Shibou to Iu Na no Fuku wo Kite
In Clothes Called Fat

Edit

What would you like to edit?

SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links  

In Clothes Named Fat – Spoiler Free – Recommended

TLDR
Story – 6,5/10 – 6,5 x 0.275 = 1,7875
Art – 7/10 – 7 x 0.2 = 1,4
Characters – 7/10 – 7 x 0.225 = 1,575
Enjoyment – 7/10 – 7 x 0.3 = 2,1
Total: 6,8625 -> 7

Story – 6,5/10
... In Clothes Named Fat is ultimately a manga about eating disorders and self-esteem, where objectification, fetiches, and beauty standards are all central topics.
In Clothes Named Fat is a manga made by Moyoco Anno. We follow the story of a slightly obese main character – Noko – who eats when stressed and is in a relationship with a mentally abusive boyfriend – he cheats on her and objectifies her for being obese. She then enters a phase where she devotes everything to losing weight, as it becomes her new obsession, for she believes that if she is able to lose weight her boyfriend will return to her and that she will be better off – no matter the financial and health costs of this transition.
Self-esteem is a big component of In Clothes Named Fat, as what moved Noko to lose/gain weight was never her well-being, but instead how she projected herself in society and with her peers/boyfriend. She makes it seem that because she was slightly obese the abuse she received was justified. This logic is unfortunately more common than it seems, as there are people whose self-esteem is so low that they believe they deserve the bad treatment they get.
The story’s main focus was clearly the depiction of eating disorders above all else. The story is, however, uninteresting in itself, but it does a good job of showing the health hazards that come with eating disorders, especially the psychological ones. This is what strikes the reader as novel and enticing – although it is a grim scenario. It is also a story that is where it is easy to empathise with Noko, as her struggles – having a stable relationship, managing weight, and just trying to be happy with our own body – strike a chord with many readers. It is also a very saddening story, as we see her enter into a spiral of depressive and destructive thoughts that are anything but healthy.

Art – 7/10
The art is average for a manga, although not bad by any accounts. The character design is quite good, having served as inspiration – at least it seems so – to the likes of the Helter Skelter manga; it also made the different characters easy to tell art. It is also expressive, making the differences in weight and the characters' intentions easy to tell.

Characters – 7/10
There aren’t many noteworthy characters in In Clothes Named Fat, as the manga is clearly more focused on depicting eating disorders and the psyche of Noko. Verily, as a character, she is impeccably well done, and she receives the majority of the character development in the manga. There is also some development of her boyfriend, Saitou, adding more depth to the overall characters of the manga. The antagonist, however, is archetypal.

Enjoyment – 7/10
In Clothes Named Fat is by no accounts a bad manga, as it does a favour in highlighting a topic that only rarely receives attention. Its main character is also well-constructed; however, the manga's saving grace is its topic, as the story isn’t that enticing. Besides this, the story clearly serves a purpose: to display and depict eating disorders. And, in this sense, In Clothes Named Fat is a symphony that plays in the same tone. For this reason, it deserves a recommendation.

Noko is a binge-eater, she suffers from major depression due to crippling insecurity issues and the stress of being bullied at work. To cope with her depressive episodes she eats and eats and continues to eat until she can forget everything. As Noko’s binge eating spirals out of control so too does her weight, which makes her feel even more insecure about her body. Noko is trapped in a vicious cycle of shame over her body and gorging herself. She is emotionally dependent on her boyfriend, Saitou.

In order to solve her problems with other people Noko decides to lose weight, but in her frenzy she ... develops an eating disorder. In Clothes Called Fat is by no means an easy read – it tackles an extremely difficult topic with brutal honesty. It shows that eating disorders aren’t simply dieting, but are actually a severe mental illness that can quickly turn deadly and destroy the lives of those suffering from them.

I think I would have liked this manga more if certain characters and plot points weren’t so absurd. There is a clear antagonist that’s just out to make the main character’s life miserable and the plot with her is just so over the top it borders on not being believable. I understand why some of these characters were introduced, as anyone losing weight will know there will always be mixed reactions from other people. There are those that will be discouraging of a person’s weight loss for various selfish reasons such as insecurity or because of a fetish, and in worse cases to keep someone down so that they can feel superior.

