Guru Guru Pon-chan 9

This was the last volume, and I am just so upset that it’s over now.  It really was one of the best manga I was reading, and I would say that it ranks up with Paradise Kiss as one of my favorite romance manga ever.  The two series are very different, but Guru Guru Pon-chan really