View source for Pink (1989 manga)

{{Short description|Japanese short story manga by Kyoko Okazaki}}
{{Distinguish|text=[[Pink (1982 manga)|the manga of the same name]] by Akira Toriyama}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox animanga/Header
| name = Pink
| image = Pink kyoko okazaki.jpg
| caption = Re-released cover of Pink featuring Yumiko
| alt = Illustration of a tired young woman in a frilly dress. She is holding a crocodile skin suitcase and is leaned slightly forward. She looks somewhere off screen. To her right in pink is the text "Pink" above the text "kyoko okazaki"
| ja_kanji = ピンク
| ja_romaji = Pinku
| genre = [[Romance comics|Romance]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Pink by Kyoko Okazaki | website=Kodansha | date=2013-11-26 | url=https://kodansha.us/series/pink/ | access-date=2024-05-15 | archive-date=2024-05-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515023005/https://kodansha.us/series/pink/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Print
|type         = manga
|author       = [[Kyoko Okazaki]]
|publisher    = [[Magazine House]]
|publisher_en = {{English manga publisher | NA= [[Vertical Inc]]}}
|demographic  = ''[[Josei manga|Josei]]''<ref>{{cite web | last=McClain | first=Carrie | title=5 Messy but Brilliant Josei Manga Titles You Need In Your Life | website=Black Nerd Problems | date=2022-10-04 | url=https://blacknerdproblems.com/5-messy-but-brilliant-josei-manga-titles-you-need-in-your-life/ | access-date=2024-05-15 | archive-date=2024-05-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515020807/https://blacknerdproblems.com/5-messy-but-brilliant-josei-manga-titles-you-need-in-your-life/ | url-status=live }}</ref>
|published    = September 1989
|imprint      = Mag Comics
|magazine     = New Punch Zaurus
}}
{{Infobox animanga/Footer}}
{{Nihongo|'''''Pink'''''|ピンク|Pinku|lead=yes}} is a 1989 Japanese manga by [[Kyoko Okazaki]]. Originally published by [[Magazine House]], the manga follows the life of Yumiko, who works as both a [[call girl]] and an office lady. The story explores her relationships and how they are shaped by the social and economic climate of Tokyo in the 1980s. ''Pink'' is considered to be one of the first [[josei]] manga, a subset of manga aimed at adult women.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pink by Kyoko Okazaki |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/pink-9781939130129 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.penguin.com.au |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515031156/https://www.penguin.com.au/books/pink-9781939130129 |url-status=live }}</ref>

''Pink'' was developed and published at the height of the [[Japanese asset price bubble]], a period characterized by heavy [[consumerism]] and unchecked optimism.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Andrew |date=2013-12-07 |title=Pink |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/12/07/books/book-reviews/pink-2/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=The Japan Times |language=en}}</ref> This sudden boom in the economy fueled a surge in disposable income, leading to a desire for luxury goods. Set against a backdrop of materialism, ''Pink'' explores themes of youthful rebellion, and critiques the excessive pursuit of extravagance.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Monstrous women in comics |date=2020 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=978-1-4968-2762-3 |editor-last=Langsdale |editor-first=Samantha |series=Horror and monstrosity studies series |location=Jackson |pages=196 |editor-last2=Coody |editor-first2=Elizabeth Rae}}</ref>

