Yazawa Junkie

Ai Yazawa has been on hiatus since 2009 due to an illness that she had to be hospitalized for. This occurred right around the time when a significant death occurred in the story arc of Nana. I'm hard-pressed to think of another fictional character's death that impacted me the same way as this one did. Though Yazawa was released from the hospital a year later in 2010, she hasn't produced much work since.

Every once in a while, I check the forums to see if there are any updates on Yazawa's condition. I was quite ecstatic to learn that, though she has not confirmed anything regarding continuing Nana, Yazawa has started drawing again. Check out the new cover art for the new reprinting of Last Quarter -- it makes me excited just looking at it.

I skimmed a book once about music -- why we like the stuff we do. There's a general idea that the things you like as a teenager tend to leave the most impact later on in your life. From personal experience, this is true for me. My musical tastes have ventured in all sorts of directions, but rock music remains the baseline go-to. The same applies to the books and stories I liked at that age. Francesca Lia Block's Wasteland remains monumental.

But one of the most significant influences on my story tastes remains Ai Yazawa. I worshiped Nana to the point that I imitated Nana Osaki, and EP owes a lot of its roots to Nana's rock-and-roll background. I still remember my favorite lines from Paradise Kiss, especially the unconventional bittersweet ending. I even typed down the translated monologue in the last chapter of Last Quarter, where Adam speaks from the afterlife to the other characters, ending with the last verse of his song about "losing the sun that is you."

I've been thinking a lot more about EP recently. I'm working full-time next year as I apply to medical school, and my hope is that once I finish my applications, I will be able to use my free time after work to finally make progress on the story. Having taken two creative writing classes this spring, I've developed a fresh perspective on storytelling and I'm eager to work on my life's project. EP is heavily inspired by Yazawa's works. I owe a lot of my artistic tastes to Ai Yazawa, and I eagerly await her return.