12 Days of Christmas – Day 3 – Cell Phone Batteries
I rarely, if ever, read manga. However, there is one type of genre that forces me to break this unofficial rule of mine, and that is shoujo-ai/yuri. So for this 12 days of Christmas thing, I thought that I would talk about one of my favorites from this genre, Girl Friends, especially considering that it only ended a couple of months ago (There are spoilers, but I tried to avoid talking about anything too specific).
Now I know some of you must of read that introduction, and then your eyes, as if by some unseen force, were drawn to the word yuri with only one thing in mind. Unfortunately, this post isn’t going to do anything to relieve you of your fix, but suffice it to say that some of the chapters in this series probably would. Instead, Girl Friends truly shines by depicting the relationship of Mari and Akko, from its inception to its angst filled middle to its ultimately satisfying end. The one thing that I love about this manga, when compared to many of its counterparts in this genre, is that neither of these characters has much experience with love when the story starts, nor do they have any idea about what their ultimate preference in gender will be.
Thus, the story is able to combine two coming of age/revelation stories into one. Of course, the standard manga romance issues still arise, and the transitioning of their friendship into one of a romantic nature is chock full of misunderstandings, moping, blushing, and near misses. However, considering that most teenagers have trouble expressing their feelings, and the fact that this duo needed to overcome a pretty big social norm, I don’t really have a problem with what many may perceive as trolling by the mangaka.
That’s not to say it doesn’t have some drawbacks, especially for the male readers among you. While I wouldn’t say that the series relies on an appreciation for women’s fashion and beauty, many of the character’s conversations seemingly end up focusing on, and educating the reader about, the finer points of women’s fashion and the torture that is dieting. Additionally, the manga probably has far too many characters for its own good. It often seemed that the story drifted away from its main purpose to focus on some of these characters, and while they did provide context for what Mari and Akko were going through, it occasionally crossed the line into annoying.
Then there was one of the things that made this series unique, but also endlessly frustrating. The story utilizes train of thought storytelling(or as Keima would say, an inner voice) as a way for us to understand what Mari and Akko are thinking, but the only problem is that we never get to hear both of their thoughts at the same time. While this concept is endearing, in that it lets the reader identify with the character’s feelings, I almost always found my self, especially in the later chapters, only wanting to know what the other was thinking, which was frustrating to say the least.
So if you haven’t put Girl Friends on your list of things to do over the holiday, I’d recommend it. As for the cell phone batteries part, suffice it to say that one was part of a very good and well-rounded, yet understated ending that I won’t forget anytime soon.
