Line #31 Webcomic/Kurami


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/16585103_1772645233054760_4892376433462083584_n_5.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Ana Kirkland and Kurami.]]
3
4	''Life With Kurami'' (formerly just ''Kurami'') is a "high impact family friendly" comic strip written by Deon Parson aka. "[[LuckyCharmsTitle $upr Dee]]". The comic follows Ana Kirkland, a [[BigBeautifulWoman buxom]] baker, as she looks after the titular Kurami, her infant daughter. Other characters include Bree Kay, Ana's best friend; [[DeadpanSnarker Zane]], Ana's pet cat; Martha, Bree's mother; and Dr. Oz, Kurami's stuffed rabbit toy.
5
6	The strip has so far gone through three different incarnations. The first was published on Website/DeviantArt and was ''[[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very]]'' [[ArtEvolution diff]][[CharacterizationMarchesOn erent]] (Kurami, for example, was much older), and is now considered an OldShame. The second, simply titled ''Kurami'', was published on Facebook and in Dee's local newspaper starting in April 2015, making it a rare example of a webcomic becoming a NewspaperComic - in this incarnation, Kurami was blind, Ana was a [[IncrediblyLamePun plus-size]] fashion designer, and they were cousins rather than mother-and-daughter.
7
8	The third and current incarnation began in May 2016, acting as a {{Retool}} designed to make the strip more accessible to new readers. The series came to an conclusion in October 2017, but in March 2019, $upr Dee announced a direct sequel subtitled "Ana-Thing's Possible", to be published online. "Ana-Thing's Possible" began in November 2020, with simultaneous publication in a local magazine, and is due to run for at least five years.
9
10	''Life With Kurami'' can be found [[https://lifewithkurami.com/ here]], though its archive is still a work-in-progress. The page with the original ''Kurami'' strips was unpublished in May 2016, but as of August 2019, Dee has started re-uploading them to the new page, to fill the gap until ''Ana-Thing's Possible'' is released.
11
12	----
13	!![[CatchPhrase Gek Gek!]] (Tropes in ''Life With Kurami'' include:)
14
15	* AerithAndBob: While the rest of the cast all have normal American names, Kurami's name is Japanese. It's never explained why, and according to WordOfGod, she's not Japanese. Gets even more confusing in ''Life With Kurami'' now that she's officially Ana's daughter, as that means Ana must have chosen the name.
16	* ArtEvolution: Dee's drawing style has changed immensely from the early days of the comic, and is still evolving. [[BigBeautifulWoman Ana]], for example, was originally normal-sized, and lacked her distinctive highlight. Compare [[https://lifewithkurami.com/post/619706798586429440 this strip from May 2016]] with [[https://twitter.com/Suprdee2/status/1327295943994208256/photo/1 this one from November 2020]], then consider how much the 2016 strips had evolved from the 2015 ones.
17	* AuthorAppeal: Dee is a big ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' fan, and it shows.
18	* BabyLanguage: Rendered as "Gek gek!" Subverted in that not even Zane can understand her (although he ''can'' read her facial expressions).
19	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Zane does this occasionally. On one occasion he does it ''literally'' by accidentally poking a hole in the border of the panel.
20	* CatapultNightmare: A particularly cruel one in [[https://lifewithkurami.com/post/620506216614002688 this strip]], in which Kurami tells Ana she will never love her. Ana wakes up ''crying'', poor thing.
21	* CatchPhrase: Kurami's "Gek gek" BabyLanguage, which has reached almost memetic levels among the fanbase.
22	* {{Crossover}}: The comic has occasionally crossed over with the comic strip ''Intelligent Life'', and canonically takes place in the same universe, with the characters from both strips living in the same area. WordOfGod is that there are no plans for a crossover with Dee's other work, ''Pen & Ink'', due to it taking place in a separate fantasy universe.
23	* DCupDistress: PlayedForLaughs occasionally, such as when Bree buys Ana a T-shirt with a picture on it that ends up getting distorted by Ana's large chest.
