Q-Ko-Chan 1: The Earth Invader Girl

Q-Ko-Chan: The Earth Invader Girl #1

by Hajime Ueda, William Flanagan (Translator)

GREETINGS, EARTHLING

In the near-future on planet Earth, a world gone mad where never-ending war is a fact of life, Kirio is the coolest kid at school. Up in the sky, a giant robot is fighting a fleet of gunships, but the brilliant and distant Kirio is far from fazed–until the battling ’bot makes an unexpected landing in Kirio’s front yard and rings the bell. But the worst threat for Kirio could be what stands on the other side of the door: an alien invader robot with the face of an adorable girl!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Seinen

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2006

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cool art and inventive layouts can't disguise the complete lack of a coherent story in Q-Ko-Chan. A pastiche of other kids-in-giant-robot manga, it doesn't have the sophistication of Evangelion or the genuine madness of FLCL (the comics version of which was also done by Ueda Hajime). A cute diversion at best.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 1 out of 5]

Q-Ko-Chan: Volume 1 is a manga book that could have been awesome if I could have figured out what was going on. Maybe the story was very badly written in the first place. I don't know. But I am going to lay the blame for this fiasco on the man that did the Translation and Adaptation: Mr. William Flanagan. I have had issues with his work in the on almost every manga book he has worked on, but this one takes the cake.

I originally started this book a month ago, read the first few chapters, and then put it down because I was confused. Well, this time I forced myself to read the entire things, and all I can say is, "Huh? What just happened in this book?" Unfortunately, I have no idea. That is why I had to abscond with some of the synopsis that Del Rey put on the back of the book since I had no idea what has happened. If I had been able to understand, I am sure that I would have enjoyed reading this manga book, but I did not. What was Mr. Williams thinking when he finished his work with the translation and adaptation? That nobody would notice that this book doesn't make any sense? But as it is, I struggled to get through it and have little understanding of what was exactly went on. It is too bad because I really like the artwork by Ueda Hajime.

Overall, Q-Ko-Chan: Volume 1 is a book to be avoided. I hate to say that, but it is true. It just doesn't make any sense. Maybe things will get a little better in the conclusion to this series in Q-Ko-Chan: Volume 2. I can only hope so.

I rated this book a 3 out of 10.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Rating: C+
Synopsis: Q-Ko Chan is written by Ueda Hajime, who also adapted FLCL into manga form. The story follows Kirio Muji, who doesn't care about anything, not even his sister. As he is walking home one day, an air raid begins (apparently a common occurrance in the world of Q-Ko Chan) but Kirio seems unfazed and continues home. Outside his home, he finds a robot girl who protects him from a barrage of bullets and then flies into a forest. From there Q-Ko Chan becomes stranger and stranger.

I love FLCL, so when I saw that the person that adapted it for manga was doing an original manga, I was excited. Q-Ko Chan's art and style are fun and different from most manga, but the plot is hard to follow, and the characters are difficult to relate to. That being said, the art really is neat, and extremely cute. I recommend flipping through it and seeing if it's to your tastes. You can check out a 30 page preview by clicking the title of this post.

For more manga and anime reviews, please check out Hobotaku.

[Homo Sapien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an original story by the author/artist of Fooly Cooly you can expect this manga to be extremely zany and kind of confusing in regards to both the art and the story.

The story of a robot girl crash landing in a boy's front yard, and the odd friendship that grows between the two as he hides her from his sister and military mother (who is the commander of the robots as well).

Beautiful art in a style like no other, you'll be happy just looking at the pictures.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Q-Ko-Chan is just about as weird in characters, art and story as FLCL, but makes less sense. Overall, it can be a little difficult to understand what exactly is going on but it isn't a horrible manga to read if you have some time.

[Stefanie Dugger]

The artwork is unusual for manga; I'm undecided what I think about this series until I get into the next volume.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This manga made so little sense and I don’t know who exactly is to blame. The translation is definitely NOT the best. The character art and visual transitions are often difficult to parse. The writing is so full of holes and jumps between plot lines and perspectives jarringly. There’s not enough exposition or consistency in any of these aspects.

This reminds me strongly of Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL, and even Akira and Kaiba, in the sense that there is obviously a LOT going on in this universe, the art style is interesting, and I want so badly to understand it! But I can’t.

There are also occasional sex references (a la Chobits) that are uncomfortable — these are middle school children and I don’t want to joke about them fucking the robot…

All that said, I still might read the next volume because I’m very curious about the setting (how did the apocalypse happen?) and some of the characters (why is Kirio sociopathic? Was his sister the actual chosen one?? What exactly is wrong with the curly haired boy??? Why are the flying octopus kaiju so cute????)

P.S. “Throat-dong”????? >:-{}

[Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to me as a gift from one of my former students who is now a 2nd grader. He had bought this for me at the local library book sale and told me he knew I liked Japanese cartoons! I showed my class last year several different anime episodes during their snack time.

As for the book, it’s cute with a neat take on a familiar trope.

I’m going to peak in the next volume on my next bookstore trip and if it looks cool I’ll probably pick it up.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the art and the setting… if only I could tell what’s going on! I think I’ve grasped the basic gist of the story, but there are a lot of details included that work off of existing knowledge that’s assumed the reader already has. A bit frustrating but I’ll muddle my way through the second volume regardless.

[Benjamin Kass · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think reading this helped me to better understand FLCL, funny enough. Similar character types in a different situation. It's enjoyably loose, both in linework and plotting.

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Itsa kinda fast passed with little explanation, but I still enjoyed it. The art is amazing so even if the story is a tiny bit lacking I still had something nice to look at.

[Rickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved Q-Ko-Chan volume 1 & 2, but I will keep my review for this volume. The artwork is stunning, the plot is slightly confusing in terms of the military of Earth, and the characters are quite interesting. The action is unique with detail and the overall design of the battlefield, and the rising drama between characters blooms wonderfully during the second volume. I highly recommend this two book series to anyone who wants to have a unique, short read to enjoy every now and again. I certainly wish that this series had a show of its own!

[Clara · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you enjoyed FLCL then you may enjoy this manga short series which is only two volumes. The series is created by Ueda Hajime who also made FLCL and the resemblance between the two will be uncanny. The animation is simple and typical comic book animation, but the story is where it is lacking. The story is so confusing that I have absolutely no idea what it is about even after reading it. Your best bet is to read the summary at the back cover to make sense of things.

[Ariolander · Rating 3 out of 5]

A surprising jump from his previous work in FLCL Fooly Cooly. It is madness in art and somewhat convoluted in story. Either way it is visual eyecandy that left me wondering what was going on. Not that its a bad thing will probably have to give it a couple more reads before passing a serious judgment.

[Captain Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

OTHER BEST MANGA EVER!!!!

[Sel82 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is abaut this girl named kiro and robots and dolls come to invade the world.

[Marveenlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is cool tell you not to do bad stuff wen a women fainted in front of you.

[Scar]

It was really hard to follow. Drawing was cute. I liked it ok overall.