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Rather more representative of the Nishioka siblings' writing style than Kami no Kodomo, this is a collection of one-shots that explore the thoughts and feelings of ordinary people in an odd, surrealistic manner replete with atypical and symbolic illustrations. More than one reading may be required if you are to completely grasp the core message behind each of these stories.
From DrMaster: Goths Cage is an enchanting manga-esque picture book series of three short stories with a malicious twist of love and romance. It is based on Yasushi Suzuki's art series that was previously released online in Japan under the name Phantoms KADAN. Suzuki-san re-adapts his art series and transforms it into a bewitching picture book with entrancing grace and charm. Each of his gothic tales is exquisitely crafted with elegant detailed illustrations that transport readers into an enchanted world of gothic glory. In his first story, Glass Magic, Suzuki-san does a twisted take on the classic Cinderella tale. An ugly corpse-like servant girl wishes to fall in love with a prince and become a beautiful princess. Then a sinister old witch offers her a magic potion that can grant her heart's desires, but in order for the magic to work, she must abandon her soul. She gets rid of her memories, her face, and her master to become a cruelly beautiful glass princess. In another of Suzuki's splendidly dark tales, the shop keeper of an enchanted barbershop attends to his beautiful victim under the moonlight. He snips away at her thoughts and memories, mystically cutting away all her painful memories that scar her heart. However, because she is sapped of her thoughts and memories, all that is left is her pitiful vacuous body. Prepare to be mesmerized by Yasushi Suzuki's spine-chilling tales of love and entrancement this fall 2008, because this enchanting collection of spellbinding illustrations and twisted tales is a must-have! Note: 32 page hardcover volume, all in color
From Peccatore Sanctuary: Murakami Keisuke possesses beauty which cannot be missed, many people admire him due to his beauty. But he has never accepted any one of these people. One day student council president Masaki, due to some incident started to become close to him...
From Blissful Sin: Gardener Suzaku and the Master of the house, who has a long-hair fetish, are engaged in their regular trysts, when the former purposely makes himself heard by the secretly-watching cool beauty, Suiren, the butler. From Artist x Model, Student Council Vice-Chairperson x Tea Ceremony Club's Kimono-clad High School Student, Adult Assassin x Escaping Specialist, fellow lawyers to petit fantasy, you can have your pick of characters and situations! A full variety of one-shots to satisfy whatever infatuations or cravings you have!
The Nightmare of Fabrication is a beautifully drawn full-colour manga from Yoshitoshi ABe. The 18 page short story can be found in the Lain Omnipresence in Wired artbook. It's a bonus story which apparently isn't related with neither the anime nor the PS game. It shows characters who were included in the PS game but not in the TV series (like the psychiatrist), but also determinant characters from the anime who didn't appear in the videogame (like Deus).
Ordinary guy on an ordinary day woke up in an ordinary house next to an... ordinary dead body, what would you do?
From Aerandria Scans: The story is told as a collection of allegories based in a medieval fantasy setting, but aimed at mature audience. The main character is Helga, a girl who lives completely ostracized from her fellow-villagers, but she seems to enjoy it rather than suffer from it. The people in her life, whose stories we also get to explore, are her best friend Eda, the kind young mayor and two of his servants. And in the heart of the village and the story is the bell-tower which changes everything with its chime...
A series of loosely-connected vignettes, each lead to the next by a stray thought. A young hit-man chased from his home; a dropped key to a bloody room; a meat-locker to hide a corpse; the watchful eyes of crows; a criminal?s chance at salvation; the sight of music in the air. Where will this story take you, and in what place will it end?
It's the year 2034 and high school student Sasaki Hiiro boards his bus just like any other day. Everything changes, though, when his bus is suddenly attacked by a mysterious girl with red eyes. When Hiiro awakes, he finds himself in "Tokyo," a city which was supposed to have been permanently sealed off after the outbreak of the deadly Pandora Virus ten years ago. Not only that, but it also seems like all those being gathered in "Tokyo" are developing new inhuman abilities. Now, among the ruins of Shibuya, Hiiro and his friends must discover why they are here and learn all they can about the terrible Malicious Code that is running wild in their bodies before it destroys them all!
A collection of nine surreal short stories sharing a theme of water. Chapter 1, Bon: A young boy ponders family affairs around Bon. Chapter 2, We’re Still on Our Way: An astronaut cadet must figure out his motivation if he is to succeed and go into space. Chapter 3, Fusion: When the ultimate form of love is fusion, the government must work to stop a declining population. Chapter 4, Such Sorrowful Stars: In a near-death experience, a man meets a solitary girl running endlessly. Chapter 5, Salt Damage Season: A young woman is captivated by marine “vortexes”. Chapter 6, Sea Weather: A girl follows a schoolmate home only to realize she lives under the sea. Chapter 7, Squish: A girl can see things she calls “squishes”, transparent blobs all around us. Chapter 8, Meltism: If we are the same as the planet, what separates us? Chapter 9, Season・Time・Water: The world adapts to the changing of the seasons.
Sungyeol loses his mind after stabbing his lover who tried to kill him. It was Jaseong that accidentally saved him. Jaseong allows Sungyeol to stay in his house until the heavy snow stops. That night, Jaseong placed his hands on Sungyeol’s chestnut-like body. Sungyeol seduces Jaseong by telling the man mysterious stories. Here lies the lives of two men whose kept secrets begin to overlap.
"People become unhappy because they only think about the past and the future... not the present.." So-Na, unable to remember a painful event in her past, is living only for her mother's nursery, "The Snowdrop". When she meets Hae-Gi, the intentionally isolated and beautiful model, they instantly click and fall in love. However, a dark secret that connects them, threatens to tear them apart. Like a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, Snowdrop is about two star-crossed teens who fall madly in love. (Warning: Shounen-ai between side characters.)
