It also reflects some aspects of other African cities such as Dakar or Lagos.Īya is the main character in this story who serves as our guide to life in Yop City. While it may not be a real place on Earth today, Yop City was based off of Abidjan as it existed back then – with its bustling markets and vibrant culture. The stories are set in an imaginary version of Abidjan, Ivory Coast’s largest city at that time. She starts off as an ambitious young woman who dreams big but has yet to find direction for her future-a common theme among many teenagers today! As time p***es, however, she begins to take control over her own destiny while also learning valuable lessons about friendship and responsibility along the way. It’s more like a dreamscape than anything else one where readers can explore different aspects of African culture through the eyes of Aya and her peers.Īya herself is eighteen years old when we first meet her in Yop City, though she ages throughout the course of the story arc (as do all characters). While it does exist as a place within the pages of its graphic novels, there isn’t actually any physical location that corresponds to this imaginary world. The answer to whether or not Yop City is real depends on how you define “real”. The series follows the life of Aya, an 18-year-old girl living in Yop City with her family and friends. Not to mention when Moussa, the spoiled rotten Sissoko boy finds out he’s going to be a dad! How can he tell his old man, one of the richest and most feared men in the whole country? Aya of Yop City is a gorgeously rendered animated drama that places the Ivory Coast in a shimmering new light.Yop City is a fictional city created by French comic book artist Marguerite Abouet and illustrator Clément Oubrerie. Their ambition is to follow plan C: Combs, Clothes and Chasing Men! Big trouble comes to town when Adjoua realizes she’s pregnant. While Aya has dreams of becoming a doctor, her two best friends, Adjoua and Bintou, just like to hang out and spend their evenings dancing, drinking and flirting with boys. Her dad is a sales rep for a brewery, and certainly gets his fill of the product. Her mom Fanta is the neighborhood’s most trusted healer.

It is always lively, with open markets, colorful fabrics, funky cafés and of course, music everywhere. Aya is 19, and she loves her neighborhood of Yop City in Abidjan, where everyone knows each other. From teen romance to parental tribulations, it offers a rare glimpse into the daily lives of Africans, and is adapted from a best-selling series of graphic novels. Against the colorful and spirited backdrop of the Ivory Coast in the 1970s, Aya of Yop City is a vibrant, beautifully animated film.

Aya of yop city