GENRES:
Fantasy

AUDIENCE:
Kids

NOTE: This book contains issues #1-#4 of Magical Pokemon Journey vol. 2.

SYNOPSIS:
This book contains a series of chapters (more like short stories) that combine the Pokemon world with that of Tsukirino's characters from her shojo (girls') manga: Hazel, who is in love with the oblivious boy Almond. The conceit is that Hazel is collecting Pokemon for "Grandpa," a mysterious oldster who has promised to make her a love potion with which to capture Almond. The stories have such premises as Squirtle wanting Almond to teach him how to be "manly"; a snowcone eating contest to win Hazel's soul back from Articuno; a rivalry for Almond's heart between Hazel and Dr. Coconut, the inept potion-making genius; dealing with a bunch of Pokemon who have gotten drunk on apple cider; the quest to reach the Tree of Strength on the top of Tree Mountain, undertaken by a handful of Pokemon along with the sickly boy Peanut and his aggressive Charmander; and a lovesick Arbok, desperately attracted to Wigglytuff but too shy to even say hi to it. There are a couple of bonus stories as well, plus an account of Tsukirino's attempts to become a Pokemon master, and a brief encounter with the classic Pokemon characters (Ash, Misty, and Brock) stuck in this crazy universe.

EVALUATION:
I doubt that anything I could say about this title would change anyone's mind; this is one of those critic-proof books that will appeal to the usual crowd regardless of quality. Also, I haven't read any Pokemon books prior to this one--I admit it, I've been resisting them, though I've seen my share of the cartoons--so I don't know how it stacks up to the regular ones in the series. (The promo material on the back claims that this is "one of the most off-beat Pokemon adventures you will ever read!" Well, OK; it doesn't fit my definition of off-beat, but I guess within the relaxed standards for Pokemon books it does.) And I don't have any background with Tsukirino's characters, so I can't judge how well they fit here.

For what it's worth, I found the material in this book spottily amusing but mostly bland, meandering, and self-referential in a way that has become a cliche in Japanese humor comics. The art I like; it's fairly minimalist and traditionally shojo, with lots of flowers and so forth, and as always I love the use of sound effects and text off to the side to suggest asides. I'd prefer it had been used in the service of a more substantial story, though!

Of course, kids will go crazy for this book; it should have particular appeal for girls, since the "cute" quotient is extremely high. Thus, it is recommended for kids and for library collections where Pokemon collectors congregate.