Customer Reviews

+Anima, Vol. 1

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

+Anima is a new fantasy Manga from Tokyopop about a strange group of humans...and perhaps their not humans at all...who possess animal-like powers and features. Cooro is one such +Anima and he is on a quest to find more just like him. Coora you see has large, black wings, crow wings, causing some to think he was some kind of Angel when he was born. While visiting a circus, Coora finds the mermaid princess and recognizes her as another +Anima. Cooro rescues the mermaid from the clutches of the Ringmaster then makes a startling discovery...the mermaid is a merman. Obviously circus customers would be more interested in a mermaid so the Ringmaster dressed the boy named Husky up to look like a girl. Cooro is more than a bit surprised!

The pair then travel to the village of Abon where the only thing Cooro has on his mind is the legendary cuisine of the Abon. But they are greeted rudely by a group of thugs called the Garrison Gang. Fleeing from the village they come into contact with the Abon's protector, another +Anima named Senri who has a large, powerful bear's arm for his right arm that ends in very sharp claws. Soon the trio face-off against the gang and their leader. But where will the trio travel to next? And what is the mysterious book that Senri possesses?

+Anima was a fun Manga filled with action, fantasy and comedy and a dash of mystery thrown in for good measure. Natsumi Mukai's art is wonderful and expressive. The story also tosses in some social relevance as the +Anima tend to be feared and discriminated against by most people. A great new series from Tokyopop!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

I own the Japanese version of this volume and I would have to say that this is one of the best originals out there. It's cute, it's funny, and it has people in it who can turn partway into animals; what more could one want?

*Spoilers Ahead!*

The story follows a young boy named Cooro who is a crow +Anima. (Get it? Cooro? Crow? Haha. XD) He can grow wings from his back and fly, and he's on a journey to find others like himself. He meets up with a boy named Husky who is a fish +Anima. Husky was working at a circus against his own free will, and Cooro stumbles upon him while watching the show for free. Cooro is captured while trying to escape the circus workers and is then forced to work at the circus alongside Husky. (Husky had to dress as a mermaid princess even though he's a boy, hahaha.) Cooro comes up with a plan and manages to get away, carrying off Husky with him. It is then that the two decide to work together, although Husky is reluctant at first. As the story progresses, they meet up with a bear +Anima, Senri, and later a bat +Anima, Nana. They, too, join Cooro and Husky on their journey to find others.

The underlying theme of this manga series is discrimination. Those who are +Anima are feared, hated, or exploited in some way. However, Cooro and the others try to show these people that +Anima are no different from regular humans.

I highly recommend this manga if you like cute art and humorous stories. There are times of seriousness, but they never last long when Cooro is around. His optimism keeps the mood light and cheerful, even though it annoys Husky to no end. XD

I picked this up on a whim because I liked the way the main character was drawn on the cover and I am happy I did. This is a fun manga and shows promise as a series. The premise is that in this world there are creatures called +Anima who look human but who each possess a certain gift: the ability to shift at least partially into the form of a specific animal. This volume introduces four characters: Cooro, the main character, a boy who can sprout the black-feathered wings of a crow at will; Husky, a boy who can breathe underwater and whose lower body can transform into a fish; Senri, a somewhat older youth who can transform his right arm into that of a bear; and Nana, a girl who can sprout the wings of a bat and who has some sonic voice power as well.

The author/artist, Natsumi Mukai, does an excellent job of making his (her?) characters sympathetic and individual. Cooro, whose outfit suggests some Native American influence, is relentlessly cheerful and adventurous. Husky on the other hand is rather androgynous, hates girls but loves to wear pearls, and tends to be sulky and easily annoyed. Senri, who wears a patch over his left eye, is calm, confident but unsettlingly silent, rarely speaking more than one word if he speaks at all, whereas Nana seems like she'll never shut up.

And all of these characters have mysteries about them. Cooro has some connection to this world's version of the Catholic church. Husky wears a pair of pearl earrings that appear to have some meaning for him. Senri's prize possession is a small book within which is a pressed flower of a type he appears to be searching for. And Nana apparently had to run away from an abusive drunkard father after a violent episode triggered her +Anima powers to manifest for the first time.

