“Parental Instinct”
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Tomohiro Hasegawa
Translation: Paul Starr
What They Say
Third-grader Shota Aikawa’s pet beetle evolves from a larva to a pupa to a superhot human! The wacky adventures of the Aikawa family and the fabulous beetle who would be king now begins! You’re gonna LARVA this new comedy manga!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The way Moriking works its character material continues to be a delight as it manages to do so in a really charming way more often than not. While there were a couple of minor missteps early on in setting the tone for the series, Tomohiro Hasegawa has gotten into a good groove with it and has spaced things out nicely so that it’s not just constant fights and constantly introducing new characters. We’ve gotten time to know not just Moriking and those immediately around him but also characters like Oki that might otherwise just be a one-note type of character competing for the title of king of the insects.
This chapter is cute as we basically get our leading bugs learning about human reproduction. Well, not really, but the concept is there. Oki is realizing that Sakura is really smitten by Shota in her own way and he’s not liking that a lot. But with it being summer and the two kids doing homework and activities together a lot, he’s really gotten to know Shota and actually likes him a good bit. We get a sequence early on where the two kids are at Sakura’s and both Moriking and Shoko are there and he realizes just how positive all of this is for Sakura. Enough so that he pulls Moriking out of the place for a moment in order to commit himself to ensuring the two kids ends up together because he wants to see Sakura as happy as she can be. It’s cute and silly and Moriking gets behind it easily.
Shoko, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with it. Which is unfortunate because she likely would have both laughed a lot and been horrified in watching as Oki and Moriking attempt to show the kids how to mate in their own particular way. Or some other bug style because nothing seems to be working. The kids are kind of oblivious to what they’re doing so it stays in the cute category and is chalked up to them having to learn how different people are. But they do find a way to help them bond a little bit as part of their summer homework program and that brings the real charm to it that it needs to. It’s always a bit dicey writing for child characters by Hasegawa has managed well with these two in keeping them largely grounded but engaging with the silly in all of the right ways.
In Summary:
Moriking continues to be a lot better than it should and I’m curious as to how well it’s doing overall. The series manages to provide some good laughs and cute moments while expanding on the cast and occasionally teasing a bit more about the big picture. It’s not rushing to get to the significant sections but it’s also not drawing it out so that you feel like you’re spinning your wheels. It really is just charming once it finds its groove and you get into it, making it really easy to enjoy simple chapters like this one.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Shonen Jump
Release Date: August 2nd, 2020