Othello

We've all been there, we have all had those situations were we just stared into the mirror and wished we were someone else. Othello follows Yaya; a girl who wishes for nothing more to be brave, and in doing so creates another personality to combat the problems she is to afraid confront.

I wasn't so sure about this manga at first. It was really angsty and the melodrama felt over the top. The bullying seemed unbelievable and I didn't like the way that it was always Nana saving the day. However, as the story manages to progress it started to turn for the better. The underlying bullying theme kept its ugly head present for the whole thing, which disappointed me, but the story started to shift to Yaya trying to deal with her split personality. At first it was trying to understand what was going on, then it was trying to cope with this disorder. There was just such a subtly undertone in the growth of Yaya as a character, and it really caught my attention. The way she progressed and grew as a character was really something else, and to be honest some of the scenes left me goosebumps.

That being said, the manga was still plagued with some very poor writting. The dialogue felt contrived and the story never felt urgent, it doesn't help that the ending is really lacking. It's a shame too, because this manga could have been so much better. The way the mangka handles Yaya as a character was brilliant, no question in that, but it felt like she didn't know what to do with the rest of the story. It felt like a lot of pointless filler was thrown in there, and like she didn't know how to handle it. I'm not saying Othello is bad, on the contrary, it's really good, but it just could have been so much more, it could have stood at such a higher ground.

The art-work in Othello was truly astounding. Very attentive details in the background, really well drawn characters, and I must say I enjoyed the author's fashion style that she choose for the main characters. What really mad everything stand out were the mannerisms in the characters face, a weight of realism was attached to each movement, each smile, each frown, it felt like that these were real people, not drawn images.

Othello may be easy to pass up. It offers an enjoyable story, but does suffer from some spotty writing. It may not the the masterpiece it could have been, but at the end of the day Othello is still an enjoyable read nonetheless.

Yaya Higuchi is not your ordinary shy-type naïve student for she has a secret: when she looks in her reflection in the mirror or suddenly hits her head or sees her reflection, she turns into Nana, her second personality who puts her into a lot of trouble because of its troublesome and hyperactive personality which is the total opposite of Yaya. (well, not totally because many times, Nana saves her from being bullied.) She, in spite of her low profile personality, has a passion for singing and cosplaying (she likes gothic fashion).

She likes Shohei, the lead singer of the rock band Juliet but soon he develops some feelings for Moriyama who knows Yaya and Nana is the same person.But it’s not easy when Megumi Hano, Moriyama’s fan and the resident evil of the series, comes in her way and become Nana’s worst enemy.

Well, what if the oh-so-mean beast Megumi finds out Yaya’s secret? Oh..that sorts of a double trouble, huh?

The manga’s title was derived not from the renowned play of Shakespeare but from a certain board game called Othello. The reason is that the game has a lot of switching back and forth between black and white pieces (very much like ‘go’ ,also a kind of board game in Japanese) representing Yaya and Nana’s situation.


It depicts the “justice-is-done” adventures of Yaya and Nana as they get through different kinds of trouble. It teaches so many values especially on how to believe in one’s self and how to overcome inferiority complex in order to achieve what you truly desire. Also, it is inclined into music and has a nice illustration that will make your heart be captive.

The negative thing about it is it's so short and the story is so promising..you would ask for more. The ending's fine but it could be great if something unique will happen so I was a bit disappointed on how it was done.


All in all, Othello has a nice blend of drama, comedy, and action that will surely loved by all shoujo fans.I recommended it!

TL:DR: Othello is a unique shoujo which falls outside of ordinary tropes and provides a unique and emotional story. I would definitely recommend this quick read.

L;DR:
Now, I really was not expecting for this plain-looking shoujo manga to take me by such surprise. I don't usually get so invested in these kinds of shojo, especially not ones as short as Othello, but... gosh. What I thought was a basic and boring shoujo turned out to be a much deeper story.

I don't think I was reading Othello, so much as I was FEELING it. While Yaya is not at all a relatable character, her emotions expressed in the story are ones that are very much relatable. I felt it in my heart as she suffered at the hands of her classmates, not being able to say no, terrified of putting others in danger. The contrast between her and Nana was equal parts amusing and heartbreaking. Nana herself is a great character to follow, and it was so satisfying to watch her deal out the "heavenly punishment" on her enemies. As well, the character development of Yaya was done smoothly and was really quite wonderful to follow, and her relationship with Moriyama was pleasant and refreshing.

The story moves rather fast, not being dragged down with pointless filler or cliched moments. I barely ever cry while reading manga, but the hard-hitting moments in this manga really did bring a tear to eye.

I'm not saying that Othello is life changing or anything, and 9/10 probably is much higher of a score than it perhaps deserves. But the feelings I got while reading were quite unique to this manga, making it an experience I don't think I'll forget so quickly.

I thought that this manga had all of the right things to make it one of the greats. The drama of this high school girl, Yaya, who has another personality inside her, named Nana. The story was very well put together, and portrayed the life of a teenage girl who does not know who she is, and struggles through it.

This manga I recommend for people to read. It's very entertaining and heart wrenching. The art isn't the greatest, but once you get past that, you will fall in love with it.

Okay, I fell in love with this manga when I was 9 (five or more years ago). I loves the story and thought it was truly amazing.

Story:

Honestly, I gave the story a 10. Since it was one of the first manga I read, I really enjoyed it. It was cute and very enjoyable. You'll want to read more.

Art:

The art isn't the best but, it's really good. So I have art a 9. The characters are drawn really well. I really liked how Nana was drawn, she grabbed my attention.

Characters:

I gave characters a 9. They were all unique and had fantastic personalities. Even if they had more than one. Some of the characters just got on my nerves, but other than that, I loved the characters.

Enjoyment:

What do you think I gave enjoyment? I gave it a 10. I loved reading Othello and I was hooked on the story. Since I read it when I was 9, reading it when I'm 13 made it more fun to re-read.

Overall: I LOVED Othello! I really suggest reading this manga! It is clearly my favourite! :D I gave it the biggest 10 I could think of! :D