Other People, Places and Things

Akindo: The "make and sell anything" club founded by Tsutomu, Yuusuke, and Jiro. The members use their talents to make products which they sell at the flea market. "Akindo" means "merchant" or "shopkeeper."

Berry-chan the Happy Angel: Akindo's mascot, which looks like Mikako and incorporates her "Happy Berry" logo.

The Blue Parrot: Toku-chan's bar. Ruriko's regular watering hole, frequented by characters from "Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai," and site of many neighborhood parties.

Futari no Fantasia: The title of Ruriko's comic book, meaning "Fantasia for Two." It runs in "Shabon" ("Soap") magazine (a play on "Ribon" ("Ribbon"), the magazine in which "Gokinjo Monogatari" was published), gets made into a TV anime series, and ends up running for over 22 volumes. Apparently, it's a typically virginal, syrupy love story for girls and is not at all like Mikako's life.

Happy Berry: The "brand name" Mikako creates for her clothes. The logo is a berry with wings.

Kira-kira Seijin: Literally meaning "twinkling star-man (or alien)," it's Mikako's first impression of Seiji, and an apt pun on his name, in Japanese order, Kisaragi Seiji.

Kuro: Mikako's pet black cat, adopted as a stray. His name means "black."

London Amazing School of Design: The school where Mikako studies abroad.

Mush (Mash?): Ayumi's pet scottie dog (female).

NakaKen (Ken Nakagawa): The lead singer of the popular band Mambou, for whom Tsutomu is frequently mistaken. Ken was a character in Yazawa-sensei's previous manga, "Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai."

Nice Body-ko: Nakasu Mariko's nickname. "Nice body" is an English phrase that has entered the Japanese slang vocabulary (as "naisu badii"), where it is used to refer to girls with, well, a nice body (duh). "Nakasu" is one syllable different from "naisu," and if you say "Mariko" with a bad cold, it sounds a lot like "badiko." Body-ko's measurements are about 34-22-34, and she displays a lot of cleavage for shoujo manga.

Petit Francois: The toy rabbit Pii-chan always carries with her, dressed in outfits to match her own.

Puu-saku the Bear: A stuffed bear designed by Pii-chan and featured in one of Jirou's video games.

Sally: Mikako's cub scooter.

Shiro: Mikako's father's pet white cat, adopted as a stray. Her name means "white."

Yazawa Gakuin (a.k.a. YazaGaku): A fine-arts high school that has ordinary subjects in the morning and special subjects in the afternoon. There are four schools within YazaGaku, the schools of fashion design, visual design, interior design, and handicrafts.

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