Gokinjo Monogatari



Gokinjo Monogatari (Neighborhood Story) is a seven-volume Slice of Life manga by Ai Yazawa than ran in Shueisha's Ribon magazine from 1995 to 1998. It tells the story of Mikako Koda, a teenager who dreams of becoming a fashion designer, her childhood friend and beau Tsutomu Yamaguchi, and their friends, all of them students in the Yazawa Arts High School.

Several characters have appearances in Paradise Kiss, which is a Spin-Off continuation. It was adapted into a 50-episode anime, a feature film, a soundtrack CD and a CD-drama were also released. --

Gokinjo Monogatari provides examples of:

 * Adult Child: Mikako's mother Ruriko.
 * All of the Other Reindeer: Mikako in her past. Miwako later repeats the story.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Shintaro to Mariko. He's far less troublesome than her, in fact.
 * Author Appeal: lampshaded in the end of course ceremony, where Principal Yazawa explains the reason the alumni of Yazagaku compete to achieve the most outlandish look is that she enjoys extravagant fashion.
 * Author Avatar
 * Babies Ever After
 * The Bartender: Toku
 * Beauty Contest: Mariko won the annual Yazagaku beauty contest, and they mention a new edition taking place during the School Festival, but nobody pays much attention to it.
 * Be Yourself: Even if it takes being
 * Betty and Veronica: Ayumi and Mariko really are on two opposite extremes of the scale.
 * Big Brother Mentor: Tokumori for both Tsutomu and Mikako.
 * Bishie Sparkle: Seiji's sparkles are visible not only to the readers, but to the cast too, earning him a nickname 'The Sparkling Alien'. (Once he jokingly tells Mikako he comes from another planet and has special powers. .)
 * Bishounen: Most of the male cast qualifies (with an exeption of Noriji), but Seiji Kisaragi takes it Up to Eleven.
 * Bland-Name Product: Mariko loves Chanyel.
 * Cameo: Midori and Akira, from Ai Yazawa's previous manga Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, show up in the street market.
 * Catch Phrase: Waaaarp!!
 * Christmas Cake: As usual, a female teacher. Althoug 27-year old Hama-chan-sensei doesn't seem to be very concerned.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Mikako
 * Coming of Age Story
 * Deconstruction: Not so much as Nana or Paradise Kiss, but still deals with some issues rather seriously for a shoujo manga.
 * Delinquent: Jirô. The cast sometimes start talking in delinquent slang, and he calls them off on it believing they are mocking him.
 * Elegant Gothic Lolita: Pii-chan
 * Extreme Doormat: Ayumi, Ayumi, and Ayumi. When she's chosen as the receptionist at the fashion contest and can't move from the hall, she even gets a comment from Yuusuke, that it suits her just perfectly.
 * Genre Savvy
 * Gratuitous English: All the time. Mikako is particularly fond of it.
 * Hello, Nurse!: Mariko "Nice Body-ko" Nakasu.
 * Hidden Depths: Mariko again.
 * High School Sweethearts
 * Hollywood Pudgy: Apparently, Pii-chan is so chubby that she has trouble finding clothes that fit her and thus has to sew her own. Fridge Brilliance when you realize sizes are very limited in japan, specially in lolita style where clothes tend to be one size fits all.
 * Hot Shounen Mom: Mikako's mother.
 * Hot Shoujo Dad: Yes, Mikako's father.
 * Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Tsutomu is very tall, Mikako is basically a shrimp.
 * Identical Stranger: Tsutomu and a pop-idol Nakamura Ken.
 * Important Haircut: Mikako's life can be recounted by those.
 * I Want My Beloved to Be Happy
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Yuusuke, all the way.
 * Kawaiiko: Mikako and Pii.
 * Ladykiller in Love: Gender flipped with Mariko.
 * Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places: again, Mariko.
 * Love Triangle
 * The Masochism Tango: relationship quickly turns into this.
 * Medium Awareness
 * Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot: A sparkling foreign gay alien prince? Pii-chan loves it!
 * No Fourth Wall
 * Nosebleed: Common female reaction to Seiji's beauty.
 * Not What It Looks Like: Ruriko misunderstand a passing comment by Miwako and gets all paranoid about her daughter spending all that time alone with Tsutomu.
 * Pet Homosexual: Seiji's character is a thorough aversion of this trope.
 * Pimped-Out Dress: Just see Mikako's creation on the fashion contest.
 * Rummage Sale Reject: Often, Mikako.
 * Second Love:.
 * Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Mariko may have a reputation of a easy lay, before hanging out with the cast but she is really one of these.
 * Slap Slap Kiss: Literally, but well, if you bring up a topic of your love's "octopus lips" in the middle of romantic scene...
 * Slice of Life
 * Sorry, I'm Gay: Or in this case, . Probably.
 * Spoiled Brat
 * Mariko
 * Mikako even more, since she may be a little less spoiled, but more in "bratty", not Ojou way.
 * Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Tsutomu wonders if he's the main male character, or Yuusuke. He has every reason to.
 * Tall, Dark and Snarky: Yuusuke
 * Tsundere: Mikako
 * Unlimited Wardrobe: And how. Well, the heroine is a fashion designer in training.
 * Victorious Childhood Friend:
 * Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: Subverted, Yuusuke doesn't acknowledge that he's the princess in his care... and it causes a problem.
 * Wrong Genre Savvy: Poor Yuusuke was wrong, he never got to star in his own manga. To be fair, he was pretty close to being one in this very series, while Jirô, Shintaro and Noriji had similar delusions. Noriji, though, gets a cameo in the continuation, where he's briefly presented as "some random ojii-san".