is a Japanese
manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by
Ai Yazawa. It was serialized by
Shueisha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
's
manga magazine ''
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are '' Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. It is one of the best-selling manga magazines, having sold over 590million c ...
'' from 1995 to 1997, with its chapters collected in seven volumes. The manga has been licensed for English release in North America by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
.
A 50-episode
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series adaptation, produced by
Toei Animation
is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
, was broadcast on
ABC,
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...
and other stations from September 1995 to September 1996. An anime film was released in March 1996.
Story
Mikako Kōda is an aspiring fashion designer who attends Yazawa Art Academy in Tokyo and is slowly building up her clothing brand, Happy Berry. Having been childhood friends with her neighbor, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, since infancy, Mikako reassesses her once-platonic feelings for him when he suddenly becomes popular at school due to his resemblance to the singer
Ken Nakagawa and begins dating Mariko, a popular and attractive girl.
Characters
Main characters
;
:
:Mikako is driven by her dream of becoming a fashion designer and having all the stores sell her handiwork under the brand name "Happy Berry". Mikako is at her most conspicuous when she is inspired or in a stormy mood for one reason or another. The former earns her the admiration of her classmates while the latter incenses her teacher Ms. Hamada who thinks nothing of keeping her after school to revise her clumsy handiwork. Mikako has a ferocious rivalry with Mariko who she fears will wield Tsutomu to his detriment along with unrealistic expectations of Tsutomu that leads to a very vivacious and adversarial discourse that often inflames matters on many occasions.
;
:
:Unlike his fiery friend and next-door neighbor Mikako, Tsutomu is somewhat equivocal in regards what he wishes to do with his life as he synthesizes
abstract art
Abstract art uses visual language of shape, form, color and line to create a Composition (visual arts), composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. ''Abstract art'', ''non-figurative art'', ''non- ...
from odds and ends that he has found here and there but not his feelings about Mikako as his prologue is rife with instances where he has interceded on her behalf or otherwise come to her rescue. Tsutomu follows Mikako's lead in forming the street market club Akindo while seeming to operate according to the proverb "Keep moving forward by doing your best in the moment." Unfortunately, as much of a chivalrous knight as he has been that has long embraced being in love with Mikako, Tsutomu is not perfect. Tsutomu's eerie corporeal similarity to the Manbou lead singer Ken Nakagawa from ''
Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai'' has caused several fangirls mistaking him for the musician and fanatically accosting him for an autograph, being given a love letter, or being chased around all over the place. In addition to being frightened of Mikako forcing him to forego the world and the rest of his life, Tsutomu also has a very accommodating »aim to please« personality that affords easy coercion/manipulation (or in Mariko's case, seduction). Tsutomu's chaotic conduct often frustrates Mikako into prosecuting a fierce adversarial divergent concourse that has led to several impulsive comments about which neither adolescent is really sincere.
Akindo members
;
:
: Mikako's best female friend, Risa comes from
Hokkaido
is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...
and her dream is to design children's clothes. She lives with her boyfriend Takeshi, a guitarist for a local band, and is Mikako's biggest supporter as well as (later in the series) the mother of Arashi whose best friend is George from ''
Paradise Kiss''.
;
:
: Also known as P, she is a friend of Mikako and Risa's. Mai wears
Lolita-style clothing and always carries her stuffed animal Pucci Francois with her. She makes stuffed animals to sell at Akindo and falls for Seiji.
;
:
: Has purple hair and always wears sunglasses, though Mikako gets to see his eyes during the last volume of the manga. He is close friends with Tsutomu and Yuusuke and is a computer programmer that creates various computer games.
;
:
: Tsutomu's best friend, Yuusuke studies painting at Yazawa (although half-heartedly) and has feelings for Mariko. He is very gruff, but has a good heart and rides a motorcycle.
Kouda family
;
:Miwako is spawned as a result of her parents finally seeing the light in regards to their childish conduct and how it adversely affects Mikako. Miwako does not get to begin her postnatal life until ''
Paradise Kiss'', whose inception is several years after ''Neighborhood Story''.
;
:
:Although she is Mikako's mother, Ruriko often acts more like a
co-dependent elder sister than a mother whose irresponsibility forces Mikako to maintain their home life by herself. Ruriko is often seen sleeping the morning away after all-night deadline crunches due to her job as a shoujo manga author.
;
:
:Considering the conduct he demonstrates with his daughter and the sometimes erratic hours photographers like him are required to keep, Hirohiko's divorce from Ruriko when Mikako was young was probably caused by both Hirohiko and Ruriko growing apart because they failed to do the work necessary to maintain their marriage. Fortunately, Hirohiko comes back onto the scene and does the work alongside Ruriko necessary for the two eventually reconcile and remarry. Hirohiko is also a crucial force for Tsutomu deciding what to do with his life.
Nakasu family
;
:
: Nicknamed “Body Ko” for her usual, sultry appearance. She is popular at school and has had many boyfriends, but admits she is tired of dating men who only want her for sex. She is in love with her childhood friend from
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Shuuichi. After going out with Tsutomu for a short amount of time, she begin a volatile relationship with Yuusuke which lasts for almost the whole length of the series.
:She later marries her Shuuichi, and has a son.
