Q-Ko-Chan Volume One Cover

“Greetings, Earthling”

Q-Ko-Chan Volume One Earth Invader Girl comes to us from the creator of the popular manga and hit anime, FLCL. The drawing style and animation is instantly recognizable and a feeling of familiarity sets in.

The story behind this manga is interesting and definitely engaging. Futuristic manga has always had a place in my collection, that is, if it’s well written. Some mangaka tend to use the ‘future’ as a basis to make things seem so unrealistic, you have a hard time relating to the story and the characters. Although Q-Ko-Chan Volume One is not written like this, there are some elements of the story that are still sitting in the ‘need to chew on these concepts some more’ bin before we really decide if we like the way the story is developing.

The first chapter introduces us to the main characters of the manga; Kirio, a high school student and Q-Ko-Chan, the earth invading robot that turns into a girl! Reminiscent of a few manga I have reviewed recently, a robot turning into a girl is a not that much different to a dog turning into a girl and a mermaid turning into a human. Quirky and fun is the order of the day with this manga. And the exciting thing is that this is the first volume! There is nothing like reading the first volume in a manga series, especially if the first volume has a whole lot of promise to be something really entertaining.

Q-Ko-Chan comes to us from the creator of FLCL but is written a lot differently to FLCL and is a little less on the violent side. At its core, Q-Ko-Chan is a love story with a hint of humour and perhaps a little drama thrown into the mix. Although set in the near-future (in a war-torn world at that), Q-Ko-Chan is as much a story about survival as it is about love.

The animation in Q-Ko-Chan is very different to many manga. The drawings seem almost child-like in appearance, almost completely lacking the subtle detail that is so common in a lot of manga today. But that doesn’t make this manga any less appealing. Interestingly enough, the ‘rougher’ drawings give this manga an ‘atmosphere’ that is hard to describe entirely. Almost like feeling a little detached, just like the alien robot girl, Q-Ko-Chan.

Q-Ko-Chan is an adorable character. Everything from the bewildering requests to ‘Board her’, to the strange and foreign expressions that seem almost pasted onto her robotic face, Q-Ko-Chan is cuter than she should be and almost impossible to ignore. Kirio is going to have his hands full, no doubt about it.

At first, this manga seemed a little too strange for my liking but we found it too interesting to put down. The two main characters in this manga seem to be linked in such a way that leaves you wondering just how their odd relationship will develop. Hopefully, there will be more of the same in the next volume.

Q-Ko-Chan Volume One: Earth Invader Girl includes four full color splash pages at the beginning of the book, extensive translation notes, and details on the author. You can visit Del Rey's website for the manga here or take a sneak peek at the preview of the first volume here.

Art Work: 8/10
Story: 7/10
Overall Rating: 8/10

Email the Author: Julie@comicbookbin.com