Yes, time for a new manga rant, and it's a horror one again! Just like with series, I've opened up a new category with this genre ^^ So, without further ado, let's talk about Cinderella.
English title: -
Author: KISHIMOTO Seishi
Genres: comedy, drama, horror, shoujo, supernatural
Type: oneshot
Length // Status: 1 chapter // complete
Scanlated by: Turtle Paradise
Warnings: blood, some implied violence
Synopsis
Cinderella is tormented by her sisters, who make her do all the housework and constantly berate her. One day, while walking home from the market, she overhears a conversation between two women: there's a ball at the castle that night, where the Prince will be looking for his future queen! Cinderella walks away disheartened, as she knows there's no chance of her attending. But on the way home she meets a witch who offers to help...
Plot and characters
This is one of the more faithful adaptations of "Cinderella", as it's very similar to the original Grimm version. Of course, the ending is completely different, but it captures that bleak and dreary part of Cinderella pretty well. The dialogue is adapted to modern times, so you can find the characters going "awesome!" or "this is so ace!" or even "he's such a hunk!" (no, I'm not kidding XD), which makes for a refreshing read. Oh, and Cinderella's story is told by a Jester that appears at the beginning.
As far as the characters go, Cinderella and the witch are the most developed. Contrary to the meek Cinderellas we're used to, this one is smug, hateful and downright snobbish at times. The Witch is entertaining to say the least and, while I don't want to give the ending away, has a pretty good poker face. The Sisters are more like background noise and, apart from 3-4 panels, don't appear much. As for the Prince, he's sort of a secondary character and has more of the spotlight towards the end.
Cinderella, the Witch, the Prince, the Jester
Art style
The style somewhat resembles Mihara Mitsukazu's and relies heavily on gothic and lolita elements like ruffles, heavy black makeup around the eyes and head ornaments (Cinderella's even has a small grinning pumpkin attached to it). The Sisters' clothes are notably gothic-looking, as they are mirror images of each other as far as coloring and patterns are concerned. Things do get more shoujo when we're shown the ball and the clothes become more flashy and "flowing". Overall, I found the art very appealing!
Final verdict
Highly recommended if you're a fan of dark humor, as this has plenty of it, from Cinderella's thoughts to the ending - which is a twist you probably won't be expecting!
Where to read it: MangaFox
Where to download it: Turtle Paradise Scanlations