If the story had focused more on Noko’s private inner journey and less on the drama of these other characters this would have been better. This manga is definitely not a feel good weight loss and redemption story, it is startlingly honest, dark, cynical, and quite frankly a wake up call for young people that weigh their happiness and self worth by how they look.

In Clothes Called Fat by Moyoco Anno
Long-Winded Review #8 (Thicc edition)

Intro:
In Clothes Called Fat, by Hideaki Anno's wife Moyoco Anno, is a very solid josei manga about the insecurities we face every day, whether that has to do with our personal appearance or our psychological hangups.

Plot:
For the most part, we follow an overweight girl, Noko Hanazawa, who is the constant target of workplace bullying and social ostracization. She blames all of her problems on her weight and thinks that once she's skinny, everything will fall into place. So she seeks help to get thin, but of course things don't quite go as expected. The manga ... also puts some focus on a few other characters, namely Noko's boyfriend, who is intimidated by pretty, confident girls, so he encourages and even forces Noko to remain fat, despite not being attracted to her, because he feels like she won't leave him if she stays overweight. It goes into his mindset even deeper, to the point of revealing that him staying with her makes him feel like a good person, for staying with her despite her looks. It's a bit fucked up, but I have known many a relationship like that and this is the first time I've seen it explored, albeit not too deeply. Another character of focus is Noko's co-worker, who constantly bullies her and others, manipulating the workplace to like her, while stepping on "ugly people" because she hates "hideous things", all for an ego boost. So when she runs out of people to step on, she finds a deep dissatisfaction with her life, much like Noko and her boyfriend, who think changing singular things about themselves will make them fulfilled and content. That is the central theme of the story - a pervasive dissatisfaction with life that most of us have, that we think will go away if we fix a few things. But of course, it's never that simple.

Themes:
Anno does a great job exploring the psychology of an addict, in this case a food addict, but it feels a lot more universal that that. The ups and downs Noko goes through are highly relatable, whether you're addicted to food, drugs, shopping, or whatever else. For the most part, these themes have been endlessly explored in media, and Anno doesn't really stray from the beaten path, but sometimes she'll hit a subtle note of insight that elevates this manga above other similar works. Anno never really leans one way or another with her commentary, touching on several aspects of the issue. She acknowledges how part of of the problem is society for shunning outcasts, but also criticizes the blame-shifting some people will make for their problems. I honestly don't know how someone with Noko's problems would react to this manga; they might find it very insightful and encouraging, or they might find it critical and discouraging. At the root of it, the main motif of the manga is contentedness. Fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, confident, shy, strong, weak; none of those qualities are inherent sources of happiness or sorrow. The main message of this manga is that contentedness comes from within, and unless you get to the root of the problem, you will always be dissatisfied with life.

Art:
The art is pretty solid. Nothing amazing at the surface level, just your usual josei art style. It's fairly minimalist, but with a slightly messy flair about it. It's very similar to Kyoko Okazaki's style, which makes a lot of sense considering Anno used to work for Okazaki. I do find Anno's style more appealing personally. Where I think Anno shines is in her portrayal of Noko's face and body over the course of her weight loss and weight gain. She really captures that dead, weak, look that anorexic people often have, where they might be smiling but look like they're about to pass out any moment. Her portrayal of Noko's overweight body is equally as good, and very realistic. Anno doesn't shy away from nudity at all, and I think it really helps drive home the themes of the manga. Noko's body is never drawn to look inherently repulsive. In fact, for the most part I found chubby Noko to be pretty cute. On the other side of the coin, Noko's abusive co-worker, who's supposed to be extremely beautiful, is often be drawn to look somewhat unattractive, in part due to her nasty personality, and in part due to the subtle expressions Anno is able to convey.

Conclusion:
All in all, I liked this manga a lot. I couldn't help but compare it to Okazaki's Helter Skelter as that deals with plastic surgery addiction and touches on similar themes. I think that this manga is more coherent and solid overall, but Helter Skelter had a bit more charm. That said, I think they're of similar quality. But I'm not here to compare, I'm here to review this book on its own virtues and flaws. I think Anno accomplishes what she set out to accomplish. She had some very good insights on the psychological profiles of archetypes of people we meet every day (or may very well ourselves be). She often hit some subtle notes, but sometimes felt a little too on-rails. I think some aspects of the manga could have been developed further, or more efficiently, but overall there is sufficient depth to be found for a one-shot volume.

Final score: 8.5