by Eden
Moyoco Anno’s Sakuran follows a rebellious young woman, eventually named Kiyoha, as she rises up from being a maid in a brothel to a very popular courtesan and all the ups and downs involved. It’s not romanticizing this life but it’s not shaming any of the women involved, either.
Let me be immediately clear about my bias here — Ai Yazawa’s Nana is one of the best comics of all time. I do not care to argue about this one way or another. You should just accept this as fact.
Whenever I brought up the concept of this project with people, the first thing they said to me was “Like Ghost World?” I don’t know if it’s the most famous non-superhero movie that most people know is based on a comic, but people absolutely know it’s based on a comic.
Josie and the Pussycats doesn’t seem to be based on any specific story from the comics, but it does capture their essence in a way that surprised me. Josie, Valerie and Melody are frustrated with how little traction they’re getting as a band (and the small paychecks that go with it) when they’re literally grabbed off the street by record executive Wyatt and offered a record deal.