is a Japanese
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
''
josei''
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 ...
written and illustrated by
Moyoco Anno
is a Japanese mangaka, manga artist and fashion writer, with numerous books published in both categories. Her work ''Sugar Sugar Rune'' won the Kodansha manga award for children in 2005. Anno is married to director Hideaki Anno of ''Neon Genesi ...
and serialized on Shufu-to-Seikatsu Sha's ''Weekly Josei'' magazine.
A compilation volume was released on November 15, 1997.
[ It was published in English by Vertical and in French by ]Kana
are syllabary, syllabaries used to write Japanese phonology, Japanese phonological units, Mora (linguistics), morae. In current usage, ''kana'' most commonly refers to ''hiragana'' and ''katakana''. It can also refer to their ancestor , wh ...
.
Characters
*Noko Hanazawa (花沢 のこ ''Hanazawa Noko'') - An overweight office lady
An office lady (), often abbreviated OL (, ), is a female office worker in Japan who performs generally pink-collar tasks such as secretarial or clerical work. Office ladies are usually full-time permanent staff, although the jobs they perform ...
resorts to eating to alleviate stress. After suffering repeated abuses at work and the revelation that her long-time boyfriend is cheating on her with Mayumi, Noko begins dieting out of the belief that becoming thin will make her prettier and happier. She winds up developing bulimia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa, also known simply as bulimia, is an eating disorder characterized by binge eating (eating large quantities of food in a short period of time, often feeling out of control) followed by compensatory behaviors, such as self-indu ...
.
*Mayumi Tachibana (橘 マユミ ''Tachibana Mayumi'') - One of Noko's co-workers, a sadistic woman who enjoys hurting people she considers ugly, especially Noko and Tabata. She begins an affair with Saito just to make Noko suffer more. When Noko is transferred to another department after Mayumi sets her up, Mayumi becomes irritable with not being able to bully Noko and begins bullying her other co-workers with less satisfaction.
*Toshihiko Saito (斉藤 利彦 ''Saitō Toshihiko'') - Noko's boyfriend since high school, who has only stayed with Noko because she's fat and her weak will is comforting to him. He fears strong-willed and confident women like his mother, so he begins pushing Noko away when she tries to lose weight. They eventually break-up and he marries a fat woman with a mild personality.
Reception
It was nominated for the Angoulême Essential Awards at the Angoulême International Comics Festival
The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...
. The series was nominated for an Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...
for the " Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia" in 2015. On Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...
, Rebecca Silverman gave it an overall grade of B+, calling it "a grim yet fascinating look into the life of someone suffering from a disorder and never really getting the help she needs". On manga-news.com, the staff gave it a grade of 15 out of 20.[ On Manga Sanctuary, the staff gave it a grade of 7 out of 10.]
References
Further reading
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External links
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Bungeishunjū manga
Drama anime and manga
Josei manga
Moyoco Anno
Shodensha manga
Vertical (publisher) titles
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