is a ''shōjo''

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series by

Satomi Ikezawa is a Japanese manga artist. Her works include '' Guru Guru Pon-chan'', '' Othello'' and '' Sue-chan wa Himitsu''. In 2000, she received the Kodansha Manga Award in the '' shōjo'' category for ''Guru Guru Pon-chan''. Works *'' Anatomy of a Se ...

. It was originally serialized by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

in ''

Bessatsu Friend , formerly known as , is a Japanese Shōjo manga, manga magazine published by Kodansha, aimed at teenage girls. It was originally conceived as a , or companion magazine, to ''Shōjo Friend'', which is no longer published. ''Bessatsu Friend'' i ...

'' and collected in seven ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. It is distributed by

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

in North America. The story is about a shy, naive Japanese teenager with a split personality. The manga is titled after the board game Othello, and not the Shakespearian play. The game involves a lot of switching back and forth between black and white pieces, representing Yaya and Nana's constant flip-flop.

Plot

Yaya is a shy, quiet teen with a passion for singing, Japanese

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

Gothic Lolita is a subculture from Japan that is highly influenced by Victorian clothing and styles from the Rococo period. A very distinctive property of Lolita fashion is the aesthetic of cuteness. This clothing subculture can be categorized into three ...

cosplay Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...

and music in general. But she has a secret: When she looks in a mirror or hits her head, Yaya's second personality, aptly named Nana, takes over her body and puts the wrong-doers in their places, shouting her catchphrase "Heavenly Punishment!" and once the damage is dealt, "Justice is done!" The series chronicles Yaya and Nana's somewhat episodic adventures against bullies, perverts, and generally mean people. The manga also has a lot to do with music, as several of the characters have connections to the music industry or play in a band. Though this is a different manga, Pon-chan (another manga, Guru-Guru Pon Chan, by the same author) shows up.

Characters

; Yaya Higuchi : Yaya is an innocent and timid teenager who, because of her personality, is constantly attacked and ridiculed by people who claim to be her friends. She likes to wear

on Sundays, and likes Japanese rock groups, but no one knows about it and she considers it her "true self". As a result of her being unable to do anything but go along with people who treat her badly, she develops an alter-ego named ''Nana''. Yaya becomes fearful that she may be going insane, because she is not aware of her Nana personality, and doesn't remember large chunks of time because of it. Nana often appears if Yaya looks in a mirror, hits her head or falls asleep, but also comes out if Yaya really needs help. When she finds out about her alter-ego, Yaya gets scared and locks herself up inside, so Nana is always out. She comes to terms with it later, though, and the two girls are able to happily share one body, and even change on command. Eventually, as Yaya becomes stronger, Nana's interventions are no longer needed and she apparently fades away for good. However, it is later revealed that the two personalities have merely come together, with both Yaya and Nana's personality traits present within one conscious body. :Yaya has an interest in a

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

band called Juliet and looks up to the lead singer of Juliet, even though the make-up band disappeared a while ago. ; Nana :Unlike the very shy Yaya, Nana is tough, cunning, sarcastic, and bold. She comes out whenever Yaya needs help because of her inability to stand up for herself. Nana kicks butt throughout the series, and reveals several people as fakes. Her phrase, whenever she accomplishes her goal, is "Justice is done!" Nana becomes a guest singer for the group "Black Dog" a few times, and later has Yaya sing with them. She gets to be out for a long while when Yaya locks herself up. Nana eventually goes away when Yaya no longer needs her to fix her messes. ; Moriyama : Yaya's handsome classmate and talented guitarist who begins a tentative romantic relationship with her. At the beginning of the series, Yaya feels that he is somewhat unkind, but in time she realizes that he is a caring person. He is one of the few people who are genuinely kind to Yaya, and helps her when Nana's existence becomes more than she can handle. He is the lead singer of the popular rock group, Black Dog. He lets Yaya become the Black dog's manager. He then also realizes that he loves Yaya as much as she loves him. ; Seri and Moe : Yaya's classmates and alleged friends who actually take pleasure in tormenting her. They call her names and treat her like their servant. They are the first ones to discover Yaya is into Gothic Lolita but fail to actually reveal it to anyone, as Nana stops them. ; Shōhei Shinyoji : Moriyama's adult friend who has taken an interest in Nana's voice and may also be trying to pursue a more intimate relationship with her. Yaya idolizes him because he is the former singer of the band 'Juliet', a

rock band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

created by the music industry. Shōhei says that he is done with Juliet. ; Megumi Hano (Hano-chan) : A bright and optimistic transfer student who turns out to be a sadistic, jealous, and selfish manipulator and fangirl of Moriyama's. She sets her sights on Yaya when she discovers how close she is to Moriyama. Hano pressures Yaya into signing a contract that would supposedly get her into the music industry and meet Shōhei. But, in actuality, Hano nearly forces Yaya into prostitution to profit off her. Nana "defeats" her during a sky diving challenge Hano instigates. Megumi has an older brother, Keisuke, who was the drummer for Juliet. Keisuke holds a grudge against Shōhei for leaving the band, which caused the band to fall apart. ; Shūko : Moriyama's strong-willed ex-girlfriend, who suddenly appears and tries to take Moriyama back, just as he is getting closer with Yaya. Shūko reveals to Yaya her alter-ego when she records her becoming Nana on her phone's camera. When Shūko realizes how much Moriyama cares for Yaya, she backs off and leaves them to develop their relationship. ; Black Dog : Moriyama's band, of which he is the lead singer and lead guitarist. The other three members, Furuta, Ukon and Awane, are all college age. Their name comes from the

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

song " Black Dog".

Release

Written and illustrated by

, the chapters of ''Othello'' were serialized in the Japanese magazine ''

'' and collected into seven ''

'' volumes by

. The volumes were published from August 6, 2001 to September 13, 2004. Del Rey licensed ''Othello'' for an English-language release in North America and published the seven volumes from October 12, 2004 to February 28, 2006. In the United Kingdom,

Tanoshimi Tanoshimi was the United Kingdom arm of US publisher Random House and was responsible for the publication of their English Language, English-language manga titles. Its relationship with Random House was the same as Del Rey Manga, Del Rey, which re ...

published ''Othello'' from May 3, 2007 to November 1, 2007. The series is also licensed in Germany by

Egmont Manga & Anime Egmont Manga (EMA, formerly ''Egmont Manga & Anime'') is one of the largest publishers of manga in Germany. It was founded in 2000 as a daughter company of Egmont Ehapa, after the manga boom in Germany became apparent around the turn of the mil ...

, and in France by

Pika Édition Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Vanves, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007. Distribution ''Pika Édition'' publications are distributed in ...

Plot

Characters

Release

Volume list

References

External links