24	* DisappearedDad: Kurami's father has never been seen. The original strip addressed this, but following the reboot, Dee's position is that "The comic isn't about him, it's about Ana and Kurami", suggesting he'll remain unseen.
25	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The early Website/DeviantArt strips are almost unrecognisable when compared to the current comic. For example, Kurami was originally an AdultChild before being de-aged into an ''actual'' child, then to a baby.
26	** The ''Kurami'' strips now also count. Those familiar with the current incarnation, in which Ana is Kurami's mother and works at a bakery, will be confused to learn that pre-reboot, Ana was Kurami's cousin [[LethalChef and couldn't bake a cake if her life depended on it]].
27	* {{Expy}}: Zane is essentially ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} in a hat. The author is an admitted fan of ''Garfield'' and regularly posts strips from the comic. One strip even had Ana dress Zane up as Garfield to really drive it home. The reboot, however, gradually [[DivergentCharacterEvolution altered Zane's looks and character]], subverting and then averting the trope.
28	* FunetikAksent: Bree started speaking in one midway through the original ''Kurami'' strip to make her SouthernBelle accent more obvious.
29	* HeightAngst: Bree is [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t31.0-8/11539034_741352905971139_6517673338918101645_o.jpg rather annoyed]] that Dr. Oz is taller than her.
30	* IdiotHair: Kurami sports a fairly prominent cowlick. Exaggerated in one pre-reboot strip when it inexplicably sprouts through her hat.
31	* InsistentTerminology: A meta-example: Dee and his characters do not have fans, they have ''friends''.
32	* LimitedWardrobe: Lampshaded by Bree in one strip when her mother disapproves of her wearing skirts in winter, to which she responds that "I've been wearing skirts every day for years!" Averted by Ana, however, particularly in the reboot where she seems to wear a different outfit in every strip.
33	* MamaBear: [[https://lifewithkurami.com/post/620668424868249600 Literally, on at least one occasion]]. In general, upsetting Kurami or suggesting that Ana is a bad parent will provoke this response from her.
34	* MythologyGag: In one post-reboot strip, [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14372297_301642700210392_2161261006381905075_o.jpg Ana can be seen wearing Bree's outfit]]. This only counts due to the fact that Bree was DemotedToExtra post-reboot.
35	* RetCon: The changes between Kurami's incarnations effectively amount to this. The first made her a blind infant who was Ana's cousin, while the second, which is the current continuity, made her Ana's sighted daughter, simplifying the strip's premise and eliminating the two aspects that tended to confuse new readers. Ana's job was also retconned from fashion designer to baker.
36	** {{Retool}}: What the second effectively amounts to: the strip has been renamed, the premise simplified, and some of the characters redesigned (especially Bree and Zane).
37	* ShoutOut: [[AuthorAppeal Naturally]], there are several references to ''Garfield'', as well as to various other comic strips.
38	* SouthernBelle: Bree, although it didn't become evident until she gained a mild FunetikAksent in September 2015.
39	* SparedByTheAdaptation: Sort of. In the original strips, Ana's aunt and uncle were deceased, but in the rebooted strip her Aunt Chicago appears as a supporting character.
40	* SugarBowl: The series as a whole is very heartwarming and sweet, with a major focus on body-positivity and self-motivation.
41	* SuperpoweredAlterEgo: Bree has "Rambree", a version of herself sporting a black eye, a "Fight Song" headband, and a determined expression. Originally a set of doodles drawn by Dee as a motivational tool, she's set to appear in ''Ana-Thing's Possible'' as "Bree's anger personified".
42	* ThoughtBubbleSpeech: This is how Zane communicates. Presumably another ''Garfield'' reference.
43	* UnCancelled: Came to an end in October 2017, only for Dee to announce a sequel comic 18 months later, and then resume publishing new strips 18 months after that.
