Helter Skelter (manga)
| Helter Skelter | |
Cover of the Helter Skelter tankōbon
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| ヘルタースケルター (Herutā Sukerutā) |
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|---|---|
| Genre | Psychological horror |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kyoko Okazaki |
| Published by | Shodensha |
| English publisher | |
| Demographic | Josei |
| Magazine | Feel Young |
| Original run | July 1995 – April 1996 |
| Volumes | 1 |
| Live-action film | |
| Directed by | Mika Ninagawa |
| Written by | Arisa Kaneko |
| Music by | Kōji Ueno |
| Released | July 14, 2012 |
| Runtime | 127 minutes |
Helter Skelter (Japanese: ヘルタースケルター Hepburn: Herutā Sukerutā?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kyoko Okazaki. It was serialized in Feel Young magazine from 1995 to 1996 and collected into a single tankōbon volume by Shodensha on April 8, 2003. The story was adapted into a 2012 live-action film directed by Mika Ninagawa and starring Erika Sawajiri.[1] The manga was released in English by Vertical in 2013.[2]
Plot
Supermodel Liliko (りりこ Ririko?) has undergone full body plastic surgery to attain the perfect body and face in order to stay on top of the modeling world. However, her body begins to break down as an effect of the treatments and she grows desperate and unhinged, lashing out at first to her manager, Hiroko Tada (alias Mom) and agency and later to the public as she realizes that her current lifestyle cannot last long. The matter is made worse when Tada introduces Liliko to Kozue Yoshikawa whose natural beauty and friendly demeanor makes her a popular fashion icon to women all around. The process of her popularity makes Liliko more unhinged and fearful that she will fade to obscurity. In an attempt to stay ahead, Liliko forces her overly stressed out assistant, Michiko Hada, and her boyfriend to sabotage Kozue.
Meanwhile, an inspector investigating a series of mysterious suicides and organ theft believes that Liliko and her unnatural beauty may be the key to unearthing an underground industry of unsafe medical practice and save lives. Spending time with Liliko's younger sister, Chiharu, the inspector is given a photo of what she used to look like. He is able to meet with Liliko with a warning that she may not be able to keep hiding behind her unnatural beauty forever.
Tada talks to Kozue in what she wants to do five years and if she plans to keep modeling. To her surprise, Kozue admits that she actually looks forward to having a normal, obscure life and doesn't really care if anyone remembers her or not. Later on, Tada has a talk with the makeup artist who had long worked for her agency and Kozue learns Liliko's dark secret in having plastic surgery. Although she doesn't say anything about it, trouble is in the horizon.
After losing her job and her boyfriend ending their relationship, Hada had enough of Liliko's manipulation and cruelty towards her. Out of spite and revenge, she sends every information of Liliko's dirty secrets to tabloid magazines everywhere. Hada's exposure brings trouble to Liliko, Tada's modeling agency, and the hospital. Soon everyone starts spurning Liliko, deriding her as a fake for her actions against her assistant and hiding what she used to look like underneath her fake body. Despite Tada's best efforts, upon realizing how much no one loves her, Liliko decides to destroy herself during a press conference. She seemingly disappears from the spotlight after that.
Five years later, Kozue is now the top supermodel and the hospital has been further investigated. Tada's agency has shut down as the result of losing her models to the controversy surrounding her involvement with the hospital. The investigator has been transferred to another department where he encounters Chiharu who is more attractive as the result of taking better care of herself. While partying with her makeup artist and friends, Kozue spies Hada for a moment before disappearing. She heads down to the room where she is face to face with Liliko who is wearing an eye-patch covering her left eye.
Film cast
- Erika Sawajiri as Liliko
- Nao Omori as Makoto Asada
- Shinobu Terajima as Michiko Hada
- Gō Ayano
- Kiko Mizuhara as Kozue Yoshikawa
- Hirofumi Arai
- Anne Suzuki
- Susumu Terajima
- Kaori Momoi as Hiroko Tada
- Show Aikawa
- Mieko Harada as Hisako Wachi
- Yosuke Kubozuka as Takao Nanbu
Reception
Helter Skelter won an award of excellence at the Japan Media Arts Festival sponsored by the Japanese government in 2004.[3]
The manga also won the Grand Prize at the 2004 Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.[4]
In 2008, it was nominated as an Official Selection at the Angoulême International Comics Festival in France.[5]
Reviewing Helter Skelter, Rebecca Silverman of Anime News Network gave the manga an overall A- grade. She believes Okazaki implies that the readers are "implicit in the creation of Lilikos with our craving for unattainable beauty in the media." She noted that some people will find the story difficult to stomach and the artwork "harsh," although the latter helps the story.[6]
As of August 19, 2012, the film had grossed US$24,231,554 at the Japanese box office.[7]
References
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External links
- Official film website (Japanese)
- Helter Skelter (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Helter Skelter (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Lua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). Helter Skelter live-action film at IMDb
