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mistressofroses 's review for:
Helter Skelter
by Kyōko Okazaki
Helter-Skelter is a very interesting manga that has a lot to say. Ririko, desperate to become beautiful, submits herself to several expensive full-body surgeries--all paid for by some mysterious woman who exploits her for all she's worth, but keeps her as an 'investment'. Ririko, of course, becomes a famous model, but starts to realize that it's going to end sooner than she feared as her new body starts falling apart.
Ririko starts to desperately pursue anything she can to hang on to her fame as she dies away--vendettas with younger models, meaningless sex ("I just want to use my body and destroy the bodies of others", she says), drugs...whatever she can get her hands on.
The manga itself is deliberately drawn in a very hurried style that, like Ririko, is extremely rough and disjointed most of the time, but alluring in others.
Reading in translation, the quality of the English is better than most done by other publishers, though (being a professional in this kind of thing) I could spot some needlessly awkward phrases and minor mis-steps in the translation, but probably not anything that someone who isn't paid to nit-pick like I am would notice.
Certainly different from a lot of the manga out there, for sure...this one isn't pretty, but it's a compelling look at the price of fame and just how fickle fame in Japan is in particular.
Ririko starts to desperately pursue anything she can to hang on to her fame as she dies away--vendettas with younger models, meaningless sex ("I just want to use my body and destroy the bodies of others", she says), drugs...whatever she can get her hands on.
The manga itself is deliberately drawn in a very hurried style that, like Ririko, is extremely rough and disjointed most of the time, but alluring in others.
Reading in translation, the quality of the English is better than most done by other publishers, though (being a professional in this kind of thing) I could spot some needlessly awkward phrases and minor mis-steps in the translation, but probably not anything that someone who isn't paid to nit-pick like I am would notice.
Certainly different from a lot of the manga out there, for sure...this one isn't pretty, but it's a compelling look at the price of fame and just how fickle fame in Japan is in particular.