“The manga universe saved me, I feel less alone and finally understood”, testifies a Bastiaise, passionate about Japanese pop culture

In Corsica, Japanese pop culture is increasingly finding its audience. Manga works and their captivating plots were able to fascinate a young Bastiaise, transporting her into a fantastic universe. A passion that pushed her to organize a convention focused on Japanese culture this summer in Biguglia (Haute-Corse).

It was a universe that saved him. Jade Bourdiec was around ten years old when she discovered Japanese culture.

At the time, Jade was in middle school and was being teased by her classmates. “I was regularly harassed because I suffer from mild autism, I am very discreet and it was not always easy“, the young girl with pink and blue hair remembers in a hesitant voice. Delving into manga and becoming attached to comic book characters allows her to breathe a little and clear her mind. “I held on. This universe helped me a lot, I felt less alone and more understood compared to the rest of society“.

While in the city center of Bastia, the fashion is more jeans, black jacket and sneakers, Jade does not go unnoticed in the street. With fluorescent glitter makeup, a neon pink sweater and bleached hair, the Japanese culture enthusiast has her own style and is passionate about cosplay: the art of dressing up as fictional characters from manga or video games.

“I know the way I do my makeup can be disturbing. I sometimes feel judged, but for the past ten years, I have found that no one dresses in colors, there is no diversity“, regrets the young girl.”We all look like sheep“. If Japanese pop culture goes through clothing style, it is also a state of mind, which more closely resembles the young Bastiaise.

Year after year, she participates in events around this universe where the arts intertwine: cinema, music, manga, fashion… Jade meets there “people who look like her, who finally understand her“. She even says she changed the way she thinks. As she grew up, “I no longer have too many prejudices about the people around me. By reading manga, I understood that we were all different and that we shouldn’t try to be the same. If we all look the same, there is no more beauty in the world“.

After college, struggling academically, the young woman turned to a CAP in sewing, a path that now allows her to make her own disguises. She collects fabrics from boutiques and thrift stores during her visits to the continent to create characters.

This love for Japanese pop culture is shared by thousands of young people today. As these figures demonstrate: 200,000 visitors in four days of festivities this year during the Japan Expo in Paris. An enthusiasm also shared on our island. The L’Alb’oru cultural center, south of Bastia, organizes each year a major Bastia convention dedicated to manga and Japanese culture.

An annual meeting in which Jade participates. But last year, aged just 22, she decided to start her own project too. “After participating in the Japan Expo in Paris, I wanted to organize an event like this at home, in Bastia“. Jade conducts research and contacts those who share her passion on the internet, particularly in Ajaccio, where there is a large community.

The convention: its revenge on life

For a year, she struggled to find exhibitors who would participate in her convention. She is trying to raise funds to finance this large-scale project. Summer is coming, its event “Pop Sakura“happens, the bet is successful.”It was truly a wonderful day. The participants came to see me, they lined up to thank me and tell me that they felt free thanks to this event”she remembers, with a big smile.

Around twenty exhibitors, including small creators, are taking part in this meeting at the Biguglia village hall, where nearly 1,000 people attended. “It’s a universe where everyone feels good and has their place. In the real world, young people are sometimes pushed aside, like my daughter who feels rejected by everyone. When they meet again, it’s an explosion of joy“, confides, with a lot of emotion, Anne, Jade’s mother. “It’s a great pride and relief that my daughter has found her way, given the chaotic journey she’s had, it’s revenge, because she’s come a long way.”

Jade emerges from this event grown up, proud and with a head full of professional projects. In the future, she would like to open a store in Corsica with manga and cosplay costumes, but she is also thinking of writing her story in a manga to tell her experiences, which is not always easy. “This could help those who are not necessarily well“.

Finally, the young enthusiast is already working on her second convention dedicated to Japanese culture. It will take place in August 2025. Jade hopes to attract as many people as during her first event, as if to affirm that she has finally found her place.