The stories in this volume deal mainly with their first encounters with each other, setting the stage for the longer series. The characters are likeable and funny, with just enough seriousness about them to give them the depth for you to care about what happens to them. If you like manga in general, you'll like this. Definitely a step up from the generic one tends to find all too often in the manga genre. Definitely recommended.

I really loved this series: it was sweet, creative, but had its sad moments, too. It follows the antics of four children and how they deal with their unusual abilities. They are +Anima, which allows some of their limbs (or their entire body) to morph into an animal. A person first acquires this ability when they are younger and are having a near-death experience (the Kim-Un-Kur being an exception).

The art is wonderful. The combination of human and animal worked very well. I am definitely picky about the art, but I thought it was great.

The story is a little slower in the beginning (like many series, they are off on random adventures). But the last couple of books really pick up. Each character has their own "arc" that delves into their pasts (which are all fairly sad).

Definitely good series and I recommend it.

My daughter is in the accelerated programs in our school district and is uninterested in reading as a hobby. She read about 4 of these in one evening and was hungry for more. She powered through the series and was fairly disappointed when they ended. I hope she can find another series she enjoys as much.

"+Anima" is all about the cute little kids with animal characteristics.Natsumi Mukai's unabashedly cute little manga starts off on a relatively light'n'fluffy footing in "+Anima Volume 1," which basically serves to introduce the four lead characters. It's basically a manga creampuff, but is sweet enough to justify itself.

Cooro is caught peering in at a circus' "mermaid princess" -- and when he gets caught, he sprouts black wings and tries to fly away. Turns out the "princess" is actually a fellow +Anima -- a grumpy young boy named Husky, whose legs can turn into a fish's tail. And the cruel ringmaster plans to turn Cooro into Husky's new onstage partner... but Cooro has a plan that will let them both escape.

Then the boys arrive in a small village being plagued by gold-seeking bandits -- and the only person who can stand up against them is a gentle, silent older +Anima named Senri, who can turn his arm into a bear's claw. The gang is afraid of Senri, but Cooro and Husky learn that expxlodsive are being brought in.

Then the little trio gets involved with a gang of child thieves living in underground mazes -- and one of them is a girly, timid bat +Anima named Nana, who develops a liking for Husky's pearls. Unfortunately Husky claims to loathe girls and leaves the group. And when Nana goes after him late in the day, memories of her past catch up.

The first volume of "+Anima" is a little sugary creampuff of a manga -- it doesn't have much nutrition, but it's sweet and pleasant in itself. And it spends most of this volume introducing the four +Anima that make up the cast, and introducing the idea of children who inexplicably develop animal body parts -- wings, claws, fins and supersonic screeches.

The first volume is split into a series of small stories, usually with a hinted message about not discriminating against others ("I left because I couldn't stand being HATED..."), and some gentle humour, such as Cooro's melodramatic performance in the circus, or Husky's ongoing woes ("I'm going to get all wet! Dangit!"). But the final story adds a darker dimension to Nana's perky personality, which hints at deeper stories in future.

The cast is what really carries this story along -- Cooro is almost painfully perky and gluttonous, and Husky is the grumpy, down-to-earth one. Nana is an adorable little girl who looks like a bat-eared/winged doll, but whose transformation into an +Anima comes after her father tries to kill her. And Senri is a likable mystery -- a big older boy with an eyepatch, few words, and a treasured book.

"+Anima Volume 1" is a lightweight affair, but sweet and amusing enough to keep you reading. And there are hints that it will bloom into something more.

Begin the story that follows one unique individual with animal characteristics that allow him to survive in the harsh world he has been born in. +Anima are individuals whom the beasts have given characteristics of themselves to help them fight for their place in the world.

Cooro, a child with characteristics of a crow, explores a traveling circus to find another child like himself, with fish characteristics. Such characteristics are called +Anima (read plus anima) and are often frowned upon and feared by others.

Beautiful artwork carries the reader so quickly through the book that at the end, you can't help but thirst for more!