Shoujo Tsubaki ~ The Camelia Girl In my opinion, the mass array of people that have recently learned of this manga through the most popular social media app, are greately misunderstanding Shoujo Tsubaki, Suehiro Maruo, and ero-guro as a genre in total. I believe this story works best and most beautifully when seen for what it is, and not as a subject that supposedly holds a deeper, more sinister meaning. Shoujo Tsubaki is a perfect example of a tragicomedy - or a black comedy. The characters, part of a freakshow, naturally are witty, absurd, queer, sadomasochistic, and utterly strange. The story centers around Midori, a sweetyoung girl who becomes part of the circus and is the recipient of all the surrealism and the body horror that happens around her. Just like in any unexplainable dream, the chapters take you on a non-linear journey, brought to life by Maruo's incredible artistry and talent in showcasing the horrific happenings in a beautifully breathtaking way. The reader is left feeling so many things one after the other. It is undeniable that the manga is an excellent showcase of ero-guro: oozing with eroticism and lingering, elongating, terrifying bodies and gore. The expressions Maruo is able to create add a lot of sentiment, and the aestheticism is unparalleled. Men and women alike are gorgeously drawn in careful lines that hold a lot of character into them. The tragic tale of Midori is a mixture of all the forementioned things, and I would definitely recommend it to any lover of this subtle kind of horror.

In the end, even the disturbing freakshow may end up looking like a warm family.