Review: ‘Neighborhood Story’ Vol. 2 Continues to be a Shojo Page-Turner

Words and Art: Ai Yazawa Publisher: Viz (Shojo Beat) Translation: Andria McKnight Touch-Up Art & Lettering: Michelle Phang Design: Shawn Carrico Editor: Karla Clark I finally got around to reading the first volume of Ai Yazawa’s Neighborhood Story, finally released with an English language translation late last year. At 312 pages, I remember reading it in one sitting on a train home after a fun night out and wanting more of a coming-of-age tale from the creator of Nana! The first volume of the series introduces us to Mikako Koda: a super cute, super creative, and super energetic teenager who loves fashion and one day wants to make it big as a fashion designer. She lives a pretty colorful life with a mom who is a Shojo mangaka and Mikako attends Yazawa Arts Academy, a prestigious art school that she attends that celebrates the arts. 

Mikako also has friends she adores and a pesky male childhood friend who complicates things tremendously. His name is Tsutomu and his sudden popularity (and his handling of it) bothers her for a reason she can’t quite name. While she’s attempting to figure out why, the two of them, along with classmates and friends from school, work together to form a club and do fun things to elevate their crafts and talents like sell and display their hard work at a local flea market. The first volume has lots of heartache, hijinks, and moments of hilarity among the pages as the teens go from amusem…