Doll (manga)
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| DOLL | |||
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| ドｰル (Dōru) |
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| Genre | Science fiction | ||
| Manga | |||
| Author | Mitsukazu Mihara | ||
| Publisher |  Shodensha |
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| Demographic | Josei | ||
| Magazine | Feel | ||
| Original run | 1998 – 2002 | ||
| Volumes | 6 | ||
DOLL (ドｰル Dōru?) is a series of short manga stories written by Mitsukazu Mihara. In the United States it is published by TOKYOPOP.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
DOLLs are human-like androids manufactured by the SG Corporation. A DOLL can fulfill many varied needs and serve any number of purposes, including personal assistant, secretary, cook, maid, laborer, companion, lover... and, of course, status symbol.
Like any successful company, the SG Corporation doesn't rest on its laurels. It's always working to develop newer, more diverse, and more sophisticated DOLLs. Kaoru and Motohiko Kirishima, two pioneers of DOLL development, were the co-creators of the prototype "Sterol-2" DOLL. With Kaoru as the project leader and Motohiko as the research assistant, the Sterol-2 was to be the most advanced DOLL ever created, capable of preserving the world's greatest minds... even after death. To Motohiko, the Sterol-2 DOLL was also to be the newly married couple's first "baby".
Well into the development of the Sterol-2, Kaoru developed a mysterious, degenerative mental condition with symptoms that are similar to Alzheimer's disease. Despite access to the top doctors in Japan's foremost neural hospital, nothing could be done to help Kaoru's condition.
Desperate for some way to save his brilliant wife, Motohiko used the Sterol-2 prototype to try to house a copy of Kaoru's mind... though he quickly realized the error of his ways. Soon afterward, Motohiko resigned from the SG Corporation to take care of Kaoru full-time. Leaving all the project notes so that others could pick up where he and Kaoru left off, Motohiko stipulated that no part of their work could be used to create likenesses of actual people... and that no human memories would be implanted into a DOLL.
There are others who push the boundaries of DOLL developments... though in a much less official capacity. "Remodellers" are people who illegally alter DOLLs. Sometimes, people want DOLLs that are either unavailable - or unaffordable - and that's where the Remodellers come in. Special orders are their specialty... though, like any illegal deals, there are no receipts and absolutely no returns.
Like most machines, DOLLs were created to make humanity's existence better or easier in some way. However, the true test of any device's benefits is not the intent of the designers... but rather the actions of the users.
(This is an extract from DOLL itself, written by Mitsukazu Mihara.)
[edit] Volumes
[edit] Volume One
- List 1: A Nameless DOLL
- The story of a woman's companionship with her DOLL, which follows her beyond the grave.
- List 2: Maria
- A man wants his DOLL, "Maria", to be the perfect lover.
- List 3: Ai
- A DOLL named "Ai" deals with her cruel mistress, but this DOLL is not what she seems.
- List 4: Kaoru
- The tragic love story of Kaoru and Motohiko Kirishima.
- List 5: Ayako
- A father purchases a DOLL to help his son get over his mother's death.
- List 6: A Maid Servant
- A girl finds herself all alone, save for her DOLL, which is starting to get some weird scratches over it's body...
[edit] Volume Two
- List 7: A DOLL
- A homeless ventriloquist uses a discarded DOLL for one, final act.
- List 8: Mika
- A woman wishes she were a DOLL so she wouldn't have to deal with her life.
- List 9: Mother
- Two DOLL remodellers grant an abused boy his Christmas wish for a loving mother.
- List 10: Matoko
- A dying psychic finds comfort in a DOLL.
- List 11: DOLL House
- A look at a dysfunctional family from all three members.
- List 12: S
- An assassin DOLL is activated to deal with a terrorist organization who hate DOLLs.
[edit] Volume Three
- List 13: Fake Welfare
- Six months after a car crash and lacking the memory of those six months, a man notices his wife and daughter are acting strange.
- List 14: Sexaroid
- The lives of two sexaroid DOLLs and their suffering.
- List 15: Jun
- A teenage boy's repressed memory results in his disturbing sexual obsession.
- List 16: Baby DOLL
- A woman is slowly turned into a human DOLL by an insane programmer.
- List 17: Angel
- A mistreated girl and an abused DOLL yearn for a savior.
[edit] Volume Four
- List 18: Life
- A pregnant woman learns a lesson about how precious life is from a remodelled DOLL.
- List 19: Talisman
- A couple use a DOLL for a surrogate son, but what will happen after they are finally able to have real children?
- List 20: Remodeller
- The life and background of Ichiro, the DOLL remodeller.
- List 21: Feather & Steel
- A domestic DOLL is transformed into a piece of machinery by a cheap economist.
- List 22: Grave
- Learn what happens to DOLLs when they get scrapped.
- List 23: Hinako
- The abuse an award-winning author suffered when she was a child results in her eating disorder.
[edit] Volume Five
- List 24: Plants
- A woman must put up with her arrogant boss and his three DOLLs, whose only task is to serve as potted plants.
- List 25: Unison
- A gifted pianist has a split personality which is only calmed down by soaking his scarred left hand in water.
- List 26: Touko
- A man working for the SG Corporation tries to recreate his love Touko, whose face was heavily scarred in an accident.
- List 27: Chocolat
- A DOLL named Chocolat is found by an elderly farming community.
- List 28: Rinna
- Ichiro the Remodeller's companion, the remodelled sexaroid, meets a DOLL named Rinna, who resembles his former companion Veronica. Also, Ichiro's motives are foreshadowed as he plots revenge against his father and SG.
[edit] Volume Six
- List 29:
- List 30: Promise
- List 31: Father
- List 32: Itsuki
- List 33: Home
