ご近所物語

GOKINJO MONOGATARI

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
7
RELEASE
October 1, 1997
CHAPTERS
34

DESCRIPTION

Welcome to Happy Berry! No, this isn’t a fruit stand, but the label dreamed up by aspiring fashion designer Mikako Koda. In her quest to make a name for herself in the fashion world, Mikako enters Yazawa Arts Academy, a prestigious art school, alongside her strictly platonic childhood friend Tsutomu. But there's one problem—Tsutomu's uncanny resemblance to a rock star skyrockets him to popularity and leads him to date the prettiest girl in school. Now Mikako can’t help but wonder if what she feels is jealousy.

(Source: Viz Media)

CAST

Mikako Kouda
Tsutomu Yamaguchi
Risa Kanzaki
Mariko Nakasu
Yuusuke Tashiro
Ayumi Oikawa
Mai Oota
Seiji Kisaragi
Jiro Nishino
Ruriko Kouda
Shintarou Nakasu
Takeshi Nagase
Miwako Sakurada
Arashi Nagase
Midori Saejima
Hiroyuki Tokumori

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO GOKINJO MONOGATARI

ANIME ComedyGokinjo Monogatari

MANGA DramaParadise Kiss

REVIEWS

RoseFaerie
86/100
A stylish tale of romance and maturity, as well as what it means to grow up.
I am finally getting around to reviewing Ai Yazawa's best known Ribon work. This was a review request, which I unfortunately got too distracted to work on until now. Anyways, I did really enjoy this, as it combines the world and storytelling styles of Paradise Kiss and Tenshi Nanka Janai. Incidentally, Gokinjo Monogatari is the series that ties those worlds together.

Mikako Kouda is a high school student at Yazawa Art Academy, alongside her childhood friend, Tsutomu Yamaguchi. The two of them have been inseparable since they were kids. Now, Mikako is an aspiring fashion designer who begins to realize that her feelings for her friend are more than platonic. The two of them begin to realize their dreams, in addition to their feelings for each other.

Gokinjo Monogatari is more of a romantic slice of life series, focusing on the romantic relationships of the characters, as well as their goals. A big part of the series is the development of their club, Akindo, which gives them the opportunity to sell the products that they want to make in the future. It really is a tale of maturity as the characters work to realize what is important to them, as well as how best to grow as a person.

Mikako Kouda, our protagonist, feels very human. She's trendy with a passion for fashion, in addition to having a bubbly personality. Mikako is definitely a free spirit who has a However, she struggles with feelings of loneliness, starting with her parents' divorce. As a result, she's overly attached to those close to her, and she is constantly worried about doing things to make them leave her. I feel like her character is the heart of the series.

Her love interest, Tsutomu, is a very caring person, who treats everyone kindly. He's very friendly, though he is easily persuaded to do things. While I found his characterization to be weaker than Mikako's (actually, most of the female characters were much better developed than the male characters), he did have his own struggles. He wants to understand his feelings and work through his own issues with ambition.

While our leads are trying to work out their own personal issues and work towards their dreams, we also have a wide variety of side characters. The biggest subplot revolves around a love triangle involving Mariko-- a popular girl, Yuusuke-- Tsutomu's best friend, and Ayumi-- a girl who joined Akindo. Mariko was easily the most compelling character out of the three. She has a bratty personality, but she's actually deeply insecure. Nicknamed "Nice Body-ko" often called "Body-ko", she's known for sleeping around. However, she has a hard time finding guys who don't want to use her for sex and like her for more than her looks. As a result, she can be dependent on the guys who don't just treat her like an object. Ayumi is more of an average, sweet girl. She's nice and friendly, as well as open and genuine. However, she isn't as outgoing as Mariko. Yuusuke is short-tempered but down to earth. He does really care for the people in his life and wants the best for them. I actually thought Mariko and Yuusuke had more chemistry than Yuusuke and Ayumi. I think the resolution of the love triangle was realistic, but I think the follow-up about Yuusuke's decision was strange and abrupt, since initially he didn't seem to want to be with the girl he ended up with.

The other characters weren't particularly important, which was sad since two of them were supposed to be Mikako's best friends. I think Risa had some nice characterization and felt real and down to earth, but she wasn't particularly relevant. I wish I could have seen more of her. P-chan and Jirou were barely in it, and they both had very little characterization that wasn't superficial. At least I can name some of P-chan's traits, because I can't remember anything about Jirou other than his strange looks.

The art is super stylish, as per Ai Yazawa's style. I think Mikako looks quite a bit more cartoonish in design than her other protagonists, but she is still very cute. I really appreciate the wide diversity with the outfits and how unconventional yet visually appealing they are. The designs remind me more and more of the Paradise Kiss characters and style as it goes on.

I did really enjoy watching the characters grow up. It's making me want to revisit Paradise Kiss now. It's such a lovely story, and it's definitely another Ai Yazawa banger. Her works have never let me down, and I am happy to say that this is no exception.
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