Doll, Volume 5

Doll #5

by Mitsukazu Mihara, 三原ミツカズ

In these moving and tragic tales of heartbreak and loss, a girl working as a maid endures the burden of filial responsibility; a young, talented pianist has a personality that is splitting him in two; and a discarded doll brings new life to an aging village. This stunning collection of stories offers a true glimpse into the awe and wonder of our humanity.

Genres: Manga, Science Fiction, Robots

192 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

三原 ミツカズ (MIHARA Mitsukazu) is credited with helping shape the GothLoli look through her work in the "Gothic & Lolita Bible"

In 1994, she won the first "Feel Young New Face Manga Awards" Judges’ Special Prize with her short work, "The Children Who Don’t Need Rubbers."

She resides in Osaka, Japan.

Sometimes credited as MIHARA Tsukazu.
[via Mangaupdates]

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

The first story is built around the arresting image of living androids used purely to display ivy by an odious millionaire who delights in getting a human skivvy to work around them. The second doesn't even really need dolls at all; one features, but could equally be a loyal human retainer, in the tale of a pianist menaced by an evil hand (given the recurrence of that theme in Nick Cave songs, and how skinny this guy is, I obviously mapped the one on to the other). Then we have a story where the dolls are integral, but which also completely loses any chance at a twist by being in a book where you know all the stories will at some stage involve a robot. Then you've got a heartwarming story about an ageing village, and a concluding return to the overplot, but there's a definite sense that the concept is running out of steam. You can see why this was the penultimate volume. 

[Pandora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queen of Goth-loli manga, but I don't think her stories are as strong as some other shoujou writers out there eg Ai Yazawa or Yuu Watase.