How much our appearance is important? How much does it influence our capacity to have relationship and to be successful? What’s behind people’s appearance? What do they hide behind their mask made by fake smiles and fancy clothes? These are basically the themes that All Of You is based on.
All Of You is a chinese webtoon written and illustrated by Liang Azha. The original title is Ke Zai Mei Yan Jian (in kanji 刻在眉眼间) and it is published in China by KuaiKan Manhua. It is a danmei mannhua, in other world a boylove comic, that talks about the story of Qi Shi, a good photograher with a “problem” with his particular look and Nan Jue, one of his old classmates, who is an image consultant.
THE PLOT
Qi Shi, who hasn’t been successful in finding a job due to his fierce looks, meets his charismatic classmate, Nan Jue, one day at a class reunion. Nan Jue is a self-proclaimed aura corrector master, and says he can turn Qi Shi into someone who looks more approachable. For that reason, he moved into Qi Shi’s home. However, the gradually changing Qi Shi also slowly discovers Nan Jue’s secret. The relationship between both of them changes, bit by bit…
A UNIQUE STYLE AND A DEEP STORY
All of You includes 4 volumes, I read the first one and I was really surprised by the style of the drawings and the deepness and seriousness of the themes of the story. Liang Azha is known for his unique style, light, delicate and based on the use of pastel colors. I didn’t know him before bumping into the manhua one day while searching online for new stories to read. I was immediately hit by the cover (I read the paperback edition published by Jundo with a variant cover) and the plot so I gave it a chance and I wasn’t disappointed at all.
SCHOOL REUNION AND JOB OFFER
All of You starts with the encounter during a school reunion between Qi Shi and Nan Jue. The two young boys were in class together when they were in the Elementary school. The image consultant well remembers Qi Shi, unlike him who at first doesn’t recognise his classmate. After exchange a few words, they both recollect their memories.
Qi Shi has been looking at Nan Jue all the time during the reunion, wondering how he could be so sociable and well accepted by their other classmates. Qi Shi is a good man, a good photographer but unfortunately has a fierce appearance who scares people. For this reason he can’t find a job and he does not have friends.
Translation: The guy in front of me is really beautiful. Even his attitude… is not so bad. Unlike me… he is very popular.
No one has ever dared to come closer to him since he was a child. Despite from outside this does not seems to bother him, inside he’s afflicted because this is affecting not only his personal but above all his professional life, for which his father has sacrified a lot as we can read at some point in the comic. Nan Jue offers him his help to solve his “problem” and Qi Shi, convinded by the affable consultant, accepts. So, in this way their journey together starts. Nan Jue moves to Qi Shi’s flat and they start to work on the photographer ‘s evolution in look and attitude.
TO BE VS TO APPEAR
“Clothes don’t make the man” , “Appearances are deceptive”, “Don’t judge a book by its cover” … I’m sure you have heard these sentences before. They are three common sayings that came to my mind while reading this first volume of All of You and from a certain point of view, two of them represent Qi Shi, the other one Nan Jue. Let me explain.
When Qi Shi accepts Nan Jue’s offer, he is unwilling. The image consultant explains to him that the way we dress and act are important to have success and to achieve what we want, that is a job or something else. Qi Shi doesn’t believe that, claiming that no one should be judged by their appearance but only by his/her abilities and capacities. Right but unrealistic, especially for the society we live in today.
Translation: Qi Shi: My clothes have nothing to do with my professional skills. Na Jue: With this dark outfits you’ve already lost! Clothes are important beacause they are your business card! Listen, why don’t we make a bet?
THE WAY WE APPEAR CONTRIBUTES TO DEFINE US BUT…
Today, and it’s quite disappointing to say, the way we appear has become more important than the way we are. Culturally speaking, it’s true what Nan Jue says, the way we appear contributes to define us, our identity and our culture. It’s a way to comunicate and it is linked to our attitude and behaviour.
For this reason some companies have strict rules regarding clothes and hairstyles. When we gets hired by a business, we become sponsor of their values and images. This could explain why Qhi shi does not get the job he wants on a hand. On the other hand, as we read he is often victim of prejudice and this is not right. This is due to the fact that in the modern society, but even before as Pirandello himself criticized, the appearance is more valued than the substance.
APPEARANCE VS SUSTANCE
Appearance and substance should be considered together. The way we appear should reflect who and what we are but it is not always true. The aforementioned Pirandello, the famous italian writer, claimed that the man is divided between substance and appearance, between a mask and a face.
Everyone wear a mask that does not reflect their real essence and that hides identities, fears and weaknesses. Everyone is one, no one and hundred thousand as the title of one of his most important books reports because everyone wear multiple masks. Some of them are chosen personally but the majority of them are imposed by the society.
We wear a lot of masks everyday, we were born as one then we have become thousand and at the end we are no one because we realize that none of those masks represent ourself. This is the core of the book written by Pirandello where the protagonist Vitangelo Moscarda experiences an identity crisis.
The masks people wear implies judgements and prejudices. No one knows what’s behind them so no one should judge without knowing as Qi Shi tells a group of idiots who were speaking ill of another person and his appearance behind his back.
TOXIC RELATIONS AND VIOLENCE
Translation: Qi Shi: But I have a lot of clothes. Nan Jue: Yours are not so good to see…. You have to get rid of them as well as of the cigarettes. Knowing how to dress yourself is fundamental. After all, the clothes are the first thing people see and they can hide the imperfections of our body.
Qi Shi is not the only one who wear a mask. Even Nan Jue wears one but unlucky his classmate, his mask has been chosen as we can suppose. Yes, we can only suppose that because Nan Jue’s background story is only lightly introduced in the first volume.
Apparently, he has a problem with his partner that probably is an ex partner from whom he is running away. Nan Jue’s body is covered with bruises so it is reasonable thinking that he suffers of domestic violence and that for the moment he has chosen to escape and hide.
It will be surely explained in the next volumes. Anyway, this is an important issue not only in the story but above all in the present reality. It’s an important and difficult issue to discuss about. So, let’s just say that no one should suffers of violence of any kind, the abuser should be reported to the authorities who should act in order to protect those people before the worst can happen.
IN CONCLUSION
Maybe i have been a bit too wordy or maybe not. Anyway, I enjoyed the story of All of You in this first part. Qi Shi will be able to change himself? Nan Jue will be honest and will reveal the truth to his classmate? Keep reading is the answer.
