Heidi MacDonald notes that it’s nomination time for the Friends of Lulu awards. Johanna Draper Carlson confirms the value of the Lulus by taking a look at the slate for the Comic Buyers Guide Fan Awards. And Brigid at MangaBlog wonders if Viz’s price structure is sexist. (I think it’s ageist, but Brigid raises an interesting question all the same.)
One of the things I love most about manga is the number of thriving women creators. Two of the best-selling licensed titles (shôjo Fruits Basket and shônen Fullmetal Alchemist) are written and drawn by women. Hit-monster CLAMP is a four-woman collective. Some of the leading lights working in Tokyopop’s OEL line are women.
Is the manga category a feminist utopia? I have no idea. But based on what’s on the shelves and what flies off of them, it does seem to be a much more level playing field than corporate American comics.
But what, you might wonder, does any of this have to do with Wataru Yoshizumi’s Ultra Maniac (Viz – Shojo Beat)? Not a whole lot, I admit, but I’m having a Brenda Vaccaro moment, so bear with me. Because if I had a manga-loving daughter, I really think I’d encourage her to read Ultra Maniac.
Yes, it’s light and fluffy and resolutely cute. Yes, Yoshizumi is about as interested in magical world-building as Sanami Matoh is in police procedural or You Higuri is in the mechanics of jewel thievery. Yes, the Free Talks are drifty marketing patter. But Yoshizumi has created a really wonderful, rewarding female friendship between her mismatched leads.
Cool Ayu and flaky Nina don’t have any Betty-and-Veronica bitchery to them. Boys are fine, but when things get rocky (and it’s manga, so you know they will), they know that friendship comes first. They encourage each other and stick together through troubles mundane and magical. When a rival crops up, they do their best to understand her, not smite her.
Maybe it’s a little depressing that I find a portrayal of friendship like that so refreshing. But in it Ultra Maniac’s five-volume run, you get sweet, funny romantic comedy with two appealing leads who are unfailingly loyal and kind to each other, despite their differences. It’s slight, but it’s heart is so in the right place that I can’t resist it.