J-Fashionable Manga Series

So with Fanime right around the corner for me in a couple of weekends; I've been in a pretty anime/manga-y mood lately so I decided to list a couple of J-Fashion manga recs out there for you fashion savy people who want a good series to get into! These are all highly loved by not just me but a variety of other people. Each series caters towards various fashions and audiences. Some series are more well known or popular than others so I'd thought I'd show love to a variety of series that I think are great! Hopefully you will find one that suits you in this list!

1. Paradise Kiss

Honestly, I think ANYTHING by Ai Yazawa is super fashionable. She has this type of artwork that really reminds me of a fashion mannequin that designers draw out when they're first blue printing out clothing. However, with this being fashion themed-what type of person would I be not to be listing Paradise Kiss as a fashion savy series. The story follows an uptight highschool girl named Yukari who's always been in the shadow of her younger brother and honestly just wanted to please her mother by getting into a ellite college like she did when she was in high school. She at first is the type of person who feels like people who linger around with art and fashion probably are dawdling or wasting their time but soon finds a group of fashion students who really help her find herself and show her that fashion is just as serious as any other profession. So eventually Yukari falls in love in the series with a guy named George while finding herself and befriends Isabella, Arashi, and  Miwako who are creating a clothing label under the title 'Paradise Kiss' Yukari totally turns into a rebellious teenager who possibly could have found her true love in life; not just George but modeling!

I absolutely love all of Ai Yazawa's works so of course like any of her series-this has tons of beautiful artwork and lots of twists and turns. A lot of her own designs are featured in Paradise Kiss and it almost makes you wish they were real. There's a lot of essentric clothes that don't fit under any J-Fashion stuff but there is Zipper style/Lolita/Punk ect. So you have a great variety. This is a crazy popular series that ended up getting an anime series as well as a theatrical live action movie. I honestly think this is a series for fashion lovers in general even if you're not into J-Fashion. That or if you want a good romance.

2. Othello

Othello is so great! It's a little bit of an older series but really shows a couple of different fashion genres. It's a story about a girl named Yaya who is just trying to get through high school by being well liked. She's a huge pushover and super bullied by her two friends who passive agressively put her into horribly situations. Secretly though Yaya is a gothic lolita going by the alias 'Nana' on the weekends and adores the visual kei band Juliet that she has in common with many of her visual kei/lolita friends. Around new year she receives a magical girl henshin compact from her seven year old self via time capsule. And some how through that she receives her alternate bold out going personality 'Nana' who is the exact opposite of her. Nana ends up getting Yaya out of various bad situations and helps her stand up for herself. So the big question is will Yaya ever truly find herself as a person and be bold and bright as Nana or will Yaya always rely on her alternate personality?

Not only in the series is gothic lolita and visual kei fashion featured but there are big hints of Nana possibly being a gyaru in some chapters. I can't exactly prove that's what she is doing but think of Nana wearly wild and sexy clothing and ripping up Yaya's lolita while Yaya dresses very modest and lady like unless she's cosplaying the visual-kei band Juliet. She's kind of secretly a goth in a way?

I really adore this series not only because of the fashion but also because it shows a beautiful era of those fashions that no longer exists today. It's a shame that there isn't a live action adaptation of Othello because I would totally look forward to seeing it!

3. LIFE 

LIFE is more of a school related manga admittedly but really shows a realistic side of a girl's life while still being scary and over the top. Fashion wise is really has only a couple of aspects but I feel like the villain Manami Anzai could possibly be considered a 'kogal' which is a school girl that wants to be gyaru. She kind of has that villainous princess complex while being fashionable with her accessories and such.

LIFE is a very controversial manga series I feel because it deals with taboo subjects such as bullying, child abuse, rape, self harm/suicide, ect. I included it in my rec list because while it is fashionable I feel like in a lot of ways it's very relatable to all audiences-especially those who are in high school still because it IS so controversial and it does deal with everyday stuff.

Ayumu is the main character of the story who gets accepted into a prestigious high school due to her best friend helping her out to get in so they could go together. Ayumu's best friend doesn't get into the high school due to neglecting her studies to help her unfortunately. The best friend ends up cutting off her friendship with her and fails an attempt at commiting suicide.

