Neighborhood Story (ご近所物語) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. It was serialized by Shueisha's manga magazine Ribon from 1995 to 1997, with its chapters collected in seven volumes. The manga has been licensed for English release in North America by Viz Media. A 50-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Toei Animation, was broadcast on TV Asahi from September 1995 to September 1996. An anime film was released in March 1996.

Story

Mikako Kōda is an aspiring fashion designer who attends Yazawa Art Academy in Tokyo and is slowly building up her clothing brand, Happy Berry. Having been childhood friends with her neighbor, Tsutomu Yamaguchi, since infancy, Mikako reassesses her once-platonic feelings for him when he suddenly becomes popular at school due to his resemblance to the singer Ken Nakagawa and begins dating Mariko, a popular and attractive girl.

Characters

Main characters

Akindo members

Kouda family

Nakasu family

Other characters

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa, Neighborhood Story was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Ribon from the February 1995 to the October 1997 issues. Shueisha collected its chapters in seven volumes, released from October 13, 1995, to April 15, 1998. The covers of all volumes created a panoramic picture of the characters eating at a picnic when put together side-by-side. The series was republished in a four-volume edition in 2005, and a five-volume edition in 2011. In North America, the manga has been licensed for English release by Viz Media. The first volume was released on December 5, 2023. The fourth and final volume is set to be released on December 2, 2024.

Anime

A 50-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by Toei Animation, Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and Asatsu-DK, was broadcast on TV Asahi from September 10, 1995, to September 1, 1996. It was directed by Atsutoshi Umezawa, with Aya Matsui handling series composition, Yoshihiko Umakoshi designing the characters and Masahiro Kawasaki composing the music. The anime stars Rumi Shishido as Mikako, who was encouraged to audition for the part after producer Hiromi Seki heard her speaking voice in her 1990 album, Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do-Shi-Shi-Do-Ru-Mi. The opening theme is "He.Ro.I.Ne", the first ending theme is "Don't You Know?!" and the second ending theme is "NG!", all sung by Shishido. A DVD box set containing all episodes was released on September 28, 2005. A 30-minute anime film premiered on March 2, 1996. It is an alternate retelling of the beginning of the series.

Episodes

Reception

Viz Media's English release won the Japan Society and Anime NYC's first American Manga Awards in the Best New Edition of Classic Manga Series category in 2024. In 2024, through a survey of 100 people by TV Maga (a web magazine operated by TV Log), Neighborhood Story was voted second for most fashionable manga, along with Paradise Kiss, another series by Yazawa.