By Mine Yoshizaki, translated by Yuko Fukami (Tokyopop)
ISBN: 978-1-59182-703-0
Another monumentally popular manga saga of recent years is this broad, archetypically Japanese fantasy comedy with all the prerequisite elements for success. Keroro GunsÅ, Sergeant Keroro or here Sgt. Frog is the mildly malevolent destabilising element that disrupts the life of schoolboy Hinata, just as he’s making the thoroughly distressing move from Elementary to Middle School.
As leader of the school’s Occult club Fuyuki is open to most new and fantastic experiences but even he is given pause when he and his obnoxious “oh-so-perfect†older sister Natsumi accidentally capture a frog-like alien hiding in their house. The revelation panics the orbiting Keronian battle fleet and sends it scuttling away in panic, abandoning all their hidden operatives and leaving them to fend for themselves.
Leader of an elite platoon of infiltrators Keroro offers his surrender but doesn’t really mean it, intending to overcome the primitive earthlings or “Pokopenians†when their guard is down. But as the days pass the little monster gradually “goes nativeâ€, succumbing to the constant mental abuse of Natsumi, the grinding drudgery of imposed household chores and the addictive delights of television, the internet, pop music and Gundam model kits. Besides, Fuyuki confiscated his all-purpose Kero Ball super-weapon and the Pokopenians’ mother Aki is a super-hottie MILF who edits manga comics…
A lot of the added-value, in-joke pop-references will have been lost to most English-speaking readers: casualties of both the translation process and the passage of time, but some of the Frog’s wider word-play and constant harping on Bandai model kits, Gundam, Space Battleship Yamato, Dragon Ball, Neon Genesis Evangelion and other ubiquitous elements of modern Japanese fan-culture will still resonate I’m sure…
A further complication occurs when wealthy Mimoka Nishizawa, a shy classmate of Fuyuki’s – who secretly has the biggest crush on him – is found to be in possession of another abandoned platoon member, the highly devoted and incredibly destructive Private Tamama. Mimoka is unable to tell Fuyuki of her feelings and her frustrations usually manifest in psychotic, explosives rages and ultra-violent tantrums…
This first volume features the first dozen episodes or “encounters†and follows the gradually unfolding epic as Keroro’s glittering past and future plans are exposed, with loads of the brutal slapstick, dire puns, situational embarrassments and social gaffe ironies beloved of Manga humour books, but there’s also some touching moments and poignant touches as the ever-expanding cast (which includes ghosts and ancient gods of destruction) go about their lives unaware that everybody’s playing a double game…
Debuting in boys weekly Shonen Ace to immediate success, naturally the series has made the jump to television, movies, computer and even role-playing games. The collected, translated volumes number 18 and counting, comprising an exceedingly engaging light and fluffy concoction that will charm and delight genre fans and casual reader equally.
This book is printed in the ‘read-from-back-to-front’ manga format.
© 1999 Mine Yoshizaki. English text © 2004 TokyoPop Inc.