A story that wonderfully depicts the emotions of a overweight woman with low self-esteem surrounded within the harsh environment of slim and good-looking women. She then decides to lose weight after getting dumped by her lover. The consequences and side-effects are explored further after the “achievement.” Is it what she really wished for?
Through round after round of extensive plastic surgery and vigorous maintenance, Ririko has become the absolute manifestation of beauty, and becomes a wildly successful model, actress, and singer. However, soon, her body, unable to withstand the burdens of surgery, begins to crumble, and along with it so does her mind, as she plummets towards a frightening and inevitable end.
Ten years ago, there was an explosion at Hisano’s apartment building. She would have been there, but she’d been hit by a bike ridden by a boy in blood-stained clothes. He dropped a toy scale when it happened, and she’s been hanging on to it as a good-luck charm ever since. Now Hisano’s in high school. One of her teachers was murdered, and the police are investigating. A young man suddenly appears carrying the toy that scale belonged to. And perhaps… can he also see the hallucinations Hisano has always been plagued with? Everything is connected as the pattern slowly rises to the surface.
Alex and Rita are two souls who died at the same moment on different ends of the earth. This is the story of their interactions with the humans who can see them as they travel towards each other.
Master magical realist mangaka Asano Inio takes the readers through the daily lives of several characters. We see the darkness that plagues them and their struggle to overcome it. What everyone really wants is for this to be a wonderful world.
Mizuki is a girl who wants to run away from her life. As she smiles at everything sad that happens to her, her soul becomes heavier day by day. Her escape door is Adam, an English singer. But is he really real, or is everything they’ve been through just a dream? Adam sees his dead Japanese girlfriend in Mizuki, but strangely, nobody, apart from a girl who met her at the gates of heaven, can see Mizuki. This is a story that takes place somewhere between dream and reality.
Devastated by the loss of both parents in a tragic accident, 18-year old Chouko Mizushima loses her will to live. After living at the homes of several different relatives, she settles in with a handsome young writer named Kei Mizushima. Kei’s a solitary, private person who is uncomfortable around most people and doesn’t quite know how to deal with this emotional young woman. At first, Chouko can’t seem to do anything right. But her dedication to tending the flowers in his garden leads Kei to eventually accept her presence. Will their growing mutual affection lead to something more?
Yun-lee is a girl who is carrying a huge emotional scar in her heart. Due to an accident, she lost 2 precious years of her life, the time period between 19 and 21 years old. Her life is empty. She is miserable, but still attending a preparatory school in an attempt to catch up with all the time she has lost. Suddenly, one day on her way to feed some stray cats, she comes across a young man who seems to have what she has lost… the period between 19 and 21 years old.