44
45	----
46	!! Tropes exclusive to the original ''Kurami'' include:
47	* AnalogyBackfire: Cleverly subverted in one strip:
48	-->'''Bree:''' 'Ey, Anabelle! How was your night?\
49	'''Ana:''' [[BlatantLies Great!]] I slept like a baby!\
50	'''Bree:''' But Anabelle, babies hardly sleep through thuh night.\
51	'''Ana:''' '''''[[SanitySlippage EXACTLY.]]'''''
52	* ArtShift: Kurami's thoughts are shown as [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/12015094_785265441579885_4956396649707675646_o.jpg childish scribbles]], representing not only her age, but also [[FridgeBrilliance the fact that she's blind and would only have a sketchy idea of what other people actually look like]].
53	* AsYouKnow: TheReveal of what happened to Kurami's parents, and how Ana came to raise her, is done in this fashion, with Mama Kay reminding Bree precisely [[ConvenientlyAnOrphan how much]] [[TragicDropout her best friend]] [[DeathByOriginStory has been through]] that year.
54	* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: One strip lists the pros and cons of spring, according to Ana. The cons are: "Wind", "Rain", "Wind and Rain", "Bugs", and "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Bugs, Wind and Rain]]".
55	* ConvenientlyAnOrphan: Kurami's parents (Ana's aunt and uncle) died prior to the start of the strip, and Ana dropped out of college in order to raise Kurami herself.
56	* CreatorCameo: The guy in the yellow hat in [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/t31.0-8/12186674_805015922938170_8775306801281055191_o.jpg this strip]] is Dee himself.
57	* TheFashionista: Downplayed. Ana was a designer of plus-sized women's clothing, compared to the reboot where she's a baker. It's implied that the lack of fashionable clothing in her size is what kept her from being a full-blown version of this trope (and that this [[FridgeBrilliance may have been what inspired her to become a fashion designer in the first place]]).
58	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Bree does it in [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/12307553_816883601751402_8424333136407241101_o.jpg this strip]], complete with an awkward AsideGlance.
59	* TheNicknamer: Zane referred to Ana as "Gargantuana", Bree as "Breehemoth", and Kurami as the rather less disparaging "Blondie".
60	* NoNameGiven: Kurami's surname is not given in this incarnation. Ana's is revealed in [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/12440448_843121405794288_1949217447207741034_o.jpg this strip]] to be "Kirkland", but it's unknown whether Kurami shares the same surname.
61	* ParentalSubstitute: Ana is Kurami's cousin, not her mother, yet she's raising Kurami as her own.
62	* ShoutOut: According to one comic, Ana's favourite cereal is called "[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash BrO's]]".
63	** In a Halloween comic, she complains that her pumpkin costume makes her look like [[WesternAnimation/ItsTheGreatPumpkinCharlieBrown the Great Pumpkin]].
64	*** The Halloween strips were full of {{Shout Out}}s, including Kurami dressing as ComicBook/WonderWoman, Zane dressing as ComicStrip/Garfield, and Bree considering dressing as [[WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo Daphne Blake]]. Not to mention [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xal1/t31.0-8/12184206_803169676456128_6511152873645987776_o.jpg the October 31st strip]], which consists of nothing ''but'' {{Shout Out}}s.
65	* {{Sleepwalking}}: Or rather, sleep''gaming'', in [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xtf1/t31.0-8/12657181_844956295610799_5529441411008337677_o.jpg this strip]].
66	* TheReveal: The [[https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/t31.0-8/12357247_823250434448052_188805289447582978_o.jpg 18 Dec 2015 strip]] reveals the fate of Kurami's parents, and how Ana came to raise her instead.
67	* WhoWouldWantToWatchUs: Done in the ''very first strip'', combined with some impressive meta-humor.
68	-->'''Bree:''' Ana, I'm wanting to create a comic strip. It'll focus on your blind baby cousin, Kurami, and our [[IncrediblyLamePun big]] struggles as [[BigBeautifulWoman busty, plus-size women]].\
69	'''Ana:''' That's a silly concept, Bree. Who will read a comic about THAT?\
70	'''Zane:''' [[BreakingTheFourthWall Let's ask the readers]].

Context Webcomic / Kurami