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.
The second volume of Neighborhood Story explores the beginning of Mikako and Tsutomu ‘s relationship as childhood friends (and next door neighbors) coming to an understanding about their feelings for each other. The two help create a community of friends and creatives that blossoms–and has quite a bunch of drama following them as well. Our protagonist Mikako also is included in a happy ongoing developing connection with her previously absent father, who left due to her parents divorcing. She is happy to have their little family together again, involved in each other’s lives.
This third volume of Neighborhood Story opens at Yazawa Arts Academy with its end of semester assembly with Mikako, Tsutomu, and the gang of friends I’ve come to love happily celebrating in style. (Shintaro, the youngest of the crew still has his dreadlocks, but there is nothing we can do about that.) Summer vacation is here and all the teens are eagerly awaiting time in the sun, fun with friends and romance! Our bubbly protagonists’ parents are working out their relationship with her dad being back at home and her mom being out of the hospital.
I was so happy to see more of Risa, Mikako’s mature female friend who really got pushed to the wayside in the last volume (and more of her mysterious boyfriend) and miraculously learn why P-Chan received her nickname. These two characters, Mikako’s first female friends introduced in the first volume were really glossed over so it is nice to have these little moments with them even if Mikako is the main character, here. Relationship drama is once again dialed up to the max at Body-ko aka Mariko’s villa home where the members of Akindo go to hang out at. There’s a score of misunderstandings and insincerity going around for those young and in love (especially between Mariko, Shu, Yusuke, and Ayumi), and when it all blows up, it rivals the raging typhoon that eventually hits the mainland.
My favorite part of volume three of Neighborhood Story would have to be the surprisingly wholesome chapter about Mikako from the perspective of another. Acting as a snapshot of the bright protagonist’s middle school years–it served as a fantastic perspective of the girl, her love of fashion, and how deeply she impacted the lives of others by being her most authentic self–even when it was the loneliest chapter of her young life. After finishing this chapter, I loved the connection between girls, seeing the different forms of girlhood on page and seeing how teenage girls found kinship with each other, and the courage to work on carrying out their dreams. This chapter actually works as great connective tissue to why our teen protagonist can be a little socially awkward and has to work at her relationships in her life as she finally has friends now–outside of her dear childhood friend turned boyfriend.
Speaking of dreams, preparations for Yaza Arts Academy’s annual school festival begin, and the members of the crew all all in different moods about it: Mikako throws herself into prep, Mariko considers dropping out and Tsutomu struggles on not just what to work on but his path in life, currently. Another group member once inspired by the artwork of Tashiro kindly questions his reasoning on sitting around and skipping, forsaking his paintings. The internal struggles of the teenagers start bubbling up to the surface with our favorite couple Mikako and Tsutomu having an epic blow-out argument with Tsutomu’s jealousy over Mikako’s mom’s charming new assistant who is spending too much time at their place.
The true highlight of this third volume of Neighborhood Story is the building up to and the culmination of the school festival: lots of emotions run wild with so many characters we come to love on the pages. Mikako focused on the fashion show exhibit, having worked out her problems with her teammates due to her not being able to stay on task, be on time, and place a bigger priority on the work. Different members of the friend group float around on campus, some proudly exhibiting their talent and dedication while some bow out, still trying to figure out their own paths and what they want to do in life. It is an emotional sequence of pages that could ring true for adolescence anywhere and everywhere: being confronted on what paths you may or may not take after high-school and the troubling insecurity of not being one hundred percent certain. Some young adults may feel ready to grab the baton and move forward while others may feel like the background characters or sidekicks to dreams of their friends or lovers or peers.
Pages from manga of characters running off and away from others help move along the branching story lines of the b-side romances and what comes of them. Pages of Tsutomu in a crowd looking lonely and isolated, taking photos reveals just how much of an outsider he feels. Finally seeing the hard work put in by the fashion show is a treat: from performances to some teens we’ve known for volumes taking the stage and showing their best. The fashion show exhibiting where Mikako finally makes her appearance goes down as one of my favorite manga pages of all time of this confident, teenage girl overcoming her doubts and shining something like an ethereal being.
In my heart, I was reminded of being a teenager reading ParaKiss aka Paradise Kiss, Ai Yazawa’s other work set in the same universe (gentle reminder that ParaKiss is the sequel) and feeling so seen. This volume of Neighborhood Story has really worked to move full circle in reminding me of why Shojo still means so much to me with an author whom I’ve been reading since I was the age of the teenagers in this work of hers. As I said in my review of the previous volume, this manga series feels timeless with much of what the teens go through and their struggles still so relevant which still strike me as impressive on the mangaka’s end this is a series was first published in the 90’s, there are a few things that date the story (The pagers that a few teens have that make an appearance, the usage of film cameras not DSLRs, etc)
This volume of Neighborhood Story really handles this intersection of teenage angst when it comes to the issues of love and personal issues so well, just as demonstrated in the previous issues. Mikako is learning that she keeps screwing up in her love life: she’s having problems communicating her feelings to Tsutomu and what level of physical intimacy she’s okay with. She isn’t seeing that she’s not being supportive of him not just as his lifelong friend but as his girlfriend. Lately, she’s been more of an emotional vampire to him and not being a partner he can depend on.
At school, she was seen as not being professional and on point with her academic and professional goals. She lets her team down that she’s paired up with on the project for the fashion show for the school festival by not being on time to meetings. Once reassured by her teammates and friends help center her thankfully yet she still has lots of work to do and accountability to take. Apologies only have weight when there is action behind them and even then, they may land a little too late. Balancing love, friends, and community who care and attempting to follow your dreams is a full-time job for anyone, especially a teenage girl.
I’ve written in my previous review about how much I’ve loved the care and detail that have gone into adapting these books into English translated editions–the covers with book flaps, the additional colored backmatter towards the end, and more. I do believe that I’ve forgotten to write about the publishing schedule by the publisher and the decision to make these versions larger volumes: we’re getting four volumes of the series at some three hundred pages or so that almost feel like omnibuses versus the original seven books in its original run. (To be clear, these are the 2005 Japanese reworked editions of the series.) I like to think that others feel the same as the English translated version of the series was the winner of the Best New Edition of Classic Manga category in the first ever First-Ever American Manga Awards that took place this summer!
I’m awaiting the final volume in the series, volume four which for now, at time of writing has a December fourth release. Neighborhood Story is a really superb, illustrative example of why printing and releasing English translated versions of Shojo series of the past should still be a priority for manga publishers. Ai Yazawa proves in this older work, and especially in volume three, that girlhood is always worth bringing to the page and necessary for any generation. As readers take notice of an important relationship on the brink, they’ll also see the groundwork of a major plot point developing in the background near the end of this volume. The publisher has noted that “an extraordinary opportunity arises, forcing Mikako to confront her deepest desires and make a life-altering decision” which seems like the final volume will be one no fan should miss. I’ll be waiting to read how Mikako’s dream play out.
Neighborhood Story Volume 3 is published through Viz’s Shojo Beat imprint and can be found where comics and manga are sold. Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to have a review copy!
Love reading manga? See more on our site!
Want to get Black Nerd Problems updates sent directly to you?
Sign up here! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram!
Show Comments