;
:
: Body Ko's little brother, he sculpts dolls and sports dreadlocks (much to Mariko's chagrin). He studies ceramics and gives his sister advice, though she does not want to hear it most of the time.
Other characters
;
:
:Ms. Hamada is the strict teacher of the fashion design and sewing lab classes at Yazawa that has no qualms about detaining a student after school for inattentive or clumsy handiwork -- a trap that Mikako often instigates when she is upset for one reason or another. Strangely enough, Mikako is not sent packing by Ms. Hamada's abrasive personality or having her handiwork harshly appraised and even goes so far as to identify clumsy textile handiwork that would instigate an after-school detention at Ms. Hamada's hands. She was also the professor for Seiji and the cast of ''
Paradise Kiss''.
;
:
:Noriji is the old-fashioned but well-intentioned manager of the apartment complex where Mikako and Tsutomu live. It is his good-natured teasing that inspires the epiphany as to the metamorphosis in their mutual feelings that Mikako and Tsutomu undergo throughout the series. Noriji also has a bit of a crush on Ruriko and demonstrates an almost paternal concern when Mikako's status is unknown.
;
:
: Tsutomu's classmate who owns the shed where the group creates Akindo's headquarters and she creates large, abstract 3-D sculptures. She likes Yuusuke and admires his paintings, but she is jealous of his relationship with Mariko. She later marries Yuusuke (which then makes her Ayumi Toshiro), and she is last seen pregnant with his child.
;
:
: Owns a bar which is frequented by the characters who live in Mikako's apartment complex. Father of (later in the series) Hiroyuki Tokumori from ''
Paradise Kiss''. Initially considered an 'older-brother' type figure to Miwako, his role is late replaced by Seiji.
;
: A “sparkling foreigner” who applies for the job of manga assistant for Mikako's mother. He is saving up money to study abroad. He used to go to Yazawa for fashion, but dropped out when he realized that his passion was in hairstyling. He becomes a close friend of Mikako's and appears in ''
Paradise Kiss''.
;
: Mariko's childhood friend from Yokohama. He has a girlfriend when first introduced. He later breaks up with her, and the series ends with Mariko and him married, with a son.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by
Ai Yazawa, ''Neighborhood Story'' was serialized in
Shueisha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
's
manga magazine ''
Ribon
is a monthly Japanese manga magazine published by Shueisha on the third of each month. First issued in August 1955, its rivals are '' Nakayoshi'' and '' Ciao''. It is one of the best-selling manga magazines, having sold over 590million c ...
'' from the February 1995 to the October 1997 issues. Shueisha collected its chapters in seven volumes, released from October 13, 1995, to April 15, 1998. The covers of all volumes created a
panoramic
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word ...
picture of the characters eating at a picnic when put together side-by-side.
The series was republished in a four-volume edition in 2005, and a five-volume edition in 2011.
In North America, the manga has been licensed for English release by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
.
The first volume was released on December 5, 2023. The fourth and final volume is set to be released on December 2, 2024.
Anime
A 50-episode
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series adaptation, produced by
Toei Animation
is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including '' Sally the Witch'', '' GeGeGe no Kitarō'', '' Mazinger Z'', '' Galaxy Express 999'', '' Cutie Honey'', '' Dr. Slu ...
,
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation
is a certified broadcasting holding company headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Until March 31, 2018, it was a unified radio and television broadcaster serving in the Kansai region.
On April 1, 2018, its radio and television broadcasting divisions ...
and
Asatsu-DK, was broadcast on
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...
from September 10, 1995, to September 1, 1996. It was directed by Atsutoshi Umezawa, with Aya Matsui handling series composition,
Yoshihiko Umakoshi designing the characters and
Masahiro Kawasaki composing the music.
The anime stars
Rumi Shishido
is a Japanese singer and voice actress from Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Shishido debuted as an idol singer with Sony Records in 1990 with the single "Cosmic Rendezvous." In 1992, she left her management and began releasing music independently.
...
as Mikako, who was encouraged to audition for the part after producer Hiromi Seki heard her speaking voice in her 1990 album, ''Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Shi-Shi-Do-Ru-Mi''.
The opening theme is "He.Ro.I.Ne", the first ending theme is "Don't You Know?!" and the second ending theme is "NG!", all sung by Shishido. A DVD box set containing all episodes was released on September 28, 2005.
A 30-minute anime film premiered on March 2, 1996. It is an alternate retelling of the beginning of the series.
Episodes
Reception
Viz Media's English release won the
Japan Society and
Anime NYC
Anime NYC is an annual four-day anime convention held during August at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.
Programming
The convention typically offers arcade games, an artist alley, concerts, manga library (Carolina Manga Li ...
's first American Manga Awards in the Best New Edition of Classic Manga Series category in 2024. In 2024, through a survey of 100 people by ''TV Maga'' (a web magazine operated by ), ''Neighborhood Story'' was voted second for most fashionable manga, along with ''
Paradise Kiss'', another series by Yazawa.
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
{{Toei Animation films 1990s
1996 anime films
Ai Yazawa
Animated films based on manga
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation original programming
Coming-of-age anime and manga
Romance anime and manga
Anime and manga set in schools
Shōjo manga
Shueisha franchises
Shueisha manga
Slice of life anime and manga
Toei Animation television
TV Asahi original programming
Toei Animation films
Viz Media manga