HelterSkelter is a manga story about a famous fashion model who undergoesnumerous plastic surgery chasing ideal beauty and having to deal with the negative effects that comes with it both career,psychological and physical.It was written by Kyoko Okazaki. Lilikois a super model who is at the top of her profession and living the jet set life. She seems to have it all and doing very well for herself given the vicious nature of the fashion industry.
Liliko hardly has any original body part left due to the surgeries and as her body starts to deteriorate, she begins to lose her mind. She does drugs and has an assistant to attend to her personal affairs. She is desperate to maintain her image and lifestyle and would do anything to prolong her reign at the top.
The characters are difficult to sympathize with as they are all victims of their own selfish desires and vices. The only thing you can really feel is pity at these miserable people who destroy themselves for a short time in the limelight.
The atmosphere is pretty dark and just haunting. There was a good amount of risqué content which is expected given the topic.
The story’s biggest drawback was its short length, about 9 chapters and it gives this feeling that there is a lot more to be told. This was due to the mangaka getting into a near fatal accident with a drunk driver so there’s an understandable reason to why that happened. Otherwise, the message of the story is pretty stark that looks aren’t everything and that you really better be careful what you wish for. The artstyle is pretty realistic and it has a very unusual style and it fits really well with the kind of story its telling. It does take some time getting used too given how unusual it is.
Overall, it was a pretty interesting read.
It gets 4 out of 5 stars.