- Opening Theme
- “Koikaze” by éf
- Ending Theme
- “Futari Dakara” by Masumi Ito
…when two people live in close domestic proximity during the first few years in the life of either one, both are desensitized to later close sexual attraction and bonding. This phenomenon, known as the Westermarck effect, was discovered by anthropologist Edvard Westermarck. The Westermarck effect has since been observed in many places and cultures, including in the Israeli kibbutz system, and the Shim-pua marriage customs of Taiwan, as well as in biological-related families.1
…When this does not occur, for example where a brother and sister are brought up not knowing about one another, they may find one another highly sexually attractive when they meet as adults: a phenomenon known as genetic sexual attraction. This observation is consistent with the theory that the Westermarck effect evolved to suppress inbreeding.1
The paragraphs above are a few snippets I brought from an entry on incest and the Westermarck effect. And this is somehow what the anime series, Koi Kaze, seems to convey. The way the issue is address here is controversial, that is, the theme presents the societal taboo of incest (in most Western countries).…Finally, there is also the much rarer phenomenon of consensual incestuous relations between adults, such as between an adult brother and sister. This is illegal in most places, but these laws are sometimes questioned on the grounds that such relations do not harm other people (provided the couple have no children) and so should not be criminalized. Artificial insemination and distant adoption have compounded these problems. There are known cases of people having romances, or even marrying, only to later find out they are closely related.2
We meet Koushirou Saeki, a 24-year-old marriage consultant who’s out of love, now that his girlfriend confessed that she likes someone else, and leaves him. It is the season of Spring, and he feels morose in his current situation. He finds love, in the most unusual of circumstances. He encounters a female high school student, Nanoka Kohinata, who he later finds out to be his younger sister3 he hasn’t seen in years.
Now that they are living in the same house, they try to adjust themselves to living together. However, they find an unusual attraction between each other, and are struggling to get these feelings from getting in between their brother-sister relationship.
Basically, that’s the premise of the story, but the story itself deals with a very controversial topic. The interaction of Koushirou and Nanoka creates a bond between them that seems inseparable, as brother and sister. As time goes by, they begin to slowly be attracted to each other’s “good qualities”, that the result would be finding comfort in each other’s arms.
I advise everyone that this is a series aimed at the older teens and young adults demograph.
1Wikipedia Article on Westermarck Effect 2Wikipedia Article on the Modern Views of Incest 3In Japan, when a man and a woman marry, not only is the wife eligible to change her maiden name to her husband’s, but the husband as well, from his family name to his wife’s surname. I think this is why (to the viewers unfamiliar with this custom) Koshiro and Nanoka were assumed to be from different families.
