underlying anger he has for himself and we see how this self-anger/denial spills over to Nanoka (sis). This probably stems from his frustration in his inability to cope with the forbidden feelings he has for her. While OT and DC tried to dilute this taboo theme by 1) declaring Jyunchi/Nemu to be unrelated by blood but only siblings in name (D.C Da Capo) and 2) giving leeway to say that they might be siblings OR unrelated (Onegai Twins), Koi Kaze makes no such attempts. As far as I know in ep 9, they are REAL siblings. Well, granted, they have not met each other for years and never did had prior contact but this doesn't make their relationship any more acceptable. Another reason I found the sis-con elements easier to stomach for OT/DC is that the 'siblings' involved are teens. Of course, teenage, as was we know it, is a formulative stage where children start to grapple with their new found sexuality and embark on personal journeys to physical/mental/emotional maturity. Thus, I guess I gave Jyunichi/Nemu/Maiku/Karen/Miina more space for mistakes/growth. Nanoka (15) is also given the benefit of the doubt, after all, she's emotionally young and may easily mistake sibling love for something else. But Koshiro (27) has no excuse and I personally found his behaviour repugnant. (To lust after your own sister because 'she's kawaii'.... he had better not have a 'kawaii' daughter next time then.)

Unfortunately, I don't have ep 10 and 11 of Koi Kaze. So I can't read Matthew's tokobetsu, sealed entry after all. But I get the feeling social boundaries and mores will be challenged. Looking forward to more Koi Kaze drama.