Quick Reads: Spicy Pink (スパイシーピンク)

Spicy Pink (スパイシーピンク)

(Manga 2006-2008)

By Wataru Yoshizumi

Spicy Pink (スパイシーピンク) is a short josei manga series created by Wataru Yoshizumi. The story is about a professional, hardworking mangaka, Sakura Endou, who focuses most of her time on her work as oppose to finding love. One day, she is forced by her fellow mangaka friend,  Misono Kamijou, to attend a goukon and while there, she meets a rude doctor specializing in plastic surgery, Iku Koreeda. Soon after, Sakura and Iku agree to casual date each other. Iku agrees to this proposal in order to stop his parents from forcing him to go any omiai, and Sakura is using this dating experience to get material for her manga. As they start to date, the two begin to fall for each other. 

One of the things I like about this manga is how they show the life of working class people.  An example is Sakura’s life as a managka. Throughout the manga, readers can learn about her daily struggles like a lack of creativity and dealing with critics. Thus,  her struggles in the art profession could be applied to the daily life of writers or any other creative professions because they also face the same issues.

In addition, the manga focuses on how working professionals balance their career and love life. Even though each character could be seen as a passionate, ambitious workaholic, he or she is still are able to make time for dating and relationships. Dating could be seen as an outlet from their stressful work lives. Even though they are always working and unable to see each other, Iku and Sakura text each other on a regular basis. For Iku Koreeda, he has a stressful career as a doctor because he deals with surgeries on a daily basis. Yet when he is with Sakura, he relaxes and enjoys his time with her.

The plot for Spicy Pink is pretty simple and predictable. The manga doesn’t have any plot twists or exciting moments. It is a quick read when you are bored.

3/5