''Pink'' was well received by both critics and audiences alike for its social commentary and realistic portrayal of Tokyo in the 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-09 |title=Beautiful Disaster: The Artistic Legacy of Kyoko Okazaki |url=https://hakutaku.us/2018/04/09/beautiful-disaster-kyoko-okazaki/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Hakutaku |language=en}}</ref> Considered Okazaki's breakthrough work,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-21 |title=Kyōko Okazaki, Pink |url=https://johnpistelli.com/2016/03/21/kyoko-okazaki-pink/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=John Pistelli |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515055016/https://johnpistelli.com/2016/03/21/kyoko-okazaki-pink/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Pink'' significantly influenced both ''josei'' and ''shojo'' (targeted towards teenage girls) manga genres''. Pink'' was re-released in Japan on July 29, 2010, with a new cover.<ref>{{Cite web |last=著 |first=岡崎 京子 |title=pink 新装版 |url=https://magazineworld.jp/books/paper/2141/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=マガジンワールド |language=ja}}</ref> An English translation published by [[Vertical Inc]] was released on November 15, 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pink by Kyoko Okazaki |url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/pink-9781939130129 |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=www.penguin.com.au |language=en |archive-date=2024-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515031156/https://www.penguin.com.au/books/pink-9781939130129 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Synopsis ==
The story starts with Yumiko working at a [[love hotel]]. Afterwards Keiko, Yumiko's stepsister, reveals that her mother is having an affair with a younger man named Haruo. Through a chance encounter, Yumiko develops feelings for Haruo herself and learns of his struggles as a novelist. Despite their unconventional dynamic, their bond strengthens. Eventually, due to a flooding at her apartment, Yumiko moves in with Haruo.       
 [[File:Colorful,_Japanese_writing_Fortepan_100652.jpg|left|thumb|238x238px|Tokyo in the 1980s, the main setting of ''Pink'']]

Together, Yumiko, Haruo, Keiko, and Yumiko's pet crocodile Croc slowly start to resemble a family. Haruo overcomes his [[writer's block]] by cutting and pasting passages from other stories to create his own novel. Their newfound life together takes a turn when Yumiko's stepmother, enraged by their relationship, steals Croc and turns him into a leather suitcase. This plunges Yumiko into a deep depression. Meanwhile, Haruo wins a writing competition for his novel. He plans to use the money from the competition to move with Yumiko to a tropical island.       

Before they can leave, Haruo is involved in a fatal car accident while returning home from an interview. The story concludes with an image of the Yumiko forever marked by the loss of her lover and pet, waiting in vain for the fulfillment of her dream life.<ref name=":0" />

== Characters ==
;{{Nihongo|''Yumiko''|ゆみこ|Yumiko}}
:A twenty-two year old [[office lady]], nicknamed {{Nihongo|Yumi|ユミ|Yumi}} who [[Side job|moonlights]] as a call girl in order to buy food for her pet crocodile. Due to her strained relationship with her stepmother, she lives in an apartment alone. She harbors romantic feelings for Haruo. 
;{{Nihongo|''Haruo Yoshino''| よしの はるお |Yoshino Haruo}}
:Yumiko's love interest. Haruo is a struggling novelist and [[sugar baby]] of Yumiko's step-mother. Haruo reciprocates Yumiko's romantic feelings and the two end up living together.
;{{Nihongo|''Yumiko's step-mother''|ゆみこ の けいぼ|Yumiko no keibo}}
:Yumiko's unnamed stepmother. She has a strained relationship with Yumiko due to Yumiko's belief that she married her father for his money. Conceited and vain, she started a [[adultery|relationship]] with Haruo in order to be feed into her desires.
;{{Nihongo|''Keiko''|ケイコ|Keiko}}
:Yumiko's step-sister. She is frequently with Yumiko despite her mothers disaproval.
;{{Nihongo|''Croc''|ワニ|Wani}}
:Yumiko's pet crocodile. Croc is domesticated and docile but is characterized by its voracious hunger.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
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* {{cite book | last=Langsdale | first=Samantha | last2=Coody | first2=Elizabeth Rae | title=Monstrous Women in Comics | publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi | publication-place=Jackson | date=2020-04-20 | isbn=978-1-4968-2766-1}}

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[[Category:Josei manga]]
[[Category:Kodansha manga]]
[[Category:Manga series]]
[[Category:Kyoko Okazaki]]
[[Category:Vertical (publisher) titles]]
[[Category:1989 manga]]