In Clothes Called Fat

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In the same way that the group of kids who will get stung by bees at birthday parties can be said to have a less enjoyable experience than the group who doesn’t get stung—even if through luck, circumstance, and outlook the bee-stung kids eventually happen to experience more joy at said parties unrelated to the bee stings. She can’t quite figure out where she fits in the world, so when she finds one place that feels comfortable, she attaches herself to it, refusing to let go.

To make things worse, she has a boyfriend that doesn't support her and cheats with her colleague from work. 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. In a profession where being young and attractive is considered standard, Noko is bullied by her coworkers for her weight issues, and she is often verbally abused by her boss who sees her as an easy scapegoat.

El paso de un estado a otro de la protagonista me pareció natural y creible por lo que el manga logró hacer lo que se proponía. The main message of this manga is that contentedness comes from within, and unless you get to the root of the problem, you will always be dissatisfied with life.

It has clear influences from a great women’s manga creator, but also it’s obvious that Anno learned a lot and built on that knowledge, particularly when it comes to constructing the main character.The protagonist is a woman that feels that her weight is putting her behind in several aspects of life, so we watch her going through a struggle to lose weight. Sometimes she’s eating due to depression or stress, but it’s also just a part of who she is, for better or for worse. Which is totally the kind of thing that a lot of untalented, thoughtless sexual objectification pretends to attain. While I appreciate the narrative on body image and how we perceive beauty, and would recommend it (with caution, as it’s definitely not for the easily disturbed, and meant for an adult audience), I didn’t like the depiction of Noko as a fat person who gorges on food all the time (I’m aware that this is a psychological problem, but I’m tired of fat characters in fiction being written this way).

This is emphasized my her co-worker, Mayumi Tachibana, seemingly her exact opposite in personality and body type. It feels like fiction, which I guess is why I wanted to stress this realization of the horror elements of the story.On the flip side of things, Mayumi grows more and more amused by Noko’s suffering, and begins to formulate bigger plans to torment her, while Saito’s true reasons for continuing to date Noko come to fruition.

Noko's eyes get bigger and bigger as she gets smaller and smaller, really emphasizing the transformation she is undergoing. 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. For those who don’t eat to the point of compulsion, it may be difficult to really identify with Noko’s feeling that eating will make her feel better, fill her time, or make her stronger. While the work I'm looking at today is another one volume wonder from her and the good folks at Vertical, it is about as stark of a contrast to Insufficient Direction as one could get.

Anno’s stylized, Kyoko Okazaki-influenced artwork reflects the erratic and disturbing nature of the story quite well.