Ai Yazawa is prolific, influential, and award winning shojo and josei manga artist. She had been illustrating and drawing manga for over 30 years, since her debut in 1985, and is particularly known for her strong character writing and distinctive art style.
This masterpost will tell you everything you need to know about Ai Yazawa’s series and how to read/watch them.*
圣学园天使 Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai
MANGA [ read online / ddl / torrent ]
1994 OVA SPECIAL [ stream / torrent ]
RUN: 1992–1995 LENGTH: 8 volumes (40 chapters)
Literally translated to I’m no Angel, this is the oldest English translated manga available by Ai Yazawa. It was also her first hit series, and is now considered a classic. It follows the story of the high school first-year Midori Saejima, where both she and the boy she had a crush on, Akira Sudo, are elected as members of the student council.
NOTES: This is a lovely, sweet manga but far more standard than Ai Yazawa’s other works. The art is a bit outdated too. I would recommend reading this if you’re eager for more Ai Yazawa and want to see where she came from after you’ve read some of her other work.
ご近所物語 Gokinjo Monogatari
MANGA [ read online / ddl / torrent ]
1995 ANIME [ stream / torrent ]
1996 MOVIE [ stream / torrent ]
RUN: 1995–1998 LENGTH: 7 volumes (33 chapters)
Literally translated to Neighborhood Story, this story is set in the same world as Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai. Mikako, who dreams of becoming a famous fashion designer with her own brand, attends a special art school with her childhood friend and neighbor, Tsutomu. The manga follows Mikako’s adventures with her friends and club, in the end telling a story about young love, dreams and friendship.
NOTES: Although still more lighthearted and less mature than her later manga, Gokinjo Monogatari marks the beginning of Ai Yazawa’s distinctive style, characters, and storytelling. The anime adaptation is OK, but is cheaply animated and has a lot of filler. I wouldn’t recommend watching the movie, because it’s confusing if you haven’t read the manga or watched the anime, and pointless if you have.
下弦の月 Kagen no Tsuki ~Last Quarter
MANGA [ read online / ddl / torrent ]
2004 LIVE ACTION MOVIE [ buy / stream / torrent ]
RUN: 1998–1999 LENGTH: 3 volumes (16 chapters)
Literally translated to Last Quarter of the Moon, this shorter manga is Ai Yazawa’s first story dealing with the supernatural. Injured by a car accident while looking for her missing cat, Hotaru, an elementary school girl, is hospitalized. During her stay in the hospital, she has a vision of a high school girl who gives her a ring as a token of friendship. After her recovery, Hotaru and her friends set out to find the mysterious figure, not knowing they are about to unravel a ghostly love story beyond their reaches of their imaginations.
NOTES: This manga marks Ai Yazawa’s transition not only to a more mature and refined art style, but also story content. Kagen no Tsuki is an absolutely stunning manga, and a quick read. This is a great series to start with for new fans, and a must-read for fans of Ai Yazawa’s other series. The movie (starring two very famous people) is good, if not a bit cheesy, but it leaves out Hotaru’s storyline, and with it, the story’s greater complexities. I would recommend it only to curious fans of the original manga or cast.
パラダイス・キス Paradise Kiss
MANGA [ buy** ]
2005 ANIME [ stream / torrent ]
2005 ANIME MUSIC [ ddl OP ED OST / batch torrent ]
2011 LIVE ACTION MOVIE [ stream ]
RUN: 1999–2003 LENGTH: 5 volumes (48 chapters)
Set in the same world as Gokinjo Monogatari and Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai, Paradise Kiss is the coming of age story of Yukari Hayasaka, a spirited high school senior in the process of studying for her college entrance exams. But the prospect of subjecting herself to a meaningless, dull life leaves her feeling depressed about the future. In a bout of frustration, Yukari begins to ignore her courses and to hang out with a group of eccentric fashion design students. This circle is known as Paradise Kiss, and they pick Yukari to be their model to showcase their designs in an up-coming fashion show.
NOTES: Paradise Kiss is my favorite Ai Yazawa series, and a must read for anyone. Period. It should be up there with Catcher in the Rye in terms of Very Important Coming of Age stories. The anime is great, too! It has stellar animation, along with a killer OP and ED. It does understandably leave out some important nuances, aspects, and details from the manga, which is why I would recommend reading the manga no matter what! If you can buy the volumes, they feature great, revised translations and are really great quality! If you really can’t buy the volumes, watch the anime first because the manga scanalations available online frankly do the series injustice. As for the movie, it’s terrible if you’ve read or seen the original. I would pass on it entirely.
ナナ NANA
MANGA [ buy** ]
ARTBOOK [ torrent ]
2006 ANIME [ buy** / stream on hulu or netflix ]
2006 ANIME MUSIC [ ddl / torrent ]
2005 LIVE ACTION MOVIE [ stream / torrent ]
2006 LIVE ACTION SEQUEL [ stream / torrent ]
RUN: 2000–present (hiatus) LENGTH: 21 volumes (84 chapters)
Two girls with the same name leave their old lives behind and come to Tokyo to start fresh. Nana Komatsu is a young woman who’s endured an unending string of boyfriend problems. Moving to Tokyo, she’s hoping to take control of her life and put all those messy misadventures behind her. She’s looking for love and she’s hoping to find it in the big city. Nana Osaki, on the other hand, is cool, confident and focused. She left her hometown to join Tokyo’s underground punk scene hoping to make it big as a singer. When the two Nanas fatefully fall in love with the same apartment, they decide to become roommates, changing each other’s lives forever.
NOTES: Nana is the most famous of Ai Yazawa’s series, and for good reason. It’s a well crafted, heart-wrenching story missing only a proper ending due to Ai Yazawa’s extended hiatus. Nonetheless, I would recommend this series to people despite this! The anime is probably the best way to start since it gives your the immersive experience of the original music. Since it only covers about half the manga, you can pick up the manga around ch. 40ish without missing much. The live action movies are actually really good too, so give them a shot when you have the time!
BEST ORDER TO CONSUME?
Here’s my in no way definitive recommendation for reading/watching order:
Must read/watch:
Paradise Kiss manga (or anime)
Kagen no Tsuki manga
Nana anime
Nana manga
Gokinjo Monogatari manga
Things that you should check out when you have the time:
Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai manga
Nana live action movies
Kagen no Tsuki live action movie
Things you should only watch if you’re really curious:
Gokinjo Monogatari anime
Paradise Kiss live action movie
*Ano Natsu (1985), 15-nenme (1986), Love Letter (1987), Kaze ni Nare! (1988), Escape (1988), Ballad Made Soba ni Ite (1989, 2 volumes), Marine Blue no Kaze ni Dakarete (1990–1991, 4 volumes), and Usubeni no Arashi (1992) are not covered in this masterpost since there are no complete English translations or scanalations available.
** Since these series are available to buy legally, I am not listing where to read/watch them online out of respect for the publishers and Ai Yazawa. If you truly cannot purchase these because of financial reasons or your region locked, or if you want to make edits/gifs, feel free to message me and I’ll help you out. Otherwise, google is your friend, but I highly encourage you to buy the volumes and support Ai Yazawa.
