Customer Reviews

Animal Academy, Vol. 1

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4 star:		(2)
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Neko has never been the most talented student. She's so bad, in fact, that she was only accepted to one high school: MoriMori High. She's just happy that she did make it into high school, though, and is looking forward to the fun experiences she's sure to have. She meets an odd but pretty girl on the train ride over, and it happens that this girl is also going to attend MoriMori. They become fast friends, and things are looking good for Neko. However, upon arrival at the school, Neko is told that she hasn't been accepted after all. Neko is understandably upset and begs the school to give her another chance. She is told that the reason she can't attend is that MoriMori is really a school for magical animals posing as humans. The school finally allows her in on one condition: she can't let anyone find out that she's actually a human.

This manga could've been pretty bland, but I thought the manga-ka did a good job with it. The story is pretty good so far. Nothing major has happened yet, but I like the ideas present. The students at MoriMori are there to learn how to behave like humans so they can live in the human world. Some of the things they have to learn include how to use a door-knob and how to read street signs. The characters are a lot of fun. Neko is an energetic girl, and it's funny to watch her get used to her new environment. She feels a little out of place, but she's also way ahead of her classmates in school work, something she's not used to. Her classmates all have cute animal forms, but what makes them really interesting is their behavior. Her best friend who is actually a cat behaves exactly how you would expect. She's possessive of Neko and agressive toward strangers, and she sleeps a lot. She's also haughty. A young fox has an obvious crush on her, and she has no qualms about letting him know she's not interested.

The art is so cute. I love the character designs, both human and animal. They're endearing and full of personality.

This is a great choice for young girls. Manga, though appealing to children, is usually aimed at teenagers and young adults. Girls have an especially hard time since most titles for kids are aimed at boys. But "Animal Academy" is perfect. It's innocent and an entertaining read. I hope Tokyopop will continue to publish titles like this.

First of all, I'm not gonna talk about the plot that much in this review, because that's easy enough to look up. Animal Academy is really cute, and I'm actually surprised by how much I liked it. I really suggest it to parents who have younger kids who enjoy manga. I wish that I had found this when I was a kid. So far, there's not a thing in there that any parent could object to.
The Story:
I've read up to volume 3, and so far there's not much of one. It's still cute though, and currently has the feel of a TV show, if that makes sense. Right now we're on filler episodes. 3/5 points.

The Artwork:
Love it! It's simple and clean, and enjoyable to look at. I adore Miiko!:3 Things are proportioned well, and the art really complements the story. 4/5 points.

The Characters:
Kotaro is funny, mainly because he honest-to-goodness believes what he's saying. Miiko is adorable, and acts just like our own housecats would. Fune is your average shojo heroine, who's not good at school or sports. (Kinda like me...) 4/5 points.

Overall:
Animal Academy is lots of fun, and I think girls of ages 8-12 would really love it. It's hard to find age appropriate manga for that age group these days, so I really recommend it. Other manga for that age group I would recommend is Kitchen Princess, Magic Knight Rayearth, and Peach Fuzz.