Neighborhood Story - Ai Yazawa’s Manga is a Teenaged Fashion Dream
Neighborhood Story, AKA Gokinjo Monogatari is a mood board inspiration for fans of 90s fashion and a security blanket for those craving a feel-good teenaged drama that keeps things from getting too corny.
One of mangaka Ai Yazawa’s earlier works [before her smash hits Nana and Paradise Kiss] it chronicles the highs and lows of teenaged fashion designer Mikako Kōda, who often must choose between following love and furthering her goals of artistic success.
The manga and it’s anime adaptation, are partially autobiographical works mimicking Yazawa’s experiences at fashion college and as an artist trying to break through in creative industries. For those who can't get enough of Paradise Kiss, Gokinjo Monogatari is it's lesser known prequel featuring some of the same characters and themes.
Following the recipe for success that makes Yazawa’s comics infinitely readable: illustrated outfits based on real archive fashions, a relatable slice of life drama, and a female protagonist that goes beyond the standard “cookie cutter vision” of what a shoujo heroine should be; Neighborhood Story checks all the boxes. Contrary to other romance shoujo, Gokinjo Monogatari’s lesson isn’t that love conquers all, but that it is one of life's most important purposes alongside chasing your dreams.
The story centers on Mikako a girl with a tough exterior but a secretly soft side that pursues her vision of becoming a fashion designer while studying at a prestigious arts high school, Yazawa School for the Arts. However, in between all-night sewing sessions and talks with her best friend Risa, she harbors a nagging sensation that her childhood friend Tsutomu Yamaguchi may be in love with her. Startlingly enough, despite her career-heavy mentality Mikako realizes she might be in love with him too.
Neighborhood Story is a slow-burn romance, that never gets too frustrating because there are gags galore and a solid story arc detailing Mikako’s character development from a protective/naive girl to a more self-assured version of herself, following the same realizations many readers undergo in their teens.
