Shoujo Tsubaki (Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show)

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Midori, Camelia Girl

Japanese: 少女椿

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 8

Status: Finished

Published: Sep 13, 1984

Genre: Horror

Serialization: None

Authors: Maruo, Suehiro (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 5.91¹ (scored by 5,603 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #19660²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #1593

Members: 13,365

Favorites: 198

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5.91

Ranked #19660Popularity #1593Members 13,365

MangaMaruo, Suehiro (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /1

Chapters: /8

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Synopsis

The series is about an orphan girl named Midori, whom is taken in (enslaved) by a traveling freak show. The freak show includes such unsavory characters as a mummyman, a snake woman, and a drooling man with no limbs. The owner of the freak show, the eponymous Mr. Arashi, is a strict man who allows his freaks very little freedom or joy in life. He is especially cruel to Midori. Midori works, not as a freak since she is normal, but as a sort of caretaker of the freaks.

(Source: everything2)

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Background

Shoujo Tsubaki was published in English as Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show by Blast Books on January 14, 1993.

The manga was adapted into a Japanese live-action film directed by TORICO that was screened on May 21, 2016.

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Characters

Midori

Main

Wonder Masamitsu

Main

Tokkuriji, Muchisute

Supporting

Kanabun

Supporting

Snake Woman

Supporting

Midori's Mother

Supporting

Jirou

Supporting

Reviews

Jul 24, 2024

irisflr

Recommended

Shoujo Tsubaki is Suehiro Maruo’s nightmarish version of the popular character “Camellia Girl”, but here what actually plays out is a display of hell. Midori is a young orphan girl who’s kidnapped and forced to work in a circus freak show. There, she goes through all kinds of abuse and trauma.

Even though it features heavy themes, Maruo’s drawings are delicate, artistic and beautiful, which causes a grotesque, yet impressive contrast. Maruo is a true artist, a painter (it’s not a surprise that he won a prize for Panorama Toukitan). There are panels like the one in the sunflower field that are just so pretty that ... it is difficult to take your eyes off.

Well, now, about the story, I understand those who doesn’t like it for it’s grotesque nature, but I disagree that this manga is only about pure shocking value. Maruo is an intellectual, who can write horrendous stories, but with purpose, reflection, even poetry. I’m not saying that it’s not for shocking value – because it is! –, but it’s way more than that. And it’s important to mention that there are heavy triggers here that can really disturb the readers. I don’t wanna give spoilers, but it’s not an exaggeration when I say that Midori goes through all kinds of pain. The story shows no mercy and goes far beyond any boundaries.

About the characters, there’s not much to say. Usually, Maruo’s characters are one-dimensional, because the focus is not really their development. They are more like assets to explore the themes that Maruo wants to present. In Shoujo Tsubaki, the characters are just cruel, without many relevant motivations. They are seen as freaks who are not allowed in society and live miserable lives, so they somehow embrace the hell they are living in and become part of it, dragging poor and innocent Midori into it. By the way, Midori herself is a character that impressed me. I was expecting the common scared and naïve little girl, but she shows a lot of attitude, despite her situation, at the same time that she is, indeed, very childish and sweet. She’s one of the keys for the story to work so well.

Shoujo Tsubaki, just like other pieces of eroguro, presents the worst in human nature so we can reflect about it. It’s a study of how far can a person go when there’s nothing much left in life. The story doesn’t endorses or try to justify these attitudes, it only shades a light into the absolute darkness that lurks in the human nature. If we're gonna talk about manga that are written only for shocking value, that only relies in gore, we have Pumpkin Night for example. And if we’re talking about manga that sexualize abuse and violence, with cheap motivation to justify those actions, when the truth is that’s all about feeding perverts, there’s Kaifuku. Suehiro Maruo is not about this. His works have meaning, art, reflection, they are well thought and crafted. It is purposely not for everybody, but it’s definitely needed.

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Oct 6, 2024

EyesocketMaggot

Mixed Feelings

Before the review, a list of content warnings for this manga because MAL doesn't have any.

Despictions and mentions of rape and sexual assault of underage characters, graphic animal cruelty, pedophilia, general sexual and non-sexual violence, despiction of a romantic relationship between a child and an adult, bestiality, despictions of torture, extreme body deformations, insects, also some translations use slurs.

With that out of the way, a bit of context is needed for anyone interested: This manga is considered to be "ero-guro" (エログロ), which is based on the short-lived pre-WW2 artistic movement "ero-guro-nansensu" (エログロナンセンス). It comes from the English words erotic, grotesque (not gore, contrary to popular ... belief, though typically associated with it) and nonsense.

To be frank, this work's primary purpose is to be shocking. The ero-guro movement was born out of a collective challenge to push artistic boundaries as far as possible, challenging taboo subjects in a fight against censorship. In most of these works, being as weird and disgusting as possible will precede having a good story or a great cast; they're highly experimental in nature.

If you're searching for developed characters or even a profound narrative, this manga won't give you that— it isn't to say the story is horrible: just passable and quite forgettable. Many people complain this manga has no meaning or purpose, but the explained in the paragraph above IS its meaning and purpose: to disgust, to alienate the viewer, to tempt censorship. Does this completely excuse its rather rather poor storytelling? Probably not, but it's interesting to have context about things. Whether you agree that is a noble or even remotely valid endeavor is up to the reader.

Personal opinion here: I like this one. To me, the meaningfulness of this work lies in its imagery, as Masuo's art is extremely compelling. I don't agree with everything he has drawn, but it's undeniable that the man is capable of creating some striking pieces of art... Though I'd rather see the barrel of a shotgun before recommending it to most people.

If you're a fan of ero-guro or feel interested in the subject then this is probably a must-read. I'd say Shoujo Tsubaki is likely the most famous work of this kind and, being completely honest, it's actually a pretty decent introduction to the genre. Some ero-guro works entirely neglect the 'nonsense' side of things and focus on the erotic and the grotesque, but this manga also has elements of the bizarre and surreal to the point that even the narrative itself is confusing at times due to both its odd pacing and wording (which I believe to be a conscious creative decision as Masuo is a huge Kyusaku Yumeno fanboy... he's also slightly insane, or at least that's how he comes off in interviews)

Anyway 6/10 read under your own discretion, great if you seek inspiration, the mummy guy's design is kind of awesome, yadda yadda yadda.

Other adaptations:
- A 2016 Live-Action movie directed by Torico. The popular sentiment is that it's not very good, currently sitting at 2.5 stars out of 5 in Filmarks (フィルマークス). They toned down the violence by far because the studio feared another controversy like the one that followed the initial movie (see below)

- A 1992 animated movie by Hiroshi Harada. Has its own crazy story behind its production. I didn't find it as enjoyable as the manga but I do respect its existence. Also YouTubers LOVE being annoying about this one.

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Jul 25, 2024

luriamv

Not Recommended

I was traumatized by the time wasted reading this shit

I saw everyone saying it was a traumatic manga, etc., I only saw grotesque and meaningless images with a negligible story. I wasted my time reading this shit, I hope you all die.

This shit is just wrong, like why did someone made this?? It's unnatural

This crap just exist to be hatable and pointless
What's the plot about this? Every chapter has an r*pe scene or some p*dophille act with the main character
She is just a little girl, leave little girls alone!!!!

(pls set fire on this manga, if you'll see this on the shelve of someone, set ...

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Shoujo Tsubaki
Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show
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