Welcome all fans of absurdest humor and ultra-adorableness!
Creative Staff
Story: Makoto Raiku
Art:Makoto Raiku
Translation/Adaptation: Stephen Paul
What They Say
In a world of animals where the strong eat the weak, Monoko the tanuki stumbles across a strange creature the likes of which has never been seen before– a human baby! While the newborn has no claws or teeth to protect itself, it does have the rare ability to speak to and understand all the different animals. Can Monoko and the baby team up to protect the tanuki pack from vicious wildcats?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Animal Land is the new series by Makoto Raiku, best known as the creator of Zatch Bell!. Let’s just say, this is a different type of series. Animal Land takes place in a land…of animals; big shocker I know. It follows a bum of a tanuki named Monoko who never contributes to the tribe and always eats more than her share. One day, Monoko finds a human baby floating down the river. Before you say anything, yes, the opening pages are of a woman placing her newborn child into a basket and casting him down river Moses style. It is entirely like that. Not that original but it was done on purpose.
The tribe of tanuki basically live in fear every day of their lives. They are small and weak in a forest surrounded by gigantic wildcats whose favorite meal is tanuki sashimi. Monoko lives with these fears but is also extremely lonely. The tribe generally look down upon her because she doesn’t contribute, and her parents were both eaten by wildcats. So, when she finds this baby she decides to take him in and become his mother so that she, and the baby, never have to be alone again.
This starts the adventures of Monoko and the baby. The premise sounds heart warming enough and there are many scenes within these three chapters that are genuinely touching and kind. But this is no drama manga here, this is purely an absurdist comedy. This book is so ridiculous in every aspect I had no choice but to fall in love with it. Did you ever see Excel Saga? Do you remember the Puchuu’s? The very strange aliens with absurd human like faces? Yeah, those are the only thing I kept thinking about while reading this manga. The tanuki are drawn in almost the exact same way; the bizarre human-like faces on these bizarre racoon bodies provide plenty comedic value on their own. Since this is the first volume, there is a lot of setup going on. We meet the tanuki tribe and the human baby of course, but we are also introduced to Kurokagi, a giant black wildcat with numerous scars on his body. This wildcat however has chosen to protect the tanuki after he a orphans a baby animal one day and feels guilt over it. Therein lies the ‘twist’ to this manga that will undoubtedly be used to propel the plot forward throughout its run: the baby has the ability to talk to all different kinds of animals. He therefore acts as translator for the tanuki, Kurokagi, and an assortment of other creatures. Surely this child we lead the animals to a new land of propserity…like Moses.
If I were to describe the plots of these three chapters it wouldn’t seem like that much of a comedy. In fact it would seem like a regular shonen series. About 98% of the humor in this book is derived from the various tanuki…and their bizarre human-like faces. It may seem hollow and something that would wear thin quickly but I never tired of it. Watching these ridiculous creatures do ridiculous things with ridiculous faces gives the series a very light feel and one that is welcome amongst the grim setting of the series. Even when the tanuki are doing something serious and important, such as licking the wounds of Kurokagi so that he can live, they are just crazy characters and full of comedic potential.
In Summary
Animal Land is a wonderful series starting out here that tells an honest, heartfelt story about family and relationships with some well choreographed action sequences and plenty of crazy humor. Its the kind of series that I see myself looking forward to with each new release. The characters are interesting, the world is fantastically different, and it just hits all the right chords with me. The art style is very detailed and clean and is such only when appropriate. The style fluctuates perfectly between super cartoony and silly to more real characters with beautiful scenery. My favorite bizarre part? Every time Monoko is hungry there are rumblings with kanji floating out of her stomach. I’m sorry but it looks like she is doing a bloody Care Bear stare, and that is priceless!
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B-
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: August 16th, 2011
MSRP: $10.99
