Othello (Satomi Ikezawa manga)

Othello
North American cover of the first volume
オセロ (Osero)
Genre	Romance
Manga
Written by	Satomi Ikezawa
Published by	Kodansha
English publisher	NA Del Rey UK Tanoshimi
Demographic	Shōjo
Magazine	Bessatsu Friend
Original run	August 6, 2001 – September 13, 2004
Volumes	7

Othello (Japanese: オセロ, Hepburn: Osero^?) is a shōjo manga series by Satomi Ikezawa. It was originally serialized by Kodansha in Bessatsu Friend and collected in seven tankōbon volumes. It is distributed by Del Rey Manga in North America. The story is about a shy, naive Japanese teenager with a split personality.

The manga is titled after the board game Othello, and not the Shakespearian play. The game involves a lot of switching back and forth between black and white pieces, representing Yaya and Nana's constant flip-flop.

Yaya is a shy, quiet teen with a passion for singing, Japanese rock music, gothic lolita, cosplay and music in general. But she has a secret: When she looks in a mirror or hits her head, Yaya's second personality, aptly named Nana, takes over her body and puts the wrong-doers in their places, shouting her catchphrase "Heavenly Punishment!" and once the damage is dealt, "Justice is done!"

The series chronicles Yaya and Nana's somewhat episodic adventures against bullies, perverts, and generally mean people. The manga also has a lot to do with music, as several of the characters have connections to the music industry or play in a band.

Though this is a different manga, Pon-chan (another manga, Guru-Guru Pon Chan, by the same author) shows up.

Yaya has an interest in a visual kei band called Juliet and looks up to the lead singer of Juliet, even though the make-up band disappeared a while ago.

Written and illustrated by Satomi Ikezawa, the chapters of Othello were serialized in the Japanese magazine Bessatsu Friend and collected into seven tankōbon volumes by Kodansha. The volumes were published from August 6, 2001 to September 13, 2004.