#jiapei xi
by Jiapei Xi, illustrations by Vivian Loh
All of us read Japanese manga obsessively, and we still remember our favorite series and characters fondly. Adolescent girls are always full of romantic, unrealistic dreams—manga creates a world where it seems possible that those dreams might become real. To me, no matter how much the stories varied in genre, style, and setting, or how different their heroines are, their central theme is always the desire to become a better person, a unique and lovable girl. Here were some of my favorites growing up!
Tomie by Junji Ito
We’ve all heard stories of vengeful girlfriends and the ladies you shouldn’t have met. But Tomie—Tomie is all of that and more. She is beautiful, but hellish. Tomie is selfish, slutty, jealous, materialistic, insatiable, cruel, possessive, and vain. Her insatiable lust keeps her alive, regenerating her despite the best attempts of the men that she seduces, fascinates, and deranges. Men want to possess her so much that they cut her into pieces, like meat foam, but she will come back. She will grow under your carpet, inside a box, or even in cement. She is everywhere and she just doesn’t deserve death.
The combination of Tomie’s complete beauty and complete evil is monstrous but fascinating. Guys go so crazy for her that they will kill anyone to please her, but they also can’t resist the temptation to kill Tomie. Girls want to be her so much that they let Tomie occupy their body. She repulses readers, but sometimes, we secretly want to be just like her.
Nana by Ai Yazawa
Nana is both the title of this stylish, sexy series, and the shared name of its two protagonists. Nana Osaka is the edgy, self-assured vocalist in a punk band; Nana Komatsu is your average charming “hopeless good girl,” attempting to find a perfect romance but and always troubled by boyfriend problems. The girls end up living together in Tokyo, and the series follows the development of their complicated friendship anchored by mutual obsession, sexual interest, and jealousy. Punk Nana is the role model for girls in Asia. She looks indifferent and tough, but her heart is warm and gentle. Cute Nana, on the other hand, is impulsive, spoiled, and aimless, but we all identify with her and her struggles with learning how to grow up. As she learns to take care of others, to live on her own and to find her passion instead of desperately falling in love, so do we. Nana transposes our mundane lives into this glamorous story about sex, fashion, drama and lots of rock ‘n’ roll, showing us both who we are and who we could be.
Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi
I can’t think of another manga that was more contagious than Sailor Moon in the 90s. It chronicles the adventures of a group of pretty 14-year-old magical girls, uniformed in mini skirts and cute boots, as they defend the solar system from evil. The guardians transform into soldiers and go into battle with omnipresent evil forces that attempt to control the earth or the universe.
Sailor Moon defined my childhood. I could watch the TV adaptation for hours and pretend to be one of the soldiers. Though I wasn’t crazy enough to collect all their spin off stuff, I did make my own wand, hoping secretly that I would discover a hidden super power, become a princess, and have a hopeless romance with a handsome boy like Sailor Moon did. I believe a lot girls hoped the same thing after watching the show because the guardians seemed so relatable. We always remembered that they were schoolgirls like us—their uniforms are altered sailor fuku, Japanese school uniforms. Now I think of it as just a silly and funny series, but Sailor Moon and her friends accompanied me through childhood.
