The character Vanilla, the concept of the Dolls, and SG Corporation first appeared in manga artist Mitsukazu Mihara's earlier short manga (1995), later collected in IC in a Sunflower (1997) [REF].
The overarching plot of Doll started with the second volume; she envisioned a prodigy burdened by "parental pressure" and a Doll to heal the psychological pain.