Pink

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Pink by Kyoko Okazaki
Long-Winded Review #6 (crocodiles are cute fuck you edition)

Pink is a manga that just doesn't give a fuck. Pink is both anarchic and capitalist. Pink is both punk rock and pop. Pink is both sour and sweet. Pink is pink.

On a surface level, this might come across as a simple humorous slice-of-life story with no plot. And really, it's not much more than that, and that is exactly the point. Pink's philosophy is "fuck assumptions, fuck how you're supposed to feel, fuck all that" This philosophy is perfectly embodied by Yumi owning a fucking crocodile that just hangs out in her apartment, ... because why the fuck not? This line of thinking permeates the entire manga and it might not be obvious at a first glance, but that's exactly the point. You don't need to be deep and stuffy to send a message to your readers, you can embrace the ridiculous shit life throws at you and laugh it of. Get yourself some sweets, have some casual sex, buy some cool stuff, and move on.

You can be an office worker with a side-gig as a call girl, own a cute ass crocodile, enjoy fucking old men, enjoy eating sweets and hanging out with your bratty little sister, fuck and befriend your step-mom's young boyfriend, embrace capitalism because buying things is fun, enjoy sex with a rude and verbally abusive man that robbed you because fuck it the sex was amazing. Had a bad day? Fuck that, do something fun right now. Life goes on, and why dwell on the negative? Buy some cute clothes and move on.

The art reflects this perfectly as well. Most of the time, Okazaki's pencils are loose and cartoonish. Some might call it amateurish, but it's intended to be just as it is. It emphasizes Okazaki's unique sense of humor and the philosophy of the book. The comedic timing is absolutely flawless and I found myself laughing every other page. I love the exaggerated expressions, I love the ridiculous situations the characters get into, I love the fact that no fucks are given. Just enjoy a damn manga and have fun. All that matters is getting through the day in whatever way makes you happy. Enjoy the here and now.

This manga gets a 10/10 from me. Its unique charm, its humor, its shamelessness, its casual depth is unmatched. Pink is loose and free. Pink is sugary and chewy. Pink is one of a kind. It doesn't take itself seriously, and neither should you. Life is ridiculous so get yourself a cute ass crocodile.

“Capitalism and Love.”

Life is quite a volatile fellow, you’ll never know what it’ll throw at you, whether it be an opportunity or a nonchalant crocodile.

Kyoko Okazaki is known for implementing controversial dark but real themes in her works such as sex, prostitution, drugs and homosexuality. Her brilliant work, "Pink" is no exception to some of these aspects."Pink" tackles on the introspection of its witty characters, sexual relations, and their frivolous nature which really work for the story’s essence.

We are introduced to 22 year-old Yumi who works part time at a small office. Yumi is quite the ebullient young woman who tries to ... confront life with a positive vibe - even though her position and utter circumstances are far from it. In order to feed her voracious crocodile - who sports a fine pair of lenses - she must sell her body every night to make the proper dough. One would think she would detest such a disgraceful act, but ironically she brushes it off casually and continues on with a gleeful smile - albeit beneath that carefree nature lies jaundice and family issues.

We're also introduced to Yumi's young precocious step sister Keiko, the candy and prince fascinator but also the insightful one. Her mother being Yumi’s stepmother, Yumi detests her and does her best to ignore and ridicule her in her thoughts. Knowing full well that her stepmother favors the life of luxury and does not truly love her father.

Now, enter Haruo, a young college student with aspirations and dreams of becoming a respected novelist in the literary world. He is quite the sharp yet flawed man who makes his earnings by serving as a gigolo for Keiko's mother, a gigolo being a man who is paid/financially supported by an older woman to be her escort/lover. Haruo is an inquiring young man who wishes to expand his intellect and his "powers of observation" to aid in writing his novel. He ends up meeting Yumi, Keiko and the ever conspicuous croc, forming a unique, intrinsic bond.

I found the main set of characters to be quite dynamic and enjoyable through their interactions. Even though their situations may be ridiculous and off handed, they always seem to enjoy each other's company. As for the sexual content. It didn’t feel oversaturated or shoved into the writing like I thought it initially would. It had its purpose and meaning.
(Tip: Don’t read in public unless you want people leaning your way).

