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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Volume 2 of Othello describes the series as a “feel-good multiple personality story,” which is fairly accurate, even if that’s not a string of words you often see together. The main character, Yaya, is an extremely shy and easily-manipulated high school student who once dreamed of being a singer. In her daily life she finds a small escape in goth-loli cosplay, and ventures out to Harajuku every week dressed as her alter-ego, Mimi. As this volume opens, she also has a crush on a classmate who plays in a band, some ex-friends who are determined to make her life miserable, and--most importantly--a second personality named Nana who takes over whenever Yaya is unable to cope with what’s going on around her. Unfortunately for Yaya, this happens a lot, and she has no idea what’s going on. Some people around her tell her that she’s acting strangely, with intense and sometimes violent moods, while other people are unable to tell that Nana and Yaya are the same person at all. (The extent to which this happens is one of the weaknesses of the story; Othello is obviously playing with the idea of a split personality rather than trying to be scientifically accurate, but it relies a bit too heavily on the idea that most people are literally unable to see what’s in front of them.) These middle volumes of the series begin to move the plot along, with the beginnings of an unacknowledged romance between Yaya and Moriyama, the classmate who’s among the first to connect the dots about her actual situation. Meanwhile, Nana finds herself onstage with Moriyama’s band, Black Dog, and discovers the musical talent and dreams that Yaya’s been suppressing since childhood. But the combination of Yaya/Nana’s talent and new closeness to Moriyama, who has some pretty devoted fans, leads to still more situations Yaya’s not strong enough to deal with. Hijinks--specifically Nana’s--ensue. Overall, this is a solid series and a fun read. It sticks too closely to some of the typical shojo patterns to be truly exceptional, but the characters are engaging and endearing and the premise is strong enough to carry a story of this length (the full series is seven volumes long). Supporting characters don’t conveniently disappear when their main purpose is served, and while most of them aren’t developed very far, they’re each fairly distinctive. Each volume of Othello includes a glossary of honorifics and several pages of translation and cultural notes by the translator. --Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Comment on this review of Othello v2 through v4 on the Manga Life Forums. |
7 May 2008
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