Comics / Manga

Pixie Pop: Gokkun Pucho: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
February 24, 2007 - 17:25

Twelve-year old Mayu Kousaka is obsessed with Shinya Amamiya, a boy she met when both were just little kids, but she isn't getting anywhere because "Amamiya-kun" ain't interested in her.  Mayu's luck takes a turn when she discovers Pucho, the magical fairy of beverages.  As it happens, it is Pucho's magic that has kept her parents' café serving the drinks customers love.

When Mayu drinks a special concoction that Pucho had been preparing for herself, the lovelorn preteen finds her body undergoing surprising transformations.  Whenever she drinks milk, soda, tea or anything other than water, her body magically changes.  She grows to magnificent heights, turns invisible, and even morphs into a pig.  Now, Mayu is forced to accept Pucho because that's the only way Mayu will be able to make these transformations help her win Amamiya's love.

Pixie Pop: Gokkun Pucho, Vol. 1 is shojo (girls' comics) on the verge of kodomo (children's comics), but I really like it, also.  Maybe, it's just me, but this story and its characters are infectious.  There's something about Mayu's desperation and Amamiya's quite determination that rings true in this juvenile comic fantasy.  Manga-ka Ema Toyama transforms her love for this project into a fizzy Manga drink that tickles the funny bone as much as the nose.

In spite of the fantasy elements, it's the schoolgirl crush that really resonates.  Toyama doesn't make Mayu rash - just unwavering  Her antics lead to delightful slapstick comedy and delightful visual gags, and what reader, young or old, can resist feisty love that laughs at itself?

7/10

Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the images.

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12