Pink’s form of storytelling is through the different point of views from various characters. Most had their own moments of soliloquy and internal reflections. I rather favored this since it let the reader understand the real motives behind their facade like nature.

The overall plot flowed smoothly and the pacing was quite good, though the romance felt a bit forced in the beginning due this ambiguous feeling I felt between the set characters, that is until it their lustful relationship turned into an intrinsic one as the plot progressed. Pink sports a rather unorthodox, minimalist yet vibrant art style which is reminiscent a vintage comic strip. I found this to be refreshing and different - really digging Okazaki’s signature style. As for that croc, i personally feel that this reptile may represent an array of things, hell - it may not symbolize anything, just a simple red herring left by the mangaka.

From my perspective, I believe that the croc represented Yumi's reason for living - her merit existence and vividness. Without it, she would become solemn and quite cynical. The pigmentation of pink was also brought up a couple times, representing happiness; a vibrant color in contrast of the gritty reality which the characters face blindly.

Overall, Pink is a great read with a fairly strong execution in the end. The story was not too overly complicated, neither was the frontal premise. Even so, the characters are what knitted the story together into an enjoyable read. I highly recommend this work, but be warned - since it showcases heavy sexual material which is not appropriate for the younger audience.

Pink appears at first as a beautiful cover that outlines a nice long-haired girl, but as Okazaki describes well, keeps many secrets. The plot involves the daily life of Yumi, who although she seems to be silly and fragile, has a lucidity that only equates to her curiosity, as to the ephemeral of the daily.

The representations brought in lines that resemble elegant sketches, deal with the linearity of the event at the same time, bring us nature of synapses and the chaos that envolves Think. Few times have I seen a writing that is so close to thought that it cuts across the idea ... of being Human.

Undoubtedly, it marked me today after reading it and will accompany me throughout the days to come, not only for the elements that make up the narrative, such as sexism, capitalism and social relations, but also for the subtlety that the author has when working with these plots in such a dense and deep way.

I just read Pink by Okazaki Kyoko and I loved it so so much.

Pink was published in 1989 and is about Yumi, a 22 year old office lady who becomes a call girl to be able to afford feeding her pet crocodile. The main trio of recurring characters are Yumi, her half-sister and her step-mother’s sugar baby.

I didn’t expect to like it better than Helter Skelter, especially after reading someone say on Goodreads they liked the book cover better than the actual book.

I found Yumi and her outlook on life so relatable. Yumi loves buying stuff and is sometimes a very shallow character but she ... also finds hapiness in the simple things in life, like occasionally buying herself a bouquet of pink roses after work, being alone with her pet crocodile in her tidy bedroom or walking alone on a starry night. Even Yumi’s little sister once made a comment I resonated with. It was as simple as liking to ride cabs late at night. Those simple thoughts and the overall quirky, upbeat and relaxing tone of the manga made it a joy to read to the very ending, that, to put it bluntly, ripped my heart out. Another thing that made me love Yumi even more was her inconditional love for her crocodile “Croc”.

I think anyone that enjoys reading josei might enjoy Pink, especially 20-something year olds, and like Helter Skelter, there’s an english paperback edition published by Vertical Inc. that is absolutely stunning and still in print.

While this isn't the best manga I've read. It has charm. All I could think of when I read about how she has to sell her body to feed her pet crocodile was "is this set in Florida?" XD. While the art wasn't my cup of tea (to me it looked like they didn't connect anything when the artist went from sketches to line art) It had a style of writing and the promise that really hooked me. Even though it only has one volume I feel like it could have been stretched out between 2 or 3 more books. While it's definitely not ... for everyone I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are okay with some taboo subjects.

I'm going to preface this by saying I LOVE josei... so naturally, I had to read Kyoko Okazaki's Pink, ntm it comes with the tagline, "LOVE + CAPITALISM."

Starting off with some backstory, Pink was originally written in 1989 during the peak of bubble economy Japan. Despite this, it takes a different approach than the one you might be expecting, instead of being head-on with its criticism, what Pink does is take this setup and paint a picture of the way a consumerist society operates. It doesn't tell you how to feel, it just throws shit at you, and in a way we can still pull ... aspects of the narrative and apply them to our current situation even decades later.

