Othello, Volume 1
by Satomi Ikezawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Yaya is a meek dim-witted teenage girl who lets everyone push her around. Nana is a strong, brazen teenage girl who punishes evil-doers. They are complete opposites, yet they are the same person. Yaya has a split personality. Whenever Yaya is faced with a difficult situation Nana takes over. Nana knows everything about Yaya, but Yaya doesn’t know anything about Nana. In fact, she completely blanks whenever Nana is in control and becomes confused and scared when she doesn’t remember parts of her life, and when other people around her start accusing her of wild and crazy behavior.
This is a fun series! I like the idea that Nana is there as an outlet for Yaya’s emotions until Yaya can become strong enough to deal with them on her own. Apart from all of the split-personality craziness, this series reminds me a lot of Kimi Ni Todoke. The way the nice-guy (Moriyama-kun) takes care of the meek Yaya.
The other characters in the series often mention that Nana and Yaya look alike, but too different. And it is true. Satomi has managed to keep the essence of the characters the same, while also making them look like completely different characters.
It’s a fun quick read [I read the 7 volumes in about 3 hours]– I highly recommend you giving it a try.
manga hoarder 