I don't remember when, but I want to say sometime in the last 10 years, I found a strange foreign manga. (might have been Manhwa or other similar difference) It had many chapters, and many different stories.

Because I'm 90% it wasn't in English, I'm going to describe my best to you how I perceived the detailed. I posted on here once before but I'm going to add as much extra detail I can.

reading XXXholic I found it to be a similar kind of story, with a magical shop that people visited with desires or wishes of some sort. And possibly, a boy/girl who worked there. Simply cleaning up or doing things for her. They'd often follow the owner around on trips and through various events.

However the manga itself I feel played out a lot like Outerzone as well. Where each chapter was another story, that told of different events and situations.

I can't figure out what it was, and I'm going to offer as much detail as I remember about it.

The owner I'm 90% sure was a female witch like being or goddess of mischief or something (couldn't read so going off images for general vibe) Who would often give people what they wanted and they would often regret it, or punish bad people, or greedy people and so forth.

The boy/girl working there would simply be curious and watch the stories unfold for the most If their was one.

There was a butler/servant male character. Older gentleman very kind who'd keep the place clean or organized. His face was half covered by a dolls face. There's a scene where he's talking to someone about why his face is that way showing some dolls. It's his "price" or something. Later in the story he is playing a violin for some kids when one rips the mask off. He is very upset but then nothing happens, and he seems normal. He's happy by this and keeps playing for the kids. The shop owner seems to be watching as she plays the mood of letting him go, his punishment or payment served.

Some ways into the story the boy/girl working in the shop finds a doll in a case and asks about it. He's given a story and offered the chance to let her out. He does so and she seems rather creepy and violent. her face often going from innocent to murderous. She obeys the shop owner and doesn't harm the boy/girl.

The shop itself, I recall being some kind of magical place, giving the feeling that if you ended up there it was by fate. Though the shop owner (or chaos witch, or something) often does things outside of the shop without first being greeted.



As for the stories that appear in the manga/manhwa I will do my best to describe some of the chapters from the story.

There was one chapter where a high school boy had a pet turtle, and some bullies ended up (killing it?) or just beating him up. Later at night the boys are in a park where the witch appears as a giant having turned them into paper proxies making them really small. something about the sun fixing them if they survive before a rat appears and eats one. They hide in a cage when the boy they bullied shows up and kills them all with a stick.

Another chapter has the witch traveling when she spots a woman displaying a mermaid attraction telling her she knows it's fake. Then she tells a story of a place she can find real mermaids. The angry woman goes there and lures out a mermaid when a bunch of them all hop out of the water and eat her.

There's one chapter where a woman hates how she looks, and so she's given something to represent herself. She pours hot water on the picture/doll when it rains from the sky and melts her face. Her mother then appears and makes her feel terrible.

In one chapter a person comes in and the witch tells her assistant boy/girl about a klein bottle, and how it's infinite and never stops.

As said abouve there is a chapter about the servant/butler about his background, and another of him being freed from the womans service. And a chapter about the doll being found who regularly offers to do things with a malicious look.

Sorry I can't be more helpful, but I tried to add more details from before.

The Tarot Cafe? I read it ages ago, so I can't be certain.

I don't believe it's the tarot cafe, style is very unfamiliar to me, sorry if I'm being weird or stupid >.<

Some of these stories feel strangely familiar. Particularly the mermaid one.

Authors who often write on the supernatural genre with stories that give this sort of vibe that I recall are IGARASHI Daisuke (Majo comes to mind) and probably TAKAHASHI Yousuke as well.

As a weird update sorry if I seem like I'm reviving dead post.

I recall something about possibly the description of the manga from the page I found it at.

Something like, a small magical shop hidden in the deepest place where only "lost" souls may find, or those determined to find it may. But it's weird also because not all chapters revolved around the shop in question but it was a tie in.

It could have been any number of languages I don't remember much else I'm just trying to add any detail I can.

What about the art style? And gender it may belong? Does it have a more "shoujo" art style, does it look more modern? You said you read it nearly 10 years ago, but what would be your guess about the series age? Maybe late 90's early 2000's?

Edit for moderation: I thought the question was harmless enough, even more so with the way I worded and requested to be answered.

Last edited by Fate_Archer at 12:43 am, Aug 4 2016

I'm not really sure. I actually thought it would be XXXholic because of the style sprung out to me visually. Outerzone also has a familiar style appeal, so I would guess it would be something around those lines.

As for age, Not sure, when I read it it had a lot of chapters like... upwards of 50+

I would guess, but it might have been more or less. I just remember it took a while to go through all of it.

zekkyou gakkyou also had me thinking it might be it based on the style.

The stories in those 3 I would say play out similarly. Closer to XXXholic in the idea that you follow a varying amount of stories, following the path of two characters that interact with them. However the stories were usually something to the effect of someone facing death in some way or horrible punishments. As described above.

Based on your description I put stuff into the genre search and found these:
Pet Shop of Horrors
Jigoku Shoujo
Konya mo Hitori de Nemurenai
Hiiro no Marionetta
Paperweight Eye
Yumekui Kenbun

Probably not what you're looking for, but I tried.

Do these author's art style look like what you're thinking of?
UMEZU Kazuo
ITOU Junji


________________
Looking for something different? Try one of these:

Otoyomegatari
Dungeon Meshi

Hmm, I glanced through the artists I don't believe that I saw it but I may be mistaken.

I'll also had a thought and revelation on a detail in the manga.

The shop itself as an interior had shelves with artifacts on them. Including a klein bottle.

There was a chapter I recall where a man came in and talked with the shop woman but after talking to her ends up leaving without getting anything from her. I suspect he was curious or discussed the idea and she warned him and he took the warning.

The woman running the shop it seemed less like she was vindictive or was purposely trying to punish people. Rather she was sort of a middle person giving people what they asked and their own desire/greed ends up punishing them.

I'm also starting to believe that it's possible some of the chapters were in english, and that's why I'm able to remember odd details while many chapters were not. Though I doubt this is the case.

Last edited by sashima8 at 11:01 am, Aug 5 2016

For anyone interested still, I actually found the comic. I think it's called "Nirvana Ji"

I apologize as looking back I feel I may have been incorrect in some of my information but I'd read it a long while ago and I think xxxholic was throwing me off.

http://www.comicbus.com/html/4582.html

Link is where I finally found it at, thanks again for the help. Sorry for such a weird late reply on the solved reply.