In Clothes Called Fat

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While Noko started out not seeming to mind the fact that she’s fat, the bullying she encounters at work, added to the fact that her boyfriend is cheating on her, makes her think that her life would be better – and happier – if she were thin. A chi ha subito derisione per via del peso, si è abbuffat* e poi ha rimesso nel water le calorie di troppo (io no, per questo ed il fatto che Noko subisca il tradimento in quanto grassa e non aver compreso il ruolo di Tabata, che non do il massimo dei voti) e ciononostante non si senta mai abbastanza per la società, è rivolto questo manga autoconclusivo. Instead, events bleakly spiral into the increasingly outrageous, with paid dating, a weight-loss clinic, criminal co-workers, banishment, paranoid plots, and a very lost, self-loathing central figure. I honestly don’t know how someone with Noko’s problems would react to this manga; they might find it very insightful and encouraging, or they might find it critical and discouraging.

I've complained before about female on female hate before, and while this story includes a lot of the same relationships elements as say Absolute Boyfriend Volume 2, the exaction could not be more different. Anno’s art is richer and more detailed than Okazaki’s, giving it a more polished look while still capturing the free spirit captured in the “sketch-like” style. However, it’s presented respectfully and honestly in a way a manga reader or someone affected by the above can understand. Noko’s colleagues revile her as her appearance leads them to believe she is sloppy, and she is frequently cast as the office scapegoat whenever a mistake turns up in the work.

She really captures that dead, weak, look that anorexic people often have, where they might be smiling but look like they’re about to pass out any moment. Unfortunately, Noko’s extreme circumstances twist the message into “losing weight is not a be-all, end-all to your solutions especially when your coworker is a sadistic monster and your boyfriend is an insecure jackass who doesn’t actually love you”.

Does she have an awareness of a world outside of body image and self control, and if so, is she aware she is absent from it?As long as that void remains, no amount of junk food nor weight loss will ever make her happy, and that the void will only grow stronger and deeper as Noko's life falls apart around her.

The ending leaves certain aspects of the story unresolved and gives off a general feeling of bitter detachment. It’s hard to explain to others the compulsion to eat, particularly when there isn’t a “valid” excuse for it. Noko is victimized by her own lack of self-confidence and inability to truly grasp the manner of the world about her. We’ve already pored over the Eisner nominees for new series and graphic novels; now, let’s take a look at the contenders for the year’s top honors in manga.One day Noko channels her obsession with weight in a new way and beings to convince herself that all her problems will go away if she loses weight and becomes attractive.