CLAMP and Yazawa Ai: Postbubble Manga 2

Book Synopsis: When the Japanese bubble burst in 1991, so did the promise of a good life for those who followed the rules. It was not long before the shock of this change moved from the news media to the popular media. Graphic novelists began producing works that parodied the old genres where hard work and perseverance inevitably led to success. The first chapter of this book looks at works by CLAMP. Sailor Moon (the subject of the first volume in this series) used Art Deco accessories and backgrounds to create the look and feel of an elegant 1930’s jewelry ad. In contrast, CLAMP used organic flowing lines, large empty spaces, and sharp contrasts of light and dark to recall the decadent fin de siècle and Art Nouveau. The contrast between the two worlds of the 1890’s and 1930’s is reflected in the leading ladies. The languid and sultry Sarah Bernhardt is representative of a fin de siècle actress while the witty and independent Ginger Rogers is a creation of the 1930’s. Takeuchi and CLAMP subverted their genres with conventional tropes that were pushed to the point of absurdity. Yazawa Ai’s characters read and discuss aspects of their own story, destabilizing and de-naturalizing the shojo romance (aimed at a young female audience). The story no longer occupies the privileged space of narrative convention; instead the metafictional disruptions force the reader into the role of critic. At the same time, the processed and condensed versions of postbubble Tokyo streets, schools, and burger joints frequented by Yazawa’s impossibly leggy teens raise questions about the boundaries between fiction and reality. Yazawa’s processed digital photographs technically resemble artists working with computers in the 1990’s to create digital images, especially photo montage. The purpose of Yazawa’s images is not, however, to cause the viewer to reexamine the visual world. Yazawa is using these images from the real world to reexamine the narrative space of the manga.