Koi Kaze or Love Wind is a manga illustrated and written by Motoi Yoshida one of my favorite mangaka she is known for stories on often complex and messy romantic relationships. Koi Kaze while not my favorite work of hers is the one she is known for and is her only manga to have an anime adaptation. Koi Kaze is not only the work she is most infamous for it is also her most controversial. The story centers on 28 year old Kashiro and 14 year old Nanoka two siblings separated by their parents divorce getting the opportunity to live together. There relationship starts as simple familial love and blossoms into mutual romantic attraction between the two causing conflict and emotions to run high between them and some of their familiars. Koi Kaze takes a different approach from similar media that deals with incest like Oreimo kissxsis and Eromanga Sensei by offering a deeper and more negative view of a incestuous relationships. In those mentioned manga their are often many ecchi and comedy moments added to its story Yoshida opts to leave that making it bare bones focusing more on the characters romantic emotions and conflict throughout the story. The lack of the mentioned elements leads this story to feel a lot more grim and melancholy than any of its counterparts and there is a feeling throughout the story even during the happier parts of the question of will this work? Doing a somewhat realistic and negative portrayal of not only an incestuous relationship but one with a large age gap can lead to the pitfalls of a story being boring or too preachy. There is no really funny moments that make Oreimo such a joy to watch or anything ecchi enough to get you excited like kissxsis but Yoshida counters that with realness and good character writing. Realness not in the sense of their incestuous feelings but in the general feelings of romance. Although the characters in the story are facing a far more serious conflict the feelings of uncertainty connection and joyful moments together are the same as any relationship one may have. They deal with insecureness in how they appear physcially and mentally you can feel the budding romance even if it feels wrong and you most importantly you get a sense of characters trying to grasp who they are as a person. This all sounds sweet but the main things happening in the story are conflict. Nanoka realizing her feelings for her brother and being ashamed for who she is Kashiro isolating himself so he doesnt respond to her feelings Chidori confronting Kashiro and Nanoka about their intentions. Their are numerous examples and warnings throughout the story that this relationship is not really healthy or all there. The path of to their romance is rocky and their is tension at various points on getting caught. This is what I like about Yoshidas writing making their romance and their lives like a house of cards feeling like it can topple at any moment. She usually likes to end her chapters on a revelation or a question making the reader wonder what is going to happen next and that thought is usually anything but good. If I could critique anything in the story is that their relationship feels stronger than it should have and I would have liked more showing them strengthen it. They both have this strong resolve that they like each other but the events of the book dont show that as evident as I would like. The age gap between the two is also very weird and is much more problematic than the incestuous relationship yet the conflict in the book focuses mainly on the taboo of incest. I do like the choice to not reveal the relationship to the parents as I felt it would have been much more of a challenge and not as entertaining if they wrote it in. The main two characters are Kashiro and Nanoka who both go through major character development of themselves in this manga. Nanoka feels like a very accurate portrayal of a 14 year old for the most part. She feels childish at times and puts up a responsible facade in others. She seems more sure of her feelings than Kashiro which kind of bugs me little I feel the foundation for why she is attracted to Kashiro and goes through various actions feels shallower than it should be. Kashiro is the more complex character of the two and one I feel conflicted about. Kashiro should be hated as a character right? I mean he has feelings not only towards his sister but his sister 14 years younger than him he should be regarded as a immoral character. Yoshida writing really shines through his character the most he feels so restrained so lost and so tired I personally more sympathetic for the character instead of angry. That is not to say he is right though the actions he takes are morally disgusting after all. Without Yoshida writing him so immature and holding back he would be thought of a revolting character. The art here is pretty average and is not as quality as her newer works like Kannou Sensei you can tell this is one of her first manga. Her usual drawing style is ever present with a rough appearance and the use of cross hatching to add detail which contributes to this. The panels and layout here are well designed and feels effective. The character design is basic but her expressions are one of her strong points they show plenty of emotion. Some of my favorite panels in this manga are the ones that display Nanoka beauty they have a shine to them and are usually more clean than the other panels. The ending of this manga gives a lot of debate of what happens and peoples perception of the relationship. The ending is set at the amusement park they first met at this point they have both decided to give in to their feelings and start dating. The amusement park is closing down and Nanoka replies I thought this place would be forever maybe foreshadowing that their relationship might not last long and there is an end. Nevertheless they both reaffirm each other by stating their feelings and Nanoka takes a previous statement Kashiro said as a proposal. The mangas last couple of panels are really joyous and there is a feeling that the relationship will last as the last panel shows Nanoka giving a big smile. The manga shows this relationship as unhealthy and having a lot of conflict a lot of the time but at the end seems to state love is above anything else. I think the conflict in this ending is mostly due to if people think Yoshida did a good enough job of making are characters likeable and being happy for their relationship. For me I can see why many people dislike Kashiro and feel that he is hurting Nanoka by continuing their relationship. If Yoshida didnt write him with likeable characteristics his actions would be unforgivable fortunately I think she succeeds in writing him in a pleasant way and I am not mad at the manga ending on a happy perspective. This manga shines in its characterization and its very serious and thoughtful approach to a incestuous relationship. Many manga and anime try to sidestep the antagonism of an incestuous relationship but Koi Kaze tackles it directly providing interesting conversation on the subject. This is probably my least favorite work of Yoshidas but that is not to diminish that it deserves a read. Im giving this a high 7.