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REVIEW: In Clothes Called Fat GN




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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 4:19 pm Reply with quote
Wow, this sounds pretty interesting. It sounds like the sort of story you could only write by experiencing it yourself or knowing someone who's gone through it.

There aren't a lot of overweight people in Japan. Do they really stand out there?
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unitmikey



Joined: 15 Feb 2013
Posts: 286
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:17 pm Reply with quote
I find it interesting that it was pointed out that some of the characters didn't really push the story along, because overall I felt it was impressive that Anno managed to evolve, develop, and understand as many characters as she could within such a short amount of pages. Even some of the people who barely showed up (such as Saito's mom, Mr.Fujimo, and especially Ms. Tabata) really helped to build up the ideas that Anno was analyzing.

And the best part is that it comes to the conclusion that none of the readers are going to want. It's incredibly true though. It makes me interested in mental health in Japan (or the late nineties in general) because I really am not aware of how much the treatment of psychiatric care has changed since this was written.

I also love how it's referred to on the back as being a "dark comedy". It is certainly the most brutal comedy I've read (even by dark comedy standards).
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here-and-faraway



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 1528
Location: Sunny California
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 7:24 pm Reply with quote
I thought the review did a good job balancing what makes this title worth picking up, despite its flaws. Nicely done!

Obesity is a sensitive and complex issue. As unfair as it is to judge people by how they look, the sad fact is that overweight people are often treated more poorly than the skinny ones. I like that Anno doesn't back away from this fact and love how she makes Mayumi voice it. Although I want the best for Noko, I also appreciate that Anno didn't make her an innocent angel. Anno holds Noko accountable for the decisions she makes, but also compassionately illustrates why Noko makes them.

Quote:
[It has] a couple of characters who never really serve the plot,


Yes. What stuck out like a sore thumb was the weight-loss spa lady. I understood her role in the story, but the details that were added about her personal life seemed superfluous. spoiler[I couldn't care less that she is a lesbian, but her relationship didn't add anything to the story and felt "clunky". I'm guessing Anno added a healthy relationship to illustrate how messed up everyone else was, but the healthy relationship felt flat compared to the messy connections the other characters had with one another.]
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katscradle



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 469
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 7:28 pm Reply with quote
In Clothes Called Fat may be my favorite release this year. I did have some apprehensions about buying it at first given the subject matter. Since women's manga is a small market in English I went ahead. I'm so glad I did. It definitely has triggers or other disturbing material. But, it's so insightful about many things and not just eating disorders. The cover is one of the nicest I've seen from Vertical too.
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Gasero



Joined: 24 Jul 2009
Posts: 939
Location: USA
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:14 pm Reply with quote
This sounds like a interesting story filled with potential for character development. I rarely see characters in anime comment on weight, but that could be because most of my experience is with shonen where the focus is action.
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rockman nes



Joined: 07 Nov 2008
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:34 pm Reply with quote
EXTREME UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE OPINION: Moyoco seems to be a better writer than her husband
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Fronzel



Joined: 11 Sep 2003
Posts: 1906
PostPosted: Sat Oct 25, 2014 9:29 pm Reply with quote
The last "normal" chapter feels like a hasty ending since it doesn't lead into the epilogue chapter in a very sensible manner, plus a few things seem to be left hanging a little, like how the spa woman's increased characterization didn't really go anywhere or how the final mention of Mayumi is so perfunctory. Could this have been cancelled in serialization?

rockman nes wrote:
EXTREME UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE OPINION: Moyoco seems to be a better writer than her husband

But how do you explain Sugar Sugar Rune? That thing's so janky I wonder if the editors at the shoujo magazine wouldn't let her do what she wanted.
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Msag



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:39 pm Reply with quote
I can read difficult books, but this one could hit closer to home considering you're saying the conclusion isn't one readers would want as such... nevertheless I'm gonna add it to my to-read list because there are way too few manga out there (I could be wrong?) that illustrate weight issues in depth. Have you read the manga "Cousin" btw? It's one of my favourites and definitely worth reading if you're interested in weight issues AND want characters you could root for too.
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#825873



Joined: 27 Oct 2014
Posts: 1
PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:13 am Reply with quote
This book was interesting, though exaggerated.....I didn't know what to make of the end though....what message was I supposed to take from it exactly?.....Kind of fell flat for me.
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1thought



Joined: 17 Sep 2014
Posts: 65
PostPosted: Mon Oct 27, 2014 9:54 pm Reply with quote
At least Vertical is attempting to pick up interesting mature manga.
There really becoming a interesting company with potential.
At first they were just a Tezuka company.

It's unfortunate they can't touch Shogakukan titles with all their mature publications.

I haven't read this yet but I have a copy on it's way.
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Kadmos1



Joined: 08 May 2014
Posts: 13540
Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP
PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:01 am Reply with quote
rockman nes wrote:
EXTREME UNIQUE SNOWFLAKE OPINION: Moyoco seems to be a better writer than her husband


i didn't really read the article or manga, however, I can agree with this in part that Hideaki can't seem to have a definitive Eva anime/manga ending
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