Fairy Cube is a manga by Kaori Yuki which ran in the shoujo magazine Hana to Yume from 2005 to 2006, with its chapters comprising a total of 3 Volumes.
Ian is the son of a famous author and known as a liar by most, especially about his crazy stories about fairies and other fantasy creatures. He is constantly followed by his alter ego, whom he dubbed 'Tokage' (Lizard) as his green hair and red eyes reminded him of the reptile. The only person who ever believed Ian about the fairy world that surrounds them is his childhood friend Rin, who only recently returned to her hometown.
Shortly after, when Ian sees a strange man named Kaito at a crime scene of the recent string of 'Fairy Murders', he's given a Fairy Cube and is told to take good care of it. After Rin is accused of having something to do with the Fairy Murders, Ian goes to help her and is promptly stabbed by his father.
Now a mere ghost, Ian realizes that Tokage has taken over his body and the only way to get revenge is through Kaito's help, by becoming a 'Winged One' and Ian swears to get his body, and Rin, back from Tokage.
This manga provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents:
- Rin's mother beats her because it's the only way of getting the attention of her ex-husband.
- Ian's father burned the wings birthmarks on Ian's back, so he wouldn't be able to escape from him like his wife did. He also demoted Rin's father for another place, to separate her from Ian, after the two tried to run to the fairy world.
- Bifauxnen: Shira in her first appearance as the substitute President of Gotoh. The rest of the time, she tends to wear clothes that make it more easy to tell that she's a girl.
- Broken Bird: Rin, Shira.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Ian and Rin.
- Creepy Doll: In the first chapter, Ainsel is possessing a doll that Kaito carries around in his arms though she quickly discards it.
- The Dandy: Kaito.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Subverted when it's revealed that Kaito didn't like having sex with Queen Knockma but was too scared of the consequences of refusing her to denounce her.
- Dysfunction Junction: If a character has any development, they probably get a traumatic backstory.
- Easily Forgiven: Ian's father is not arrested after having stabbed his own son. The worst that happens to him is to lose his job. Oh, wait, Tokage gives him a good, well-deserved kick, when Scary Daddy apologizes, thinking he's Ian. Much for Ian's shock.
- The Fair Folk: From fairies who steal human bodies to evil Celtic gods who just want to bring the destruction of the world.
- Fire-Forged Friends: Ian and Ainsel.
- Grande Dame: Heriat's grandmother.
- Happily Adopted: Tokage, until the villagers decided to sacrifice him and he killed his adoptive mother (and everyone else) after letting a evil god to take temporarily over his body to escape.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Liar Ian.
- Living MacGuffin: Ainsel.
- Missing Mom: Turns out to be important to the plot.
- Separated at Birth: Ian and Tokage. Justified, however, as Tokage was stillborn and could live only in the fairies' world.
- Shoo the Dog: After Ian and Rin were caught trying to escape, Ian started avoiding Rin and insisting he hated her, because he feared his father would do something to her. Well, something even worse than forcing her family to move. Considering that he burnt the back of his own son with a lighter, Ian has good reasons to be afraid of him.
- Title Drop: Kaito gives Fairy Cubes to people.
- Took a Level in Badass: Ian.
- The Unfavorite: Tokage feels that way: not telling your son that the whole abandoning thing and the "We don't need you" speech were actually a way to protect him from your enemies can backfire that way.
- Why Did You Make Me Hit You?: Rin's mother insists it's Rin's fault she hits her, even when she is caught by police.
