Okazaki Mari - Suppli, vol. 01-02 (Eng. trans.)
Sun, Mar. 23rd, 2008 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterPossibly I have been bingeing on manga this weekend...
Fujii Minami is a 27-year-old women in the advertising industry. She's basically completely dedicated to work and has no social life to speak of, which may be why her boyfriend of seven years ends up dumping her.
I think reading this alongside some other shoujo series may have lowered my tolerance for shoujo; it's so nice being able to read about protagonists who have to work, manage bills, and are my age. That said, much like Tramps Like Us, I like how this series has been reflecting what women actually have to deal with, but I also wish that it would go into a critique of the culture, instead of having the heroine trying to figure out how to succeed within the constraints of the system.
I suspect this may end up disappointing me like TLU did, but we'll see!
So far, the love polygon seems to be Fujii; her slightly younger co-worker Ishida, who likes her; same-year co-worker Ogiwara, who is getting over a breakup of his own; and Watanabe, who is now interested in Ishida after learning about his interest in Fujii.
Then there's Yugi, who's someone's "the other woman."
That said, the two volumes actually spend more time than I had expected on Fujii's work life. Her co-worker Hirano is a forty-year-old woman who is pitied by most, but Fujii finds that Hirano is more than she looks.
I'm disturbed by calling women working hard and by implication acting like men "drag queens," though the translation note in the back says that it's "okama" (lit. "pot," slang for gay or effeminate men*). While I can handwave politics more in shoujo, given the already surreal surroundings -- no high school actually works like that -- it's much harder in realistic josei, especially since it's so close to home.
So, I think I will end up disappointed in terms of politics, but it's still nice to be reading about working women dealing with the glass ceiling and sexism.
(Also, whee, now I need a "josei"** tag!)
* Thus, "okoge" (lit. the burnt rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot, slang for straight women who hang out or like gay men).
** I debated making it "josei" or "ladies," since it's actually "ladies" in Japan, but as I went with "shounen ai" instead of "BL," I guess I am following the American version.
Fujii Minami is a 27-year-old women in the advertising industry. She's basically completely dedicated to work and has no social life to speak of, which may be why her boyfriend of seven years ends up dumping her.
I think reading this alongside some other shoujo series may have lowered my tolerance for shoujo; it's so nice being able to read about protagonists who have to work, manage bills, and are my age. That said, much like Tramps Like Us, I like how this series has been reflecting what women actually have to deal with, but I also wish that it would go into a critique of the culture, instead of having the heroine trying to figure out how to succeed within the constraints of the system.
I suspect this may end up disappointing me like TLU did, but we'll see!
So far, the love polygon seems to be Fujii; her slightly younger co-worker Ishida, who likes her; same-year co-worker Ogiwara, who is getting over a breakup of his own; and Watanabe, who is now interested in Ishida after learning about his interest in Fujii.
Then there's Yugi, who's someone's "the other woman."
That said, the two volumes actually spend more time than I had expected on Fujii's work life. Her co-worker Hirano is a forty-year-old woman who is pitied by most, but Fujii finds that Hirano is more than she looks.
I'm disturbed by calling women working hard and by implication acting like men "drag queens," though the translation note in the back says that it's "okama" (lit. "pot," slang for gay or effeminate men*). While I can handwave politics more in shoujo, given the already surreal surroundings -- no high school actually works like that -- it's much harder in realistic josei, especially since it's so close to home.
So, I think I will end up disappointed in terms of politics, but it's still nice to be reading about working women dealing with the glass ceiling and sexism.
(Also, whee, now I need a "josei"** tag!)
* Thus, "okoge" (lit. the burnt rice that sticks to the bottom of the pot, slang for straight women who hang out or like gay men).
** I debated making it "josei" or "ladies," since it's actually "ladies" in Japan, but as I went with "shounen ai" instead of "BL," I guess I am following the American version.
(no subject)
Mon, Mar. 24th, 2008 05:58 am (UTC)Your comment about the "drag queens" issue neatly encapsulates my issues with other characters calling the main hardworking character of Hataraki Man, er, Hataraki Man when she goes into super-work mode. But I love her in super-workaholic mode so much!
(edited to correct icon usage)
(no subject)
Mon, Mar. 24th, 2008 07:52 pm (UTC)Good to know for Hataraki Man... is it worth reading anyway? I have been eying it.
(no subject)
Mon, Mar. 24th, 2008 08:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Mar. 24th, 2008 04:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Mon, Mar. 24th, 2008 07:52 pm (UTC)