Dolls, is a shoujo manga by the manga artist Yumiko Kawahara, which ran from 1995 to 1999. Rather than having a conventional storyline, Dolls consists of a series of interdependent shorts that all revolve around the Plant Dolls: living dolls that are insanely expensive and subsist on warm milk given three times a day.
Tropes:
- Ambiguous Situation: Why does the daughter in "Potpourri Doll" not say anything when her father mistakes her for the Plant Doll? She remains silent as he drags her to the Shopkeeper and leaves her there. Did she simply choose to switch places with her Plant Doll to get away from her father, or did she pour so much of herself into the doll that the doll became her and vice versa?
- Artificial Human: The Plant Dolls themselves for all purposes look like young women, but it's clear they aren't humans. They're "grown" in some manner, and can "wilt" like actual plants or "mature" into adults if treated improperly.
- Big Eater: This is what "Angel" becomes at the end of "Milk At Mealtimes" thanks to her owner giving her brandy in her milk despite the manager's explicit orders.
- Body to Jewel: When Plant Dolls cry, their tears become extremely valuable jewels called "Tears of Heaven." This is a major plot point of several stories.
- Costume Porn: The Plant Dolls' outfits are gorgeously detailed.
- Cute Mute: Plant Dolls normally can't speak, but ones who have matured into adults seem to gain the ability to talk.
- Dissonant Serenity: Olympia, the singing Plant Doll from "Forbidden Fruit," is constantly smiling no matter what is going on around her. Because her condition doesn't seem to change no matter how she's taken care of, she's ultimately considered defective and it's implied she gains nourishment from despair. She finally sings after her owner accidentally shoots his wife.
- Eating Optional: While the Plant Dolls must drink milk three times a day to survive, actual food seems to be optional. They can eat sugar cookies, but only once a week.
- Elegant Gothic Lolita: Almost all of the Plant Dolls fit this description, since they never dress in modern-style clothes.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: A few of the volumes include stories that have nothing to do with Plant Dolls.
- Growing Up Sucks: Plant Dolls are considered defective if their bodies start to mature, and if they grow into "women" then the store manager makes it clear their owners have to take full responsibility and get no further help from the store.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The nature of the Plant Dolls. Their origin or how they function is never explained; however, it's implied that they've been around for centuries, having been a favorite luxury in the aristocratic courts of old. Given the fairytale-like nature of the series, the explanation for living dolls is probably more on the "magic" side.
- No Name Given: Almost none of the characters are ever given names. In fact, not even the Plant Dolls tend to be officially named and are usually referred to by nicknames.
- Parental Abandonment: The rich man in "Potpourri Doll" is ultimately unable to tell his daughter apart from her identical Plant Doll, and drags the poor girl back to the store screaming he never wants to see "it" again. When he returns home, the guy's girlfriend is horrified and explains the girl who is currently screaming in their house is the Plant Doll, while the store manager's looking after the daughter.
- Pimped-Out Dress: All the Plant Dolls wear rather extravagant dresses, but never to the point they can't move or do anything in them.
- Replacement Goldfish: Sometimes Plant Dolls are used as substitutes for children.
- Princess Jewell is given to a man's wife to act as a replacement for their dead daughter, whom the wife has been unable to accept is dead.
- Honeymoon is bought by the father of a teenage girl because she greatly resembles his daughter when she was younger.
- Rich Bitch: Madame from "Emerald," but she's a strangely endearing example due to her carefree honesty and exceptional insight.
- Running Gag: A person's eyes tend to bug out whenever they see the astronomical cost for purchasing a Plant Doll, though this never happens in the more serious stories like "Potpourri Doll."
- Sanity Slippage: The father in "Potpourri Doll" grows increasingly obsessed with a nauseating stench only he's aware of, and comes to believe it's originating from his daughter's Plant Doll. A Plant Doll which grows more in likeness to his daughter every day. The "stench" relates to him murdering his wife after finding her in bed with another man. His daughter found her mother's body and was traumatized by the sight. Ultimately, the father demands to return the Plant Doll, dragging it back to the store and declaring he never wants to see it again... only to learn when he gets home that the girl still in his house is the Plant Doll.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: "Rainy Moon" focuses on an artist with a supernatural reputation painting a portrait of the titular Plant Doll. The manager destroys the painting to make sure no harm comes to Rainy Moon.
- She's All Grown Up: Although Plant Dolls normally look like little girls, they can "mature" into adults if given improper treatment. This is especially true if they are given anything to eat or drink other than milk and cookies.
- Tomato in the Mirror: In the story The Missing Doll, a young woman tries to find the Plant Doll once owned by her dead, beloved grandmother. In the end, it's revealed that she was the Plant Doll all along; she had matured into an adult because her "grandmother" wanted to her to be her real child and she lost her memories of being a Plant Doll as a result.
- 20 Minutes in the Future: The exact year the stories are set in isn't given, but the futuristic architecture in most of the background scenes implies they're not set in a present day society.
- When She Smiles: Plant Dolls are shown to have very lovely smiles, often deeply touching those who see them. In fact, it's said that their smiles make you want to grant their every desire.
