Guru Guru Pon-Chan 2

ぐるぐるポンちゃん [Guru Guru Pon-chan] #2

by Satomi Ikezawa

DROOL MUCH?

Thanks to the invention of the Guru Guru Bone, Ponta can now change from puppy to teenage girl at will. But human customs are hard to master, and she keeps finding herself in strange and awkward situations. Will Ponta have to spend Christmas in the dog pound? Will she ever attract her one true love, cute high school boy Mirai? She’s certainly lovable enough–maybe that’s why transfer student Go Fujinaga falls for her instantly! Romantic misadventures ensue, as Go moves heaven and earth to induce beautiful, innocent Ponta to look his way. . . .

Genres: Manga, Shojo, Supernatural, Fantasy, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2005

Reviews

[Usagi Tsukino · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review is for the Italian edition.

3,5 stars.

[Kaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, cute art, and, uh, morally ambiguous!

[MusokaSakebi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Questo numero due mi ha colpito... affronta anche tematiche importanti in modo scherzoso e divertente

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my least favorite manga art style - wispy lines and almost no shading - but the story of a golden retriever who turns human (sort of The Shaggy Dog in reverse) has some really funny parts. Tim Allen should have taken lessons from the author on how a doglike human would really act. In Ponta's case, it's not talking as if she's barking or having drooling incidents: the author has really thought about how dogs think about the world, and all Ponta's human experiences are filtered through things like her intense loyalty to her family and her live-in-the-now mindset.

This volume has some disturbing scenes in which Ponta is nearly taken advantage of by a lecherous old guy.

The translator has paid particularly close attention to explaining some of the Japanese. My favorite is when Ponta gets her head stuck in a vase and, instead of ikebana, the art of flower arranging, the scene is labeled "Ike Ponta."

[Jody Mena]

So sweet, yet so twisted! Transforming 'chit chat' bone or not, any way you look at it, Mirai is in a committed relationship with a labrador retriever - I love the Japanese. I feel very sorry for poor Gou, he seems like a really decent guy, even if he's a bit of a drama queen, and he meant well, even though he had it all wrong about Mirai and Ponta. I wonder if he'll still be Mirai's rival in future books, or if learning Ponta's true identity will drive him off. I have a feeling he might be back though, because he did like Ponta as both a dog and a human before he found out they were the same person. I'm glad Yuka has decided she doesn't really love Mirai, because Ponta really cares for Yuka, and Ponta is just so pure-hearted that it seems unfair to put her in the middle like that. I cracked up when Ponta accidentally became an escort to help Mirai pay for the broken vase. Talk about a comedy of errors! This is a really sweet manga series, I'm really enjoying it!

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of stories was interesting because another character is added into the mix: Fujinaga Go. Although he looks cool, he is not. He is always messing up, especially around Ponta.

I especially enjoyed the beginning of Chapter 9, where Marai and Ponta were skateboarding. I had not expected that of Mirai. Satomi Ikezawa does another groovy job at drawing this Manga book, and Douglas Varenas does a fantastic job of translating the book to English. Steve Palmer does a nice job of lettering and makes the book very easy to read.

Overall, Guru Guru Pon-Chan: Volume 2 is another wonderful addition to the Guru Guro Pon-Chan books and I look forward to more misadventures of Ponta in Guru Gura Pon-Chan: Volume 3. So far, this is my favorite Manga series put out by Del Rey.

I rated this book an 8 out of 10.

[Tina Olah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute! My one complaint is that a major storyline was sort of brushed aside in this volume, but otherwise it's a very fun manga. The doggie scenes are adorable!

[Maegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Series rating: 2 stars