Title: Dolls – Potpourri Doll, a.k.a. “This Manga Stinks!”

Creator: Yumiko Kawahara

Summary: Welcome to the Dolls House

Yumiko Kawahara’s disturbing short stories explore the strange and codependent world of dolls and the people who own them. [Wing: But why?]

Both quirky and unsettling, these science-fiction morality fables question the dark side of love and pride.

Fair warning: When you live inside a dollhouse, it’s hard to tell who’s the puppet and who’s the master…

Initial Thoughts

Once every so often I gain quick bursts of energy and focus to make these little recaps on short stories. It’s been a while since I’ve done a manga recap, and this one comes from a series I don’t often talk about.

Dolls, or Plant Dolls, was written and drawn by Yumiko Kawahara in the 90s. The genre of the stories varied, which is why I’m recapping this one by itself instead of the entire volume it came in. Only four volumes were translated and released in English by Viz Media (who also distributed Mermaid Saga). I own all four volumes, but I’m pissed to know there were several other stories Kawahara created that weren’t included in the English collections.

Plant Dolls, as they are called, are mysterious things. Though they resemble young women, they aren’t human. Rather, these living dolls have said to be a favorite of nobility and the affluent for generations. How they are created is never explained, so it’s left unknown if they are magical beings or scientific constructs.

They say Plant Dolls choose their owners. [Wing: Creepy.] Not anyone can simply walk in and buy one. No, it’s safer to say a Plant Doll will only blossom (i.e., open its eyes) when the right person appears. [Wing: CREEPIER.] If a Plant Doll doesn’t have a connection with their buyer, then it will most likely “wilt.” And they ain’t cheap. The price is so big it can make your eyes bug out, and that’s not even considering accessories and supplies.

To take care of a Plant Doll, all it really requires for sustenance is a mineral-enriched milk served three times a day. Though Plant Dolls don’t need to eat, they may sometimes partake of sugar cookies or cake. But you need to remember to show a Plant Doll love. It, they, aren’t just things you know.

When a Plant Doll is sad, their tears become miraculous gems known as “Tears of Heaven.” Their worth is astronomical. But who would ever dare to make a Plant Doll cry?

Deviations from proper care may result in a Plant Doll “maturing,” at which point the manufacturer is no longer held liable for whatever may happen and the buyer is on their own. [Wing: I am already terrified.]

The only reoccurring character in the series is the mysterious Shopkeeper, who oversees sale of Plant Dolls on behalf of the mysterious “Master.”

Look, as someone who grew up playing with Disney Princess dolls I’m always going to have at least some fondness for doll-based media. I generally prefer excursions in the horror genre that aren’t just rehashes of Child’s Play and I’ve made it clear I don’t care for Slappy the Dummy. I’m also rather fond of Yumiko Kawahara’s gorgeous designs for the Plant Dolls.

The second volume featured a short essay, “Dreaming at the End of the Century,” by Toyoko Yamada. The essay discusses the early Victorian era where the concept of “Girl Worship” began. Young women were viewed as fragile, delicate beings in an era where sexuality was considered taboo, so they were treated like dolls. Kept inside their houses. This was also when greenhouses started to become popular, and people began to keep ornamental plants the same way they kept young women. [Wing: Creepiest.]

Similar to Yoko Matsumoto and Rumiko Takahashi, I enjoy how so many of these shoujo creators delved into the horror genre without needing to make the art or the story needlessly exploitative or exaggerated. One criticism I may have about Kawahara’s writing is that she often doesn’t give her characters names, which is sadly the case here.

Recap

Our main character, as it were, ruminates on his dislike of this city. How he just can’t bring himself to like it after living here for so long. The crowds, the people, and most importantly, the smell. It’s the smell he can’t stand the most.

Though he’d heard you can find anything in this city, even he is surprised to learn of such a thing as a living doll. The Shopkeeper explains that Plant Dolls have been a fixture in this city for many ages. The man sees how expensive they are, but he’s quite rich, so the price doesn’t disturb him nor would he need a payment plan or any of that nonsense. [Wing: If he’s so rich, why doesn’t he leave the damn city he hates?] Which isn’t to say he’s frivolous with his wealth, but his young daughter seems absolutely drawn towards one of the Plant Dolls.

