Holiday Review #25: NEIGHBORHOOD STORY

 We started this year's reviews with a long-awaited license, so it's only fitting to end it with one as well.  As much as I might complain about how much Viz neglects their non-WSJ titles or the titles they pick up for the Shojo Beat imprint, they did release this classic from Nana and Paradise Kiss creator Ai Yazawa just in time for the holidays.

NEIGHBORHOOD STORY (Gokinjo Monogatari), by Ai Yazawa.  First published in 1995 and first published in North America in 2023.

PLOT:

Mikako and Tsutomu have known each other forever.  They grew up together, go to the same art college, and even walk to class together.  Tsutomu's resemblance to a popular singer has rendered him unexpectedly popular with the ladies, much to Mikako's annoyance and Tsutomu's bafflement.  Neither of them are quite ready to admit they might have feelings for one another, but their friends will certainly try their best to bring them together.  Mikako's going to need all the help she can get to complete with her glamorous classmate Mariko.

STORY:

It's truly a testament to Ai Yazawa's writing that Neighborhood Story feels more relevant and realistic than most shojo romances despite being nearly 30 years old.  It helps that the plot thread at its core - the reluctant romance between two childhood friends - is a common and familiar one, but that could have easily been a pitfall.  After all, that kind of story was just as common in the 1990s as it is now and it could have come off as tedious and cliche.  

What makes this particular manga shine is that the cast has so much personality.  It's not just your usual anime and manga personality types either - they feel like the sort of people you knew (or could have known) in college.  I absoluely adore Mikako.  She's brash, proud, a total spitfire despite her diminutive size.  I also see what her (and others) see in Tsutomu, mostly in his easy-going charm and bouts of thoughtfulness.  What gets me is how much even minor supporting cast members stand out, be it Mikako's mangaka mom, the landlord at the their apartment, or Mikako's punk-rock friend Risa.  

Furthermore, there's a complexity to them that you seldom see in these sorts of stories.  Mikako may be darling, but her pride and tendency to jump to conclusions causes her more trouble with Tsutomu than anything else.  Tsutomu's easy-going nature makes him charming, but it also makes it easy for other girls to turn his head and for him to try and please them.  Even those who make bad impressions get this treatment.  Mariko comes off at first as shallow and flighty, but she turns out to be a nice and fairly intuitive girl who has been conditioned by previous bad relationships towards shallow behavior.  Tsutomu's friend Yusuke seems like a womanizing jackass at first glance, but he gets to demonstrate some empathy and understanding with both Mikako and Mariko.  The relationships between everyone go through various ups and down - friends one chapter, tension the next - but it's all held together by the larger social web they are part of and the community around this fashion college.  It truly is a neighborhood story.

ART:

Much of what makes Ai Yazawa's art so distinct is present here: the focus on (then) current fashion, the sharp, lush pouting lips and sharp, dark eyes rendered in crisp, rich blacks, and her own unique, long-limbed take on super-deformed art in more comic moments.  There's definitely a more rubbery quality to these character than you would see in her later works.  Most of this can be attributed to Mikako, who herself is a very high-energy character.  This is even reinforced in Michelle Pang's lettering of her sound effects and shouts.  There's a lot going on in every panel - if it's not a lot of motion or a sensitive close-up, there are LOTS of asides from the cast.  Yazawa manages this chaos through good paneling and page layout, varying up shapes and borders as she pleases and not overcrowding her pages.  The end result is femme, fun, yet elegant.

PRESENTATION:

Viz gave this series the red carpet treatment, from its frilly French flaps, hot pink cover, and color insert pages.  It's not just a few color pages at the front either - there's a full color illustration gallery in the back of various piece done for the series's original release.  The only thing that's lacking is the title itself.  It's not the localization, as that's literal as can be.  It's that the title itself is printed weirdly small upon the front cover, making it feel more spartan than it should be.

RATING:

Neighborhood Story stands proudly alongside Yazawa's better known works as a classic of shojo manga.  It may be more lighthearted than those other works, but that doesn't mean it doesn't pack any less of a punch.  Anyone who calls themselves a shojo fan needs to pick this one up.

Plus, if enough people buy this maybe we can bully Viz into investing into more older shojo licenses!

This manga is published by Viz.  This series is complete in Japan with 7 volumes available.  1 2-in-1 omnibus has been released and is currently in print.

Today's the final day for our Holiday Review Giveaway!  Leave a comment here or on our BlueSky about your favorite manga of 2023 to potentially win a $25 Bookshop.org gift certificate!  Contest ends at midnight tonight!