Welcome to The Avocado’s weekly discussion of Japanese pop culture! Today I’m featuring Io Sakisaka’s Strobe Edge. I recently read this shoujo manga and absolutely loved it. Once again, Sakisaka has created a compelling and heartfelt series with a sweet love story, inspiring friendships, and beautiful art. Every character, even (and especially!) the romantic rivals, were complicated and handled with care, so it ended up being one of the most comforting manga I’ve read in a while. And the main character, Ninako, is just so cool and sweet and wonderful, I could have read about her daily adventures forever. If you want a better idea of what this series is about, here are Sakisaka’s words explaining the inspiration:

I wrote Strobe Edge because I wanted to craft a story that illuminated some specific emotions that everyone has had.

I wanted to draw the sensation you feel in the window of time between one event and another. In a single moment, people think about all sorts of things.

We may never put them into words or write them down, but we feel the sensation of them flying through our minds.

I thought that perhaps by examining that sensation and teasing it out here, readers will be able to sympathize with it.

Just like with Love Me, Love Me Not, Sakisaka started with a really cool concept and absolutely delivered. If any of this sounds interesting to you, check out this wonderful manga! You can read the first three chapters for free through Viz Manga.

Anyway…

What have you been watching/reading/playing/eating/listening to lately?

Happy Wednesday! 🙂