The Shopkeeper comments on the instant bond the young woman has formed with a certain Plant Doll. In fact, they could easily pass for twin sisters…

The rich man refuses to acknowledge any similarity between his daughter and the doll. While he’s quick to demand the doll be “wrapped up,” the Shopkeeper asks if his daughter will be put in the box as well. After all, children prefer to have their friends treated as they are treated, so how would it look to have the girl’s new friend be handled like an object?

The Shopkeeper’s about to explain how to care for a Plant Doll when the rich man simply orders his servants to bring the doll to the car. Whatever instructions she may came with can be given to the man’s staff.

The man’s daughter doesn’t leave just yet, quietly asking the Shopkeeper something her father doesn’t hear. The Shopkeeper kindly advises the girl to take good care of her new friend, and to give her name she desires. Meanwhile, her father is put off by how she would ever approach a stranger like that. He doesn’t even acknowledge the way his daughter and her doll look, sleeping together. All he can think about is that same horrible smell, and orders his driver to crank up the AC to the max.

Later that evening, the rich man is busy in his study when the servants bring up some wine. Surprise! The man’s lover has come by for a late night rendezvous. The two catch up, and talk about the man’s dislike of the city and its aroma. His lover is a student of comparative culture, so she loves the city. She then brings up the daughter’s Plant Doll. It’s just so surprising, you know. They say Plant Dolls choose their owners. And how did he, a man who hates the city so much, manage to find the shop that sells them?

The man explains that he was having dinner with his daughter when she suddenly ran off from the restaurant. By the time he found her, she was with the Plant Doll. It was if the two were old friends reunited for the first time in ages. The girlfriend marvels at such a dramatic story. She figured the man decided to use the Plant Doll in place of a perfume sachet.

Hmm, you hadn’t noticed? The Plant Doll’s scent is just wonderful. The girlfriend loves it. She could imagine the girl ran off because she was lured by the doll’s scent. Maybe the man hasn’t noticed because it’s like a kind of pheromone… [Wing: … so, these creepy dolls lure children via scents. Are these carnivorous plant dolls? Why is everything so creepy? (I love it.)]

Nevertheless, the girlfriend hopes that the doll is able to help the child. Something that would be able to make her smile. She seems so sad, so cold, like her eyes have lost all their warmth. The man can only think of how his daughter’s been like that ever since her mother died, but believes it all began when they moved to this city. [Wing: Again, why are you staying in this city you hate? Especially if you also think it is harming your daughter? W H Y?]

The girlfriend argues that the daughter could use some friends, but the man wonders how she could ever make friends with anyone who came from this place. She’s got her doll, what else does she need? God, if only he could just take her and get away from this place. Back to his home country, and so far away from this smell. [Wing: SO FUCKING GO OH MY GOD. I hope the doll eats his face.]

All his lover wants is for the child to like her. All the man wants is to not be suffocated by this smell.

[Wing: All Wing wants is for the doll to eat his face. Start with his nose, that’ll be nice for him. No more smell.]

The so-called smell continues to haunt the man, who doesn’t understand why no one else is bothered by it. He demands the servants keep the windows shut at all time and the AC at the max, but it’s like they don’t care.

What’s more shocking is the change in his daughter. She’s smiling! And actually laughing! The staff are all amazed. Her father is genuinely relieved at the shift in her demeanor…

And then for a moment, he could swear his daughter smells just like the city.

His office is different. All of his workers, none of them live in the city. They don’t carry that smell. His girlfriend tries to answer his questions about body odor; maybe it has something to do with different food cultures. The man just wants to know how to be free of that smell. Maybe it’s psychosomatic. He expects there to be a stench, so there IS a stench. The girlfriend suggests he relax a bit, especially since his daughter’s finally improving.

With each passing day, the young girl becomes more like the child she used to be. As she bonds with her Plant Doll, they wear matching dresses and have meals together. The man swears that doll is looking more like his daughter, too.

Or, is his daughter looking more like the doll?

[Wing: NEITHER OPTION IS GOOD!]

The man’s nausea intensifies to the point he fires all of his servants, but it doesn’t help. His lover is worried about him and suggests seeing a doctor. She hates how he’s running himself ragged. The girlfriend proposes that some of the students from her university can work in his place part-time. As exchange students, they wouldn’t have the “smell” of the city.

She also asks to look after his daughter for a bit.

