Walkin' Butterfly

Walkin' Butterfly is a shōjo manga by Chihiro Tamaki. It was serialized by Kodansha in the manga magazine Vanilla until the magazine ceased publication in 2003, then by Kadokawa X Media by mobile phone until the series concluded in 2007. The series was collected in four bound volumes by Ohzora Publishing. The manga is licensed in North America by Aurora Publishing. The series was adapted as a live-action drama broadcast on TV Tokyo from 11 July to 26 September 2008. It depicts a young woman's struggles to overcome her insecurity about her height by becoming a model.

Plot
Walkin' Butterfly deals with the insecurities and awkwardness any adolescent reaching adulthood experiences in real life. In her case in particular, Michiko's height deviates from the average Japanese woman along with her occupation as a part time pizza delivery person, which is usually considered a guy's job. In this context, it is no wonder that she feels insecure about herself as a woman and her place in society at large.

However, during one of her deliveries at a fashion show, it is her very height that leads her to be mistaken as a model and pushed onto the over-exposed catwalk! Could this be her niche in society? A place where her deviant qualities can gain proper recognition in the society that once scorned her? Regardless, her inner insecurities and negative self image do not go past the fashion designer of the fashion show, Mihara, as he tells her she can never be a model because she refuses to see herself.

What follows is the journey Michiko takes to break out of her confining cocoon and metamorphosize into a beautiful butterfly worthy to walk the catwalk!

Perhaps to help enhance the world of art that this manga series takes place in, the art is quite sketchy at times and very simple and clean at others. It sort of reminds one of reading a sketchbook of images that ultimately tells a very lovely tale of self discovery.

Characters

 * Michiko Torayasu (寅安ミチコ)
 * A young woman who is very insecure about her outward appearance due to her unusual height (180 cm). However, a brief encounter with the fashion industry leaves Michiko yearning for a place on the long-legged catwalk and a way to find herself as a woman. In the live-action drama, she was portrayed by real-life model Aoi Nakabeppu.


 * Kou Mihara (三原 航)
 * The fashion designer whose show Michiko stumbles into when she is mistaken as one of his models. However, unlike the others, Mihara was able to see the ugly insecurities lurking within her and tells her that she can never become a model as she is. He is stubborn and principled, and eventually refuses an offer with a top fashion company because it would require him to compromise his vision.


 * Kenichirou Nishikino (錦野 健一郎)
 * A former upper-classman of Michiko's she admired, and also her first love. Manly and kind, he is everything she dreams of in a boyfriend, but unfortunately he only thinks of her as a little sister.


 * Ryo Tago (多湖 涼)
 * Michiko's agent. She was once a top model, but now the temperamental, alcoholic president of what appears to be a failing modeling agency. Despite her cynicism, she decides to give Michiko a chance as a model. Michiko frequently calls her "Old Bat." Early in volume three, Tago is hospitalized with alcohol poisoning, saying she's quitting the industry entirely, which renews Michiko's determination to becoming a model.


 * Isao Samejima (鮫島 いさお)
 * Director/Producer. A somewhat mysterious character that shows interest in Michiko.  He was also the one that introduces her to Ryo Tago.

Development
According Chihiro Tamaki in an interview printed in the North American edition of volume one, the story came about because she had an editor who liked to look at models, but she thought that a story just about the fashion industry as a business would be boring: "So the first thing I did was to decide upon a girl as a protagonist who would have average, ordinary characteristics—nothing outstanding, like celebrities who are known for extremely good or bad characteristics. I developed the story of the heroine Michiko overcoming her inferiority complex about being tall and rising to become a top model." The "butterfly" in the title is intended both to be a metaphor for a growing girl and to represent a beautiful model, while "walkin'" came from the images of a model walking down a modeling runway and of a struggling Michiko walking instead of flying. Tamaki stated that her intent with the story is not just depicting Michiko "growing up and becoming independent", but also to highlight Michiko's romances.

Tamaki claimed that, as a result of doing research for the series, her favorite model became Ai Tominaga, and that she was flattered when Tominaga wrote, in an endorsement for the first volume of the Japanese edition, that there were things she had in common with Michiko. Tamaki cited as specific influences Ashita no Joe for her plots and Rumiko Takahashi's Urusei Yatsura for her characters.

Manga
Walkin' Butterfly was written and illustrated by Chihiro Tamaki. It was originally serialized by Kodansha in the shōjo manga magazine Vanilla aimed at older teenage girls; after Vanilla ceased publication in 2003, Walkin' Butterfly was serialized by Kadokawa X Media by mobile phone as part of its Comics Walker service until the series concluded in 2007. Serial chapters were collected in four tankōbon volumes by Ohzora Publishing under the Ease Comics imprint. The manga is licensed in North America by Aurora Publishing, which marketed the series as a josei manga aimed at young adult women. The first three volumes were published in English between August 2007 and May 2008; volume four was originally scheduled for September 2008, but has been indefinitely delayed. Walkin' Butterfly is available in English on the Internet from the Netcomics publisher. It is also licensed in French by Asuka and in Italian by JPOP Edizioni.

Drama
The live-action drama, titled Walkin'☆Butterfly (ウォーキン☆バタフライ), was broadcast in 12 episodes on TV Tokyo starting on 11 July 2008, and running until 26 September. It starred Aoi Nakabeppu as Michiko Torayasu and Jun Toba as Kou Mihara. The opening theme was "Seiippai, Bokura no Uta" by ghostnote and the ending theme was "Ima Fuku Kaze" by Hi Lockation Markets. Some of the actors appeared in the theatrical movie Flying☆Rabbits playing the same characters as in the drama.

Reception
Reviewers have called Walkin' Butterfly an entertaining but not original series. Anime News Network compared the story to a josei manga version of a shōnen tournament series aimed at boys, saying "nothing here about the plot or the characters is particularly believable or novel. Instead, it is comfortably formulaic; the pleasure of Walkin' Butterfly lies not so much in the discovery of what happens next but rather in how what happens next happens." Mania.com described the series as "not particularly realistic," but called it "an interesting balance of comedy and poignancy." The character of Michiko was cited by more than one reviewer as a key appeal of the series. Tamaki's art received mixed reviews, with several reviewers praising it, comparing the style to Moyoco Anno's and Yayoi Ogawa's,  and others criticizing it as "standard" and sketchy. Reviewers criticized later volumes for allowing Michiko's mood swings to get tiresome, and for switching to a more "standard" storyline. The English edition was criticized as sometimes using awkward language and typography.

Walkin' Butterfly was voted the 2nd best new josei manga in English of 2007 by readers of About.com. The series was a finalist for YALSA's 2008 list of Great Graphic Novels for teens.