Beautiful People is a manga short story anthology, each telling tales of beautiful people and the problems they face, or the reactions of others to their beauty.
In Princess White Snow, a young man encounters a beautiful girl on a hot day who claimed to be a Yuki Onna, a Snow Woman. While he can't find it in himself to believe her, he does realize that she is comfortable at a far lower temperature than he is. But when his inability to pay the bills on his apartment results in the Electricity being cut off, will he lose her to her delusion, or is she really telling the truth?
World's End has two beautiful people left alone on Earth. As far as they can tell, they are the only people left alive after a nuclear war destroyed all the people, but left the buildings and vegetation intact. The problem is, both of them are homosexual. Is this the end of the human race?
In Electric Angel, a young man whose favorite book is Angel Cat and Electric Angel meets a young girl online who has the same interests and loves the same book that he does. He's mistreated and misunderstood by his father and mocked by his classmates. Can he find love and acceptance with his online friend, or can their relationship even exist in the way he wants it to?
"Lady Stalker" chronicles the events of two women at a company who are being stalked in the same creepy ways. One woman believes it is her boss who is stalking her. But can she get anyone to believe her, or is it the product of her own mind? And what about the other girl? Will she be believed about her stalker?
The story "Beautiful People" has a girl who moved to Tokyo and paid for surgeries to make herself beautiful meet a woman who is a Frankenstein-type creature created by a mad scientist. As the two become friends, the woman who had the surgeries realizes that she is also a kind of experimental monster. But unlike her friend, she did it to herself instead of having it imposed from without. Is there any hope for either of them?
In Blue Sky, a vampire adopts and protects a beautiful young girl with Sky Blue eyes, first as a meal, but soon he realizes that she can be a link to the sunny days that he misses and has forgotten exists. But as she grows older, will he take her and make her like him, destroying what she is to him, or let her die of old age and lose her forever?
This is a haunting book examining the nature of beauty and cruelty and reality and asks what is really worth having. The stories will stay long in your mind after you turn the final page and close the book. Each story leaves you with a bittersweet pang in your mind. Each story seems to revolve around some kind of loss, even loss of freedom and self.
I liked many of the stories, but my favorite was "Blue Sky", as the ending, while sad, was also the most beautiful and understandable. My second favorite was "Princess White Snow".
I'd definitely recommend this book to other readers. The stories can be read quickly and are easy to get into.
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