The doctor the man sees proposes his instability is a result of him being unable to adapt to the “foreign culture” of the city. Even though he’s lived here for three years. Three years of that smell that no one else notices…

Returning home, the man’s lover says his daughter has given the Plant Doll a name (but won’t say what it is). That’s when he notices, the stench is still here despite all the servants being gone. The only ones who’ve been in the house aside from his girlfriend are himself, his daughter, and the Plant Doll.

The Plant Doll his girlfriend compared to a perfume sachet.

His lover explains that the type of Plant Doll his daughter chose is called a “Potpourri Doll.” They can be given scent balls (like little perfume balls) at meal times. A jar of them was acquired from the store. The young lady loves the scent. The Shopkeeper himself said it was okay for her to take one of the balls as well. Even the girlfriend took one. [Wing: Horrifying for an entirely different reason, which is that the thought of all those dolls with all those scents makes my face hurt. My allergies are better after several years of immunotherapy treatment, but god, I remember how it feels!]

See? Our bodies have a nice fragrance from within!

The man has gone totally pale from horror at this revelation, and pushes his girlfriend away from him. He can’t stand to be near her.

And that’s when his daughter starts screaming. Screaming and screaming in total terror, like she’s seen a ghost. The man doesn’t care about that, or his girlfriend asking what was wrong. No, all he can focus on is the Plant Doll and its smell.

The man grabs the doll by her hand and drags her out of the house, all the way back into the city to the store. The Shopkeeper is aghast at the man’s behavior, but he doesn’t care. All he wants to know is why he’s the only one bothered by this hideous stench. Why is he the only one that’s uncomfortable?

The Shopkeeper offers to do a trade-in for another model, pissing the man off even further. So the Shopkeeper rather bluntly states that HE, the buyer, is the problem. Further incensed, the man makes it clear he doesn’t want another doll and he doesn’t want any advice. All he wants is to never, EVER see that thing again.

The Shopkeeper tsk-tsks such poor treatment, while the man is lost in his hatred of the stench, of the city, of those cold eyes, of that scream…

The scream he heard so long ago after she found her mother’s dead body…

After he found his wife in bed with a man from this horrible city, her claiming how lonely she was with him working all the time… [Wing: MY QUESTION STANDS! This is yet another reason why he should have left the city, why the fuck does he stay?]

And then the man’s snapped back to reality by his girlfriend. When did he return home? Why is his daughter still screaming? Why is his lover so concerned with where he took the Plant Doll?

Well, because the girl that’s still screaming and has been screaming all this time IS the Plant Doll.

In the city, the Shopkeeper wonders if the young woman’s father will realize his mistake and come back to get her… [Wing: He will not, because the doll is about to eat his face.]

Final Thoughts

When exactly had the Plant Doll and the young woman actually switched places? Her father wondered if the doll was becoming more like her, or the girl was becoming more like the doll. Had he only mistaken her at the moment the Plant Doll began screaming, or did he make the mistake starting from the first morning she had the doll in their house? We’re led to assume who the young girl and the doll were at that point, but how do we know they hadn’t already switched?

If the Plant Doll was becoming more like the girl, then it’s interesting to me that she also ended up taking on the trauma she endured upon seeing her mother’s death. Was the Plant Doll not just the girl’s comfort, but her defense mechanism? Did she pour her own emotions into the doll so she wouldn’t need to deal with them? Is that why she didn’t say anything as her father dragged her to the Shopkeeper?

When you’re a kid, sometimes you put a lot of yourself into your toys when you have no one else in your life. Maybe she just put a little bit too much into her doll. [Wing: I love this idea. Children putting themselves into their toys, children unable to regulate their emotions and therefore how much they put into their toys, what builds and builds inside them and their creations, etc.]

I know I could be talking about the father’s own issues, but I’m more intrigued by what Kawahara doesn’t say about the girl. But if they HAD switched, why could the lover tell them apart but not the father (regardless of his obsession with the stench)?

The only other horror story concerning the Plant Dolls to come from these volumes is called “Forbidden Fruit.” It’s about a special Plant Doll named Olympia, who supposedly has a beautiful singing voice. However, she doesn’t sing anymore. Or maybe she needs a reason to…

[Wing: I stand by my initial statement, which is that these dolls are creepy as fuck. Adding now: And I love them.]