Manga Mavericks

Nagata Kabi has explored her struggles with her physical and mental health in her previous memoirs, and now turns her attention to one of her biggest lifelong hurdles - love. Okazu founder and yuri scholar extraordinaire Erica Friedman joins us once again to discuss the latest chapter in Kabi’s ongoing and evolving memoir narrative, My Wandering Warrior Existence. Kabi uses the evocative image and anecdote of holding a wedding dress photo shoot as a springboard for exploring her desire to love and be loved, and her frustrations figuring out how to do that, including her experiences with online dating apps. We come to understand why she’s afraid to meet and form relationships with people, a response that stems from lingering issues about her own negative self-image, and a mistrust of other people in part caused by, CONTENT WARNING, a horrifically traumatic sexual assault she experienced as a child. Which, because of the particular descriptiveness and upsetting nature of the story, we encourage you to use yo