As much as I like to do a “Go Ask Alice” comparison, my instinct tells me not to. And for those who don’t know what I’m talking about, “Go Ask Alice” is a diary published anonymously; the writer is a teenager who gets involved with drugs. Her parents agreed to publish the diary to encourage other teens NOT to do drugs. It was a disturbing and depressing book; by strange circumstances my school library had a copy with the last page torn out, the page that describes Alice’s eventual fate. The first story in “Confidential Confessions”, Volume 3 is about drugs. However, while the story reflects the grimness and depressing moments from “Go Ask Alice”, it offers hope for our protagonist Kyoko.
Kyoko is not happy. A magazine features her as a “fat lady in a swimsuit”. She overeats because she’s depressed and her father is pushing her to get into Tokyo University. Kyoko, however, lacks the means to motivate herself to study. (In retrospect, though, there is some suspense of disbelief that her parents would have not pushed her to do well from a young age.) Then one night she and her friends run into another girl named Aya who is sniffing cocaine, which she calls S. Kyoko tries some and she likes the thrill. However, she doesn’t want to get addicted. But she learns that when she does drugs she can study and get good grades on exams, lose weight, and be happy. It seems to good to be true. Problem one is how her friends react to using drugs. Problem two is earning money to buy them. Problem three is finding decent people who are dealers that won’t attempt rape or assault.

Okay, this sounds like a high school special. But this story will freak you out more than any other high school special can. Most notably in the story Kyoko doesn’t get addicted to drugs immediately; her succumbing happens gradually so that when we see that she’s thoroughly addicted, she can’t get out of it. During several points in the story, Kyoko tries to stop using S and getting high, but Aya always comes along with a tiny packet of powder. Both girls slowly lose their dignity. Afterwards, several scenes involve Kyoko prostituting herself for drug money and the reader almost weeps at how low she has fallen.

Kyoko needs someone who can guide her into a stage of good grades, maintaining a healthy body, and better self-esteem. Her friends, however faithful they try to be, cannot fulfill that role because they are only her friends. Since she can’t find a parental figure that meets those guidelines (given that her mom is a meek homemaker and her dad keeps on urging her to get good grades), the drugs become her role model instead, just like the nursery in “The Veldt” is what matters to the protagonist’s children Peter and Wendy. However, you’re not sure if there is an alternate solution than S; and instead of preaching that drugs are bad, Momochi-sensei shows both the good and the bad side of drugs (yes, there is a good side, despite how twisted the “good” is) and why it’s not worth getting the good and the bad.

Another important element in the story is talking about pushy parents. As mentioned before, Kyoko’s dad wants her to get into Tokyo University and she thinks that he will only love her if she does so. He also wants to have a clean reputation at his job. The mother is no better, just stopping her father from going over the edge and letting him run the household. A huge wake-up call makes both parents realize what they’re doing to their kid, although Kyoko herself bears responsibility. The ending makes you realize that not all drug-users will learn to stop, just as Alice didn’t learn how to stop. There might be a point in which Kyoko might go use drugs again. The story doesn’t say aye or nay to the possibility. However, it also offers hope that people can learn and that they can fight. The last two pages of the story are both moving and shocking in showing two different people’s reactions to the same changes in their lives.

The second story isn’t bad either; however, it seems to be more of a love story than a pedantic. Maybe that’s just me. It’s about a guy and girl who are dating each other. The guy wants to be a professional wrestler and the girl wants to be an actress. Then another wrestler gets into a fight with someone and loses his career. Worrying about that, a scene occurs where a gang captures the girl and demands the guy to fight. He refuses, not wanting his career to go up in smoke. This makes him learn some ugly truths about himself. Okay, I’m being unfair. It could be talking about how to deal with love lives and career choices at the same time; the moral is that it’s better to follow your dreams than to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. But, amazingly enough, this story isn’t disturbing. It’s only scary in one moment, but more like a moment like when Scar kills Mufasa in “The Lion King” than something that will keep you up at night. My general opinion is that the story was too short, but it held itself up.

Another important note: this is the last great volume of the series as far as I know. Volume Four was bad; you can check the review. Volume five was okay; it wasn’t bad, but it could’ve been better. I agree with Kevin’s opinion on volume six. His review’s up as well. Momochi-sensei’s strongest story, aside from “The Door” was about Kyoko. I wonder why the other stories don’t measure up to as much. Is it because Momochi-sensei needed a break from the series but couldn’t get one? Is it because she was tired of writing the same type of story and wanted to experiment with different tones? Whatever it was, enjoy this and the past two volumes because we’re heading downhill with the next book, a slight updraft, and then downward as far as I know. And while you’re at it, find out if there’s an anime version.