11. Ai Yazawa: Nana and Paradise Kiss
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Originally Aired on: Feb 1, 2009
It took one manga digest of the series ‘Nana’ and I was hooked. It was as simple as that. The artist and writer behind the series is Ai Yazawa. I’ve never read a serial comic that I get so involved in. After reading an issue of ’Nana‘, I’ll obsess over it for days and re-read it at least 4 more times in the ensuing weeks. Confession time: For the past 2 years I haven’t been collecting comics like I used to. The cost, you know how it is. But I always, always bought the new ‘Nana.’
Ai Yazawa is a Japanese Shojo comics artist and writer. As a writer I find her dialogue and characters more sophisticated than your average Shojo. She really brings romance comics to a new modern level. Her storytelling is so natural, so heartfelt, so honest, so humorous, so raw, so sweet, I find myself instantly involved in the characters lives. I also find her writing to be feminist and forgiving. The two series I’ll be talking about, ‘Paradise Kiss‘ and ‘Nana‘, are about young women rebelling against the future set up for them by parents or society, trying to be independent and make it on their own. Art wise Yazawa is deft at exuding emotion with the simplest line. Her style also fluctuates between the silly and the serious. She excels at both. Her comics breathe fashion, music and love. It’s mostly punk/gothic/lolita stuff with a bit of haute cuture, sugar pop and trash thrown in.
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