Paradise Kiss,Ai Yazawa
pub: Tokyopop
Sorry about the radio silence lately!!!
Lets face it, for people who are interested in wacky fashion and going all out to express yourself through clothes Japan has to be one of the top places you'd go. With tends such as 'lolita' (poofy girly dresses, often corseted) and Ganguro (heavy tan and white eye make up... kinda like an orange panda) it has to be one of the most crazy places to grow up as a teenager.
If you're so inclined. There is of course a heavy emphasis on discipline and rules in schools, which is perhaps why so many teenagers dress so eccentrically. The difference between these worlds is the inspiration for Ai Yazawa's love story. (which, as is traditional, is read right to left)
The protagonist, Yukari, is a hardworking, serious young high schooler. Determined to work hard in and out of school so that she can make her mother proud and go to a good university. However, the series pretty much begins with her being kidnapped by a group of aspiring fashion designers from the local art school and she's suddenly flung headfirst into the world of "Paradise Kiss", a student based group of fashion designers who do their work in an underground bar.
The book's characters have a brilliant banter going on, and Yazawa's unique style of drawing brings this opulent, bizarre world to life. Her characters are delightfully flawed, each with their own secrets and problems, and the central love story of Yukari and George is as screwed up and destructive as readers of Yazawa's more famous work "Nana" will expect.
Yazawa has never been one to shy away from themes of drug addiction and sexuality, and she tackles these issues just as hard in Paradise Kiss as in any other of her works. The clothes in this series are worth it themselves :D
2 comments:
Sounds great!
Paradise Kiss is one of my favorite manga series! It got me absolutely hooked on Ai Yazawa, and I've been open to a lot more shojo since then as well.
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