What’s it about: While creator Ai Yazawa’s hit-shojo manga, Nana, flirts dangerously close to being read as a story about two roommates that are secretly in love with each other, her previous series, Paradise Kiss, explicitly features queer and trans characters who are thoughtfully written. Paradise Kiss centers on how the relationship between a cocky fashion designer named Jōji Koizumi (who’s bisexual, btw) and his muse, Yukari Hayasaka, makes for a bumpy walk on the runway. But we’re not here to talk about them. We’re here to talk about how well-written Paradise Kiss’ Isabella Yamamoto is.
As a child, Isabella never felt comfortable unless she wore beautiful dresses. After being encouraged to model a new modeling dress for Joji, Isabella learns to accept herself as a girl and becomes one of his most-trusted seamstresses and the mother hen of their friend group.
