"L'Instant Magic" - a link between manga and perfume scents

This is Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, USA!　成田美名子著『エイリアン通り』

Do you read manga? It is very common in Japan, and everyone reads it, even those who are not so-called “otaku” (how do you say that in English? Is it a derogatory term?). There are many opportunities to read manga from a young age, and while some people continue to read manga for children, others read works that adults can also enjoy. But the truth is, good manga does not care whether you are a child or an adult.I'm surprised to see icons for manga and anime on this site. That said, manga may not be as common as anime. Right?
Among them, I'll talk about the masterpiece "The Alien Street", which probably hasn't been translated into English, and L'Instant Magic. I'm not sure if I can provide an interesting topic for people who aren't interested in either, but you can just skip over it as a cross-cultural exchange.

This manga was serialized in the 1980s, and it's quite old, and it's set in Beverly Hills....Huh? Did you say Beverly Hills? So it's America? ! It's a Japanese work, but it's set in America? Yes, America. The author loves America, so he has written several works set in America, and they are all wonderful.
The main character is "Sharl"※. Born between a Middle Easterner (the fictional small country of the Arabian Peninsula, the Emirate of Jazairi) and a white(I'm not sure if that's the correct way to write it. I use it for convenience, but it always feels strange. I don't like to distinguish people by skincolor. All humankind originated in Africa, and there are actually no races. That's clear from scientific classification.This is a work that depicts that concept, so I'm mentioning it here), he is a descendant of Arabian royalty.

Sharl Idanis Morlarol　His parents are an Arab royal family and a British actress. Smart, confident, and showy. But actually very clumsy. 白泉社文庫　成田美名子著

What? Yes, that's right. That's his bloodline. But he is a 15-year-old boy who lives in America, hiding away from that secret. A lot of Japanese works have 15-year-old protagonists, right? That's because they are written for that generation. He skipped grades and got into college, lives in a high-end residential area with a butler, and lives a flashy life. Americans, this setting is fiction, so you don't have to think too deeply about it.※（The name SHARL translates to Charles, but I don't know how the creator spells it. I asked a parfumo member in Europe who kindly told me, and it seems to be a misunderstanding caused by a difference in pronunciation. I was wondering whether to use Charles, but I decided to use SHARL.Thank you very much for that time.）
His family consists of Butler, a British butler and guardian who lives with him, and Tsubasa (meaning wing), a Japanese girl who ran away from home and wandered around LA and met Sharl by chance. The second main character is Gerard, a French man. He wants to be a journalist and is very honest.He always makes mistakes, but everyone loves him.His father is a journalist and is Bisexual,It's not something special at all, which is nothing special. However, for a work of that time, he may have been a rare character even in the world. They didn't have any particular diversity or ideology in common, but it was portrayed quite naturally.
The story is about them living in the same house and spending their youth together. If you read it now, it's quite novel, and the story of two countries, the Middle East and America, is startling, but for a work written in 1980, it was a pioneering story that touched on a great deal of diversity. There are many works like this in Japan. In fact, works from a little earlier deal with universal themes than those of modern times. I won't explain this because it would be annoying.

This manga and L'Instant Magic are connected in my mind.The scent of this manga, which is over 40 years old, reminds me of a vague maternal love, and makes me feel nostalgic. And yet, the essence of the work is not old at all, but rather depicts eternal themes.
What is race? What does it mean to love someone? What is a family? Does "country" really exist? What kind of person do I want to be in this world?
Is there someone somewhere in this world who needs me?
It is a universal work that asks such questions. I am very suspicious that this has not been made into an anime. I really cannot agree with it. I cannot accept that truly beautiful works are not widely known in the world. I want everyone to listen, but there are many works like this in Japan. Anime is budgeted for things that are likely to be commercially successful, so if it sells, it will be made into a media mix. But there are tons of works that are really beautiful but are not made into anime. There are really mountains of them. For that reason, I would like people to read the manga instead of the anime, but it is difficult because of the language issue. It's similar to how there are beautiful perfumes, but they are too niche to be known. The perfumes are always waiting for you, but they are not good at promoting themselves.They just sit quietly in the back of a cupboard in an old shop that is not doing well.I feel that this is especially common from the 1970s to the 2000s. The Internet was not yet developed, so only Japanese people knew about it. I really recommend the anime "Black Jack" by Osamu Tezuka, but unfortunately it is not well known overseas. There is no dubbed version of the anime.That's really unfortunate. Anyway, that story is enough.
I was not part of this generation, but I came across this work by chance when I was in elementary school (obviously the serialization had ended) and I remember being moved by it. This work holds both sad and beautiful memories.
In this manga, there is a story called "The Wizard of LA" that depicts the meeting of Sharl and Tsubasa, and it is a dream-filled story that makes you want to believe in something beyond the rainbow. In fact, Tsubasa is a girl who moved to America from Japan when her parents were transferred. However, she couldn't get used to the environment, so she ran away from home. She couldn't speak English at all. Then, Sharl found her wandering alone in LA. He reluctantly took care of her in her tatters, but Tsubasa was so shocked that she couldn't speak. Sharl tries everything to make Tsubasa laugh. He imitates Michael Jackson, and sometimes he wins a role in a school play and dresses up as a woman,dressing up as Glinda the Good Witch.

Still, Tsubasa stubbornly refuses to talk, so they argue and Tsubasa runs out of Sharl's house again. At the halliween night,Tsubasa is pushed by the crowd and nearly flies into a shop window, but Sharl tries to protect him and hits the glass, severely injuring himself. Seeing Sharl unconscious, Tsubasa screams in English with all her heart and soul.
"Someone help me!“
Those are the first words Tsubasa utters in English since losing her voice. So this is where the friendship between Sharl and Tsubasa begins, and it continues until it turns into love.

"By the way, I haven't heard your name yet. What is it?”  "-Tsubasa."

In other words, it's also a story about a Japanese girl falling in love with Sharl, a royal born between Britain and an Arabian country, set in America. It's an amazing story, isn't it?
There is no direct causal relationship between this manga and L'Instant Magic, but this work has something in common with the scent of "the moment when dreams come true". When people transcend national borders and the fixed ideas of the place they were born, it will be the moment when their dreams come true.
I would like you to read it, but it may be difficult because it has not been translated. If you are lucky enough to find it in the area where you live, don't be fooled by the slightly old-looking appearance, but turn the pages. It is all analog and drawn with exquisite detail. This kind of thing is rare in modern times.
It is gentle, nostalgic, and universal.
I wonder if the moment when dreams come true will come to the human world. Living in this era makes me truly anxious.
Hope is very fragile.
I want to read it again when I don't want to forget such hope.
The title "The Alien Street" means "everyone is a foreigner".
Please tell me your favorite manga or anime in the comments.
If this work becomes popular all over the world, Netflix will make a live-action version... No, let's not make a live-action version, maybe it will be made into an anime?! Lol So I want you to read it, but I can't find an English version. It's really frustrating.

Do you need magic to get you somewhere over the rainbow?