Doll Garden

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My personal rating of this manga is very poor.

I'm not a judge of art, so my comments will focus on the storyline, credibility, characterization and morality.

The topic of the series is "prostitution". As such, I felt it was taken very lightly. It was an idealization of prostitution and rape instead of a recrimination towards a society that allows such barbarism.

This work could be falsely praised to be "mature"and "deep" because it deals with such a complicated topic. Yet the main characters portrayed are entirely flat and overly perfect/good, which is perhaps an innate quality in shojo manga, but does not suit the ... severe situations portrayed.

-Warning spoilers ahead-

For example, in the first story we find a girl who actually wants to become a "doll". I found this so wrong it wasn't even funny. The character is such an "angel", she feels sorry even for a sadistic man who whips her unconscious every night. I'd say, next time you want to do like Garcia Marquez in Mis Putas Tristes and going on about the undeveloped tits and quivering hips of a little girl in the arms of a pedophile, at least give the character a working brain so we can see she's not just a masochist who enjoys being a prostitute because everyone praises her.

Second story was just as ethically corrupted. Here's a prize of a main male lead: a pimp who is ruthless enough to break the new acquired girls in a raping orgy. Not happy with that, he actually decides the heroine is too lifeless, thus making her fall in love with him so she can do her best for the costumers and fight the rest of his harem for his affection. If you ever read the story, I want you to pay close attention to the ending and tell me if he's not being a two-faced, sadistic pig because he never changes his attitude towards the other prostitutes.

The third and last story I will discuss here was at least a bit more bearable, even if it does include sexual abuse from a father figure towards his daughter.