UPDATE!!!
Thanks to Twitter I got some clarification on “Visukiisu” (thanks to our friend Curious Little Hamster for asking.)  There is no special meaning behind the name. It’s just a name Ichinose-sensei liked to say.  I still like the English title “The Earl Red Doll” because I think it’s easier to remember.  However, as for a “translation,” I’m going with “Viskeith” instead of “Viskeys.” This is based on “kiisu” being commonly translated to the name “Keith.” I have updated the oneshot to show the new Romanization of the Japanese title and to restore “Viskeith” in the 3 instances it’s used in the oneshot. The changes in no way effect the story, but for correctness, you may want to download the new version.
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This is a rather unexpected oneshot from Kaoru Ichinose.  It’s uncharacteristically dark and not “gorgeous,” though it is still wonderfully drawn. At the start it reminded me of a Yuki Kaori work, but unlike Yuki Kaori, Ichinose-sensei still have faith in humanity.

The title: I was planning to lay out my full tale of woe and frustration as I went down the rabbit hole trying to figure out “Visukiisu,” but then I decided to make an editorial choice and call it the “The Earl’s Red Doll” since that word seems to be alphabetic word jumble thrown in. I have no idea why Ichinose did this and it’s only used twice to no effect. Anyhow…if she ever clarifies what this is supposed to be I’ll update the oneshot. Sufficed to say, I learned a great deal about of Mary Queen Scots and the intrigues surrounding her reign.

My thoughts on this oneshot — I want the dolls.  Haha! I like this oneshot a lot. It took me a couple of readings to appreciate the ending because at first I though I wanted it to end differently. But now I think given the Earl’s circumstances, the ending is quite appropriate.

I want to send a big thanks to Ichigo Stars for doing an excellent job on the redraws. Nearly every page had a horrendous redraw, and Ichi handled them swiftly and expertly like a champ! Hee!

And now onto the release!
Link to “The Earl’s Red Doll”: (PDF) (ZIP)
Yes, another zip so that we may all appreciate Kaoru Ichinose’s artwork and Ichi’s loving redraws. Please DO NOT upload the files to any of the manga aggregation websites.

Next up will be a freaky oneshot from one of the very girly shoujo magazines (I can remember off hand whether I got it from Cheese or Betsuma). Please look forward to it!