lolita media library: Kenji Ohtsuki’s Gothic & Lolita Fantasy Theater (ゴシック&ロリータ幻想劇場)

Overview

This is a compilation of 20 short stories, each roughly 7-15 pages long, written by author and musician Kenji Ohtsuki (I wrote about him in my previous post about his novel Rocking Horse Ballerina) and published in 2009. The cover illustration of this edition is by Yoh (妖).

There was a previous edition published in December 2005 that contains a slightly different set of only 15 stories.

How it’s related to lolita

Many of these stories were published individually in issues of the Gothic and Lolita Bible starting in December 2003 (Volume 11 contained the first installment, Tokyo Dosneyland) and ending sometime between August 2007 and 2009.

Comments

The stories are not arranged in the same order that they were published in the GLB, and honestly I don't think it really matters because they are all standalone pieces. The author did write in some of his previously created characters (Machiko shows up in three different stories, Sakurako in two).

I bought this at the same time as Rocking Horse Ballerina because I thought short stories might be easier to get through and in case I really liked the author and wanted more to read. It was only after I bought it that I found out they were also published in the GLB. I really enjoyed the wide variety of stories. It's got a little bit of everything: sweet and heartwarming moments between people, really sad realizations, fantasy, horror, tinges of science fiction and history and music. A number of the stories are set in areas of Tokyo that exist in real life, and having been to some of those places strengthened my reaction to the stories. The content of Shinjuku Gyoen in particular was already the type of story I like, but because I have personally been there, I enjoyed the story even more.

Table of contents and summaries

I have translated the titles of each short story and written a short (spoiler-free) teaser about each story’s plot. Many synopses were translated from this blog post but I wrote a number of them myself after reading the stories.

• Preface: A Prose Poem on Elizabethan Ruffs p.7
  Girls wearing Elizabethan ruffs are attending a tea party. They begin to mysteriously collapse one after another.
  
• Gonsuke, the Clustering Life Form p.15
  Creatures from space known as Angel Hair fall to earth in clusters. A handful of them hide inside a teddy bear, anxiously awaiting their fate. A young woman named Ai buys the teddy bear for a 4-year-old as a birthday gift.
  
• Fairies vs. Archery Club p.25
  An archery club is practicing on the range under the blue summer sky. A mysterious object appears high in the sky above. It's an army of lolitas?! Winged fairies in lolita clothes carrying Western style bows fire arrows at the archery club.
• Merry Christmas, Sobiko p.43
  It's a few days before Christmas. Shizuka is out shopping at a lolita boutique and her mother has invited herself along. Shizuka's mother falls in love with the clothes there. Despite Shizuka's frustration, her mother excitedly buys herself an outfit to match her daughter's. Later, while walking along Omotesando, a magazine reporter stops them for an interview. Shizuka's mother is asked for her nickname and replies "Sobiko" ("Rose Perfume") almost as though she had prepared to be asked this question.
  
• Dreams Are All We Have in Life p.55
  High school classmates are bored one day and begin talking about their dreams. Osamu wants to be an illustrator. Namio dreams of becoming a novelist. Yayako wants to make clothes for a living. The three of them decide to make a short film together over their summer break from school.
  
• Valentine's Day in the Warring States Period p.67
  The night of Valentine's Day, Luna plans to present her classmate crush with chocolates. But as she does so, she is mysteriously transported back in time. The next thing she knows, she finds herself in a castle with a headstrong princess and the samurai warrior who loves her. Luna decides that she'll get them together one way or another.
• Tokyo Dosneyland p.85
  On the outskirts of Saitama Prefecture, there is a famous amusement park called Tokyo Dosneyland. Cabby, the mascot of Kawagoe City Cabbage Festival, finds herself there on a cold Christmas Eve morning. She has come to catch a glimpse of Mockey Mouse but is turned away at the gate. Cabby is overcome by grief and takes her own life. The country's other local mascots, angered by the news of Cabby's death, prepare to descend upon Tokyo Dosneyland.
• Ace Bomber Assassin Doll, Mai p.93
  Some young troublemakers at a bar are excitedly talking about messing with homeless people, when they instantly freeze. An old man carrying a gun is standing in the doorway. He has come to avenge his homeless friend who was beaten up. A girl doll is tucked under his left arm.
  
• Guitar Thief p.105
  Torame's boyfriend, Katsuya, is dead. She has stolen his beloved Les Paul guitar and run away. Torame is determined to return the guitar to Katsuya in heaven, but Katsuya's father catches up to her.
• Sakurako of the Yasukuni Shrine p.119
  A pair of siblings, an older brother and younger sister, visit the Yushukan war museum within Yasukuni Shrine. The younger sister is transfixed by a display of Kikuko, a bride doll that belonged to a young soldier who died in World War II. On the way home from the museum, the younger sister suddenly announces she is to be the soldier's bride.
• The Haunting of Okutama Academy p.131
  Sakurako has the ability to sense supernatural energies. A paranormal investigator comes to her for assistance with a case. Every day, twin sisters at the local academy hear mysterious noises while at school. Sakurako and the paranormal investigator work together to uncover the source.
  
• British Spiritualism and Lillian's Ceremonial Robes p.145
  In the early 1900s in Britain, a 16 year old girl communicates with the spirits of the dead through dance.
• Machiko Nanamagari of the Gothloli Brothel p.155
  Machiko works at the gothic and lolita themed brothel "Gothloli Pible", servicing men nearly every day. One day, the owner dies from a drug overdose, and Machiko decides to run away.
• The Chaser p.165
  Machiko and her friends Mayo and Sayo hire a driver to help them follow their favorite band, MaREN's, on their tour across Japan in hopes of getting to meet them.
• Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden p.183
  Nanami runs into her high school boyfriend Katsuya in the subway station after not seeing him for over 10 years. They take a walk together in the nearby Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and reminisce about their past relationship.
• The Day I Was Adopted p.195
  Ryoichi and his girlfriend Haruko have fallen in love with a dog at the pet shop. One day they finally adopt him, and name him Loco. Loco is sad to leave his friends at the pet shop but also looking forward to his new life. Three years later, one of Loco's friends from the pet shop, a chihuahua named Pinky, recognizes him at the beach. While Loco and Pinky are chatting and catching up, Ryoichi suddenly and forcefully pulls Loco away. He is upset because Haruko has gone missing.
  
• Sleeping-Again Beauty and Mocha p.209
  Shoko earns herself the nickname "Sleeping-Again Beauty" from her elderly neighbor because Shoko waves hello through her window every morning and then immediately goes back to sleep. One morning, as Shoko is returning to sleep, she feels someone snuggle up to her. She jumps up, startled, and finds a strange boy sleeping in her bed.
  
• Pitcher Plant p.221
  A store on the outskirts of Tokyo sells clothes with a unique, almost otherworldly beauty. What is it that makes them so special? The store's owner has a dark secret.
  
• The Moonlight Clown p.231
  In Evil Bizarro Tokyo, the Moonlight Clown is the talk of the town. When the moon shines bright in the night sky, the Moonlight Clown kidnaps girls obsessed with fashion, who are never to be seen again. The Pureblood Detective wants to capture the Moonlight Clown and devises a plan to lure him out with their assistant, Mori Kobayashi, by dressing her up in frilly clothes as bait.
  
• Our Romantic Flight p.239
  Maya was sold to a circus troupe and performs as a human cannon ball. She dreams of one day escaping to the outside world and falling from the sky to meet a certain young man she's watched from above. One day, she steels her courage and sets the cannon to maximum power. When the cannon fires, she flies high and far into the sky to chase the young man of her dreams.