| Doll | |
The English-language cover of the first Doll volume as published by Tokyopop in North America on August 10, 2004 |
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| ドｰル (Dōru) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Mitsukazu Mihara |
| Published by | Shodensha |
| English publisher | Tokyopop |
| Demographic | Josei |
| Magazine | Feel Young |
| 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 |
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 does not rest on its laurels. It is 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.
Before leaving the SG Corporation, Doctor Kirishima built nine prototype DOLLs and gave each a repeating-digit serial number. 111 was a test model. 222 was a boy doll, name and description unknown. 333, 444, 555, and 666 were domestic models. 777 and 888 were sexaroids. 999 was the SG Corporation's own watchdog, designed to hunt down illegally remodelled DOLLs. Like all DOLLs, each has an identifying barcode behind its left ear.
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.
Ichiro is a remodeller whose grandfather was president of the SG Corporation. Ichiro demonstrated his genius level I.Q. even as a child... which led to constant abuse at the hands of Ichiro's stepmother and her children. Ichiro's only relief came from a domestic DOLL that belonged to his family... and the DOLL showed Ichiro more warmth and kindness than any of his relatives.
When Ichiro was designated to be the next president of the SG Corporation, the other members of his family were so resentful they used Ichiro's beloved DOLL as a means to castrate the young man. Unable to produce an heir, Ichiro could no longer be president though he was more upset by the loss of his DOLL than the loss of his future or his manhood.
Though Ichiro has been challenged by other Remodellers, including the upstart female Remodeller known as Psycho Candy, none have been able to match his skill or ingenuity. Ichiro's only companion is SG-888, a sexaroid that Ichiro remodelled to be his masterpiece.
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 vol.6 itself, written by Mitsukazu Mihara.)
The nine prototype DOLLs which were personally created by Dr. Kirishima have been seen throughout the entire series, and the very last story revealing their whereabouts.
Doll is also licensed in Germany by Tokyopop Germany.[1]
| No. | Japanese | North American | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | ISBN | Release date | ISBN | |||
| 01 | August 10, 2000[2] | ISBN 4396762283 | August 10, 2004[3] | ISBN 978-1-59182-710-8 | ||
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| "A Nameless Doll" focuses on a woman who lives her life according to the wishes of others and has only a Doll for a companion. After her death, her family has the Doll cremated with her, unaware that by doing so they have forfeited their inheritance to charity. In "Maria", a businessman scarred by the image of his mother and grandfather having intercourse tries to turn a doll into a perfect lover; however, the operation leaves her frail and she is wounded in a car crash with him. "Ai" centers on a woman who treats the child that resulted from her rape as a Doll. "Kaoru" revolves around the scientist working on the Dolls, Motohiko, and his struggle with his wife's deteriorating mental condition. After transplanting her memories into a Doll, he realizes his mistake and leaves the corporation to care for his wife. In "Ayako", a man tries to create a happy family for his son by replacing his absent mother with a Doll. An earthquake leaves him trapped in the debris of his home and the Doll refuses to let him die. After he is rescued by neighbors, the son accepts the Doll. "A Maid Servant" sees a girl who believes she is ugly unknowingly hurt her Doll out of anger for a girl who stole her fiancé. | ||||||
| 02 | January 23, 2001[4] | ISBN 4396762399 | October 12, 2004[3] | ISBN 978-1-59182-887-7 | ||
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| In "A Doll", a homeless ventriloquist uses a discarded Doll for one final act. "Mika" focuses on a woman who wishes to be a DOLL so she would not have to deal with her life. After the death of her mother, she goes insane and believes that she is a Doll. In "Mother", the Remodeller grants an abused boy his Christmas wish for a loving mother. In "Matoko", a dying psychic finds comfort in a DOLL. She decides to fight the tumor with treatment. "DOLL House" focuses on a wife who pushes her son to excel in school to make up for the belief that her husband is having an affair and the son who mistakes his cross-dressing father for the woman that he and his mother believes is having an affair. In "S", an assassin DOLL is activated to deal with a terrorist organization who hate Dolls. He rescues the leader after she is betrayed by her organization. | ||||||
| 03 | May 15, 2001[5] | ISBN 4396762461 | January 11, 2005[3] | ISBN 978-1-59182-888-4 | ||
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| In "Fake Welfare", a man, who had been in a car crash with his wife and daughter, believes they died and were replaced by Dolls with their memories; he later learns that he is actually the Doll. "Sexaroid" centers on two Dolls built for sex. After having several owners, they are bought by a sadistic woman who mains and decapitates Veronica in front of the other sexaroid. The sexaroid is later found by the Remodeller. In "Jun", a teenage boy realizes that his repressed memory of his father raping his mother after ordering the Doll to chop off her arms and legs resulted in his sexual obsession with similar women. "Baby Doll" focuses on a woman who is slowly turned into a human DOLL by an insane programmer. Pregnant and desperate, she kills herself, but the hospital is able to save her unborn daughter who demonstrates characteristics of the programing used to turn her mother into a Doll. "Angel" revolves around a bullied girl and an abused DOLL; both yearn for a savior. The girl attempts suicide by jumping out her window but the Doll cushions her fall and is destroyed by the impact. | ||||||
| 04 | February 8, 2002[6] | ISBN 4396762631 | April 12, 2005[3] | ISBN 978-1-59532-390-3 | ||
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| 05 | April 8, 2002[7] | ISBN 4396762682 | July 12, 2005[3] | ISBN 978-1-59532-391-0 | ||
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| 06 | August 8, 2002[8] | ISBN 4396762828 | October 11, 2005[3] | ISBN 978-1-59532-392-7 | ||
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The first volume of Doll debuted at the 73rd spot on the list of the top 100 best-selling graphic novels for July 2004 with an estimated 1,394 copies sold.[9]
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