I’m just not sure about Doubt!! (Viz). After repeated readings (and over-thinking the heck out of it), I still can’t decide if it’s artful, deadpan satire or slight romantic comedy with a somewhat unfortunate world view.
At the outset, Ai Maekawa is grinding through the last days of a miserable junior high experience. She’s a typical jimi, plain and shy, and when she isn’t invisible to her classmates, they’re picking on her. After a humiliating low point, she vows to go to a high school where nobody knows her and become popular by any means necessary.
After a break devoted to starvation diets, gallons of zit cream, and expensive cosmetics (those pillars of female empowerment), she’s a stunner by her first day of high school. Equal parts artifice and Art of War, she’s determined to make a splash. Ai instantly draws the attention of popular, handsome Sô, who helps her become Head Girl of her class.
Unfortunately, she alienates her female classmates in the process. And while she’s got the looks for popularity, she doesn’t have the psychology. She’s constantly worried that her jimi past will be revealed, and her low self-esteem and residual outcast’s anger bubble up at the worst possible moments.
In one sense, Ai is a terrific protagonist for a screwball comedy like this. She’s obsessively determined to achieve her goals, acutely emotional, and just crafty enough to get herself in plenty of trouble. In other words, she’s her own worst enemy, which can be a real wellspring for comedy.
In another sense, she’s kind of sad. She may be popular, but she doesn’t seem any happier. Popularity is a tricky proposition, and it’s an awful lot of work for rewards that aren’t immediately apparent. Then there’s the question of whether her goals are worth pursuing in the first place. They’re shallow and transitory, but she’s too busy holding on to status to really think about what she gets out of it or what she might be giving up.
And that’s a tough conundrum for me as a reader. I know it’s a natural dilemma for people that age, but there’s something unsettling about the way it’s portrayed here. Creator Kaneyoshi Izumi uses a fairly light touch on material that might benefit from a somewhat sharper edge. If the intent is to poke holes in this kind of image-obsessed social climbing, it’s not entirely apparent. If that isn’t the intent, it’s too blithe an approach to subject matter that I think has kind of an ugly side.
As far as the mechanics of storytelling go, Izumi has real flair. She sets up screwball comedy nicely, and she uses character to drive it. Insecure Ai winds up in a range of sticky situations, and Izumi finds inventive, varied ways to resolve them. The comic set pieces also end up being pretty revealing, showing new sides of Ai’s classmates.
Those classmates are a pretty appealing bunch, by the way. Sô is a blend of pretty-boy entitlement, mischievousness, and a modicum of decency. Yuichiro, Sô’s “faithful assistant,” fills the role of level-headed foil nicely. Aggressive Mina is an amusingly pragmatic, would-be temptress. They provide a nice backdrop to Ai’s highly strung shenanigans.
I’ve seen Izumi’s art likened to that of Hot Gimmick’s Miki Aihara, and it’s an apt comparison. Izumi delivers clean, clear storytelling while stylishly conveying the story’s heightened emotions. While a bit less polished than Aihara’s work, it’s lovely to look at.
But even with all these strengths in its favor, I still can’t pin down exactly how Doubt!! feels about its subject matter. On another level, I’m wondering if I’m bringing too many politically correct expectations to the table or over-personalizing things with my own not-so-fond memories of high school social politics.
So I guess I ultimately have to ask if I want to know what happens in next. Izumi has displayed plenty of craft and inventiveness as a storyteller, and that goes a long way. And I do want to know how things progress. It’s not the same kind of “what happens next” feeling I get with Hot Gimmick or Imadoki!, where I’m swept up in the story, but it’s enough to keep me on board.
(This review is based on a preview copy provided by Viz. Doubt!! is set for release in March.)