Confidential Confessions

(Tokyopop, 2003-2005)
™ and © REIKO MOMOCHI
right to left reading format; b&w

On its website, Tokyopop bills Confidential Confessions as “a modern day manga version of the after–school special” and they aren’t wrong. Irredeemably cheesy, television after–school specials addressed the after–school subjects du jour—bullies, divorce, marijuana—and invariably ended with an upbeat message affirming middle–class values.

Each independent volume of Confidential Confessions addresses manga subjects du jou—HIV, rape, suicide—and ends with a predictably melodramatic message of self–affirmation. There’s no hint of cheese in this manga however, and Confidential Confessions takes itself quite seriously.

Tokyopop’s Confidential Confessions collects and reprints Reiko Momochi’s Japanese manga originally published as Memai (Dizzy, 2000), Namida (Tears, 2001), and Tobira (Door, 2002).

— Leland Burrill

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