MANGA REVIEW | "Neighborhood Story" - Volume Four [FINALE]
In my previous Neighborhood Story review, I made mention that Mikako and the rest of Happy Berry are still kids. With every heartbreak and big decision these students make come life lessons and things to prepare them for the real world. With the fourth and final volume of Neighborhood Story comes an opportunity for Mikako to enter adulthood. However, the question is whether or not she is ready to take hold of such a big chance.
After the fashion contest, Mikako is given a huge option: to study fashion abroad in London. At first, it’s a dream come true moment for her, as it’ll give her the skills needed to become a true fashion pro. But then, the matters of the heart start conflicting the matters of the brain and spirit. Could she spend an entire year apart from Tsutomu, who has been by her side ever since childhood?
This pondering over whether or not Mikako should go to London continues throughout the final volume of Neighborhood Story. Weighing the options to head overseas is a big, adult decision, and Mikako feels stuck between being a kid and willing to step into adulthood. Practically everyone, even Tsutomu, wants to see Mikako succeed and head to London. And yet, there’s so much in the mind and heart of the Happy Berry founder that fills her with fears and anxieties.
It’s this part where we start seeing Mikako for who she really is. While her fashion is filled with bravery and uniqueness, Mikako herself is very insecure. All of her life, she has needed an extra push to do what she really wants, and even when opportunity comes knocking, she often finds it hard to let it in. After a whole month of pep talks and loving reassurance from those close to her, Mikako comes up with a decision, and it’s one that definitely feels the most right.
From there, Neighborhood Story starts wrapping things up with everyone. The end of Akindo, the restarting of Ruriko and Hirohiko, and even Tsutomu finds the pathway that he wants to walk on for his life. Of course, that pathway is a lot more fun when someone is walking alongside it, which occurs at the appropriate time. And then, well, you’ll have to jump into Paradise Kiss to see what technically happens next. (The bonus chapter at the end of this book even has quite a few familiar faces from that spinoff series.)
Ai Yazawa does a great job helping her characters grow up in this final volume. There are many good decisions made, as well as a couple of bad ones that characters quickly learn their lesson from. The series knows when to take these characters by the hand and lead them to their destination; other times, it gives them the proper boot out of the nest. For Mikako, Tsutomu, and just about everyone in their circle, the morals and values they learn not only give them the right push, but also aid in turning the page to the next chapter in their lives.
Neighborhood Story is a delightful shojo manga, one that acts as a solid time capsule regarding fashion in the ‘90s. It knows when to be serious, and it knows when to deliver with big laughs. But where it shined the most was in the beauty of the fashion, the people, and the world that surrounds them all. If you read all four of these omnibus volumes, you can get a good idea on why Neighborhood Story is still just as important today as it was 30 years ago when it was first published.
VOL. 4 RATING:
FINAL GRADE (series):
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
