Helter Skelter

(ヘルタースケルター)
Mangaka: Kyoko Okazaki
Categories: josei, drama

"A word before we start:
laughter and screams
sound very much alike."

Summary: Years (and yens) of plastic surgery turned top celebrity Ririko into the beauty icon that she is. However, as her body starts to show signs of deterioration (think Michael Jackson), she descends into despair and becomes hellbent into making other people's lives as miserable as hers. The appearance of a younger and fresher face at her modelling agency and the engagement of her rich lover to another adds insult to the injury. More often than not, the object of Ririko's bullying is her pushover-of-an-assistant, Hada-chan.

Comments: Ririko is both the protagonist and antagonist in this story. Although she's a real bitch (haha!) and she ends up destroying herself, you can't help but pity her.

Although I'm not a fan of Okazaki-san's art, the intro illustrations are eye-candy. I can't say the same for the drawings in the actual story. The art itself is atypical of Japanese manga but once you get passed that, you'll find a story riveting for its relevance to today's issues.



There are no superheroes with preternatural powers in this manga, just women's vanity and society's obsession with beauty.

Warnings: has some nudity and sex scenes
Scanlator: Mangascreener