Title: Helter SkelterAuthor: Kyoko Okazaki
First Published: April 1, 2003
Publisher: Vertical Comics
Pages: 320
Genre: Horror, Josei, Psychological
Format: Web
Source: Web
Rating:
Synopsis:
If you are aware of fashion in Japan you must have seen Liliko's face. For the last few years she has been at the top of the modeling world, with her face and body promoting the biggest brands. But as everyone who is in this world admits, staying on top is a constant and never ending battle. There are always new faces introduced to the public. Younger models and new looks are brought into the fold every season. And keeping that position means learning to adapt and learning to cope with change.
To maintain her position, Liliko has decided to under the knife. This is not her first go with this service. It is yet another round of plastic surgery, all done to keep herself looking young and vibrant. However, in this case just a little nip and tuck was not enough. Liliko is bent on undergoing a full body makeover. From head-to-toe, every inch of her will undergo cosmetic surgery, and thus begins her madness.
Get the Book: AmazonReview
Helter Skelter is a manga that I’ve reread a few times and each time I love it more and more. The story follows a high fashion model on the brink of complete mental collapse. It’s insane, it’s erotic, it is utterly disgusting and I ate it up.
Liliko has all but sold her soul to become famous, she’s had so much plastic surgery that she’s become completely unrecognizable, she’s heavily addicted to drugs just to function, and she’s an all around raging bitch. She was so unlikeable in fact that she’s mesmerizing, you know she’s going to crash and can’t look away. Everything moves at a breakneck pace, hurtling toward a bombastic and over-the-top ending worthy of the Beatles theme song that the manga is named for.
Helter Skelter doesn’t shy away from exploring the ugliness of the beauty industry with a healthy dose of body horror. The first time I read the series I didn’t care for the art style, but overtime I came to appreciate the simple lines and ugly, almost inhuman proportions. The art suits the manga perfectly for the story that it was trying to tell. It’s one of the very best of Josei manga and one of my favorites in this demographic.
Quote
“She was a piece of fruit that was beautiful on the surface, but ravaged on the inside by bugs… But I think that Ririko was at her prettiest around this time. She was like a flower that was in full bloom, but on the verge of scattering as soon as the wind blew… There’s very little time left.”
Content Warnings
View Spoiler »About the Author
About Kyoko Okazaki
Kyoko Okazaki is a Japanese manga artist. Okazaki often focuses on urban Japanese life in Tokyo from the 1980s and 1990s. Okazaki’s characters are bold and freewheeling, holding unconventional sets of values. Her writings are often studded with modern jargon.
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