As we wrap up ten days of animated discussion of our June MMF (Manga Moveable Feast) selection, The Color Trilogy, the time has come to announce the series that will be our focus for July. And the winner is… Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa! This josei series, published by TOKYOPOP, is complete in five volumes and tells the story of a schoolgirl whose world changes drastically when she meets a group of art school kids who beg her to model the clothes they design.
I’ll be hosting the festivities this time around, and will be kicking things off with an introductory post on Sunday, July 25. The feast will run through the following Sunday, August 1, and anyone is welcome to participate. If you decide to join us, just e-mail me a link to your submission, or, if you have no blog of your own, you can e-mail me the whole durn thing and I’ll post it here as a guest review. You may also wish to join the Google Group for updates, conversation, and an opportunity to vote on nominees for future feasts!
I will eagerly admit that when I read that the next Manga Moveable Feast manga would be Paradise Kiss by Ai Yazawa, I literally squealed for joy. It ranks next to Sand Chronicles and Nana as my favorite titles.
Nana gets quite a lot of attention, and though it deserves every ounce of it, I’ve always felt sad Paradise Kiss isn’t more widely known and read. At five volumes, it’s the perfect bite-size, edgy, fun and bittersweet coming of age story. Its charming characters and contrasting tone of quirky humor and melancholy/nostalgia gets me every time. And how can a manga be so cynical and yet so hopeful?
I’m so happy. Thank you! What a brilliant choice.
I’m glad you approve! And I hope you’ll join us in celebrating this awesome series. 🙂
I wish Paradise Kiss was the one Yazawa-sensei continued only because I preferred Parakiss’s gorgeous fashion designs over rock bands. Plus George!! The only solace I get are the Parakiss cameos in Nana. If there was a Parakiss Ultimate Edition with colour pages, well that’s a no-brainer.
You never know, with this whole omnibus reissue craze, you might get your wish! 🙂
I’d jump on the omnibus in a nanosecond, BUT Tokyopop must give me back my original Japanese covers!
And I concur about George. As much of a jerk as Takumi is, he doesn’t hold a candle in charisma to George. And the fashion inspired art is just to die for. Actually, I’ve recently just gained new appreciation for the thought Ai Yazawa put into the clothes. Call me dense, but I just realized that the clothes George makes – fantasy haute couture so fussy and theatrical it’s borderline costume, and so tailor-made to his wants that it has no commercial appeal and can only be worn by a model – is a metaphor for the type of woman he desires. I love how Ai Yazawa does that!
But I don’t think Yazawa should’ve continued. I do like how ParaKiss is neatly contained at 5 vols. I think she told the story she wanted to tell. MAYBE she should’ve fleshed out the end by about a chapter, but the ending itself was inevitable and perfectly lovely.
But do give me that omnibus.
I love the purple covers! Rest assured that when I post my review here, it’ll be purple covers all the way! 🙂
Also, with insights like that about George I must reiterate again my hope that you’ll join us for this MMF!
Speaking of, where the hell is Del Rey with the Nodame Cantabile and Pumpkin Scissors’ future omnibuses?
That’s a very good question. They’ve got stuff listed on Amazon through March 2011, I think, but I don’t recall seeing either of those series listed.