Now moving on to Yumi, I actually really enjoyed her character. She doesn't have groundbreaking characterization, (which actually serves this type of a one-shot surprisingly well!) nor does she feel like a one-of-a-kind idiosyncratic protag whose purpose is to excel at being annoyingly cynical, which is sadly a common theme within Josei. Yumi feels like someone you could actually know in real life as opposed to a caricature. But, moving on to another factor I like to look out for!! The way taboo topics are presented within transgressive media!! Now with Pink, although the story is carried out in a comedic way, it never seems to put itself in a light where sensitive issues such as misogyny and suicide are devalued which I greatly appreciate.

SPOILERS???? AFTER THIS MARK

More on the story's light-hearted feel, it's humorous in a way that's refreshingly blunt, and for me personally, the most memorable part of reading Pink was skimming through Okazaki's sardonic commentary (mostly on the characters) that was stuffed into the margins. But aside from all that, plot-wise, Yumi, our protagonist, works late nights as a call girl to feed her pet crocodile (a manifestation of her hunger/desire if you will) who just kind of chills out in her apartment??? She has sex with rude old men, buys things just for the sake of well... buying things, and just explores the simple pleasures of life alongside her sister, and the man her step-mother is having an affair with. Sure, it's messy and complicated.. but it's also so much fun at the same time!! Pink essentially shoves its eccentric nature in your face and leaves you to deal.

So in conclusion, if you can get your hands on Pink I'd definitely say to give it a go!!! :)

This was actually a very fun read. It's one of the most accurate depictions of life, and something that everyone can relate. It criticizes life and the people in life, while not being annoyingly preachy. This is brilliantly done by having the people who comment on things be a little girl and a dumb woman. This manga pokes fun at lots of hypocrites, while acknowledging the hypocrisy of the people poking fun at others. It reminds me of myself actually. I get annoyed at my mom splurging on dumb things, while I splurge on dumb things as well. My ... older brother told me not to waste money on skins in games, while he spent money ordering a big Godzilla action figure from Amazon. We're all hypocrites who partake in capitalism and doing dumb things. The little girl, the MC's step sister, criticizes the adults for being horny people who needlessly complicate things. It's true that adults make things harder than they need to be, but it also juxtaposes against her naivety. She's too young to really understand things, and we understand that when we see her point of view. Yet she still manages to be relatable. Once again, we've all wasted money on dumb things while criticizing someone else who does the same. We've all had that point in our life where we wanted everything to be a fairy tale. Too bad we grew up and reality hit us in the face.

The manga also pokes fun at people who portray one thing, but the reality is totally different. Or people who criticize things, while partaking in them. Like an English major who thinks that reading is for nerds. Irony! Or men who pay for sex, telling said prostitute that she needs to settle down and become a respectable young lady. Reminds me of the people who say that I shouldn't have to work on Christmas Eve, while they're shopping at the mall on Christmas Eve, thus creating that demand. Or people who speak up and talk about our treatment of animals, while having a wallet made from animals.

Though once again, they manage to critique such people without coming across as preachy. Instead, they just show us their actions and we are meant to come to such a conclusion ourselves. The ending was abrupt, but that's the entire theme of this manga. The entire time, the main character constantly says that anything can happen at anytime. That's the thrill of life.

It is tough to put into words how frustrated I feel realizing the amount of effort it took from me to read this. It feels very avent-garde; I do not even know what that word fucking means, but the closest words I would associate it with is probably fake and plastic. It is extremely exasperating when I realize how high this is spoken of then contrasting to the reality of actually fucking reading it. It is important to note this since this section is flooded with 10s and 9s putting a pretty high expectation of this manga. It is hard to figure out the purpose ... of this manga aside from being p r e t t y and a e s t h e t i c. Reading this was a chore, and I do not recommend this in the slightest. Okazaki Kyoko’s stories tend to be like this in that you barely understand much and whatever questions that are unanswered will stay unanswered. This applies to another work of hers which is Helter Skelter. The author’s paneling is very hard to follow as well. It is not that it suffers from overcrowding rather it is just extremely clunky at times; so much so that sometimes I would spend at least three minutes trying to understand what is exactly happening. A very superficial work which is art in name only and mostly made for privileged intelligentsia, so they can vicariously live through oppression.