In the end Ayumu ends up blaming herself for her best friend's failure and near death experience and oathes herself to be a better person as she starts up at the new high school. She ends up befriending Minami Anzai who is a rich girl with an extreme princess complex who doesn't like when things don't exactly go her way. Through this everyone in the class does get a lashing from Minami's queen bee like personality and a lot of aggressive bullying goes on right under the teachers/adult figures noses. Through that Ayumu learns the definition of what a true friend really is and who her true friends are.

Despite the darkness that looms over this manga series, I honestly think it's great. This series did get a great J-drama adaptation-so even if you don't read it and like live action series-think Hana Yori Dango but without the love interests/ikemen and it being wayyyy darker.

4. Ageha 100% 

It's a shame this series isn't as well known as it could be because honestly? It's so cute and great. Think a realistic magical girl series meet gyaru. It's got the cutesy DNAngel/Shugo Chara like feel going on while really showing beautiful hints of girls wanting to be beautiful through gyaru.

It's never exactly hinted that Rin/Ageha is a gyaru but judging from the implication of circle lenses/hair/make-up I can only assume so! The story focuses on a girl named Rin who is pretty homely looking and attends a high school that bans girls from wearing make-up. Because of this a lot of girls lack confidence for one reason or another and desire to be beautiful. After school there is a legend of a girl named Ageha who gives make-overs to girls who request her through placing a card with their name and class on the bulletin board. Nobody knows that shy little Rin is actually the glamorous Ageha! Through the series "Ageha" doesn't just liven her classmates through the art of cosmetics but also shows them that there's true beauty within them and that the products only are to enhance such things! She does this all while trying to hide her little secret from not only her classmates but her grandparents, the school council and staff-who are all against girls her age wearing cosmetics!

In all? It's a really fun lighthearted series to read! I highly recommend it!

5. Sailor Moon 

This is of course everyone's favorite childhood series but here's the catch-READ THE  MANGA. Naoko Takeuchi has beautiful artwork-beautiful silhouettes for her characters-and BEAUTIFUL CLOTHES. When I say clothes I mean designer clothes that exist in real life AND original designs. This manga is just beautiful on all levels. Not to discredit the anime series but the manga just really has beautiful clothes and I am hoping the relaunch of the anime series that will be based on the manga will feature some of those designs and show a variety of outfits and styles for the girls!

For those of you who don't already know what Sailor  Moon is-it's a very popular magical girl series about a typical girl named Tsukino Usagi eventually learns that she is a super hero that has to save the world from the evils of the universe. Each era has a different evil and through each era of course comes with different Sailor Senshi who befriend her or even happen to quite possibly be enemies. The series is a huge staple in anime culture-the anime is over 200 episodes long, there's going to RE-LAUNCH of the anime this July entitled Sailor Moon Crystal, a live action J-Drama series, various soundtracks, tons of musicals with different casts... SailorMoon has practically engraved it's name in history. It's appealed different audience but it's main audience is girls-and with girls come love, friendships, self-battles, and of course fashion. The great thing about the manga is that it really has a feminist vibe to it. Think Spice Girls with the whole 'girl power' vibe going and that's what Sailor Moon is in it's sparkly magical girl glory!

6. GALS

Also known as Super Gals, a lot of gyaru have gotten into Gyaru culture through this series. The series revolved around Kogal Ran and her friends who hang in Shibuya and do what was typical teenaged gyaru things like shop, bleach their hair, and go to Shibuya where they're either constantly being misjudged and misunderstood OR they're dealing with the bad things happening there. Basically it's a series that shows a couple of kogyaru's love of Shibuya and their good deeds to try to show that kogals are strong willed women who want to do the right thing. Of course they involve very gyaru elements like following the latest styles, going to mcdonalds, getting a tan, and having a great time with friends.

The series was created around the era that clothing brand Cocolulu was very popular So think of the gyaru who tanned and wore bright fun clothes and that's the era that GALS really shows. So think about the early 2000s and how great that era of gyaru fashion was!

Here's all the recs I have for you all! I hope you guys enjoy them! They're all really great reads with beautiful artwork to match! As for a personal update; with con season right around the corner I've been a little busy but hopefully I can bust out a couple more blog posts for you lovelies! Thank you guys for being so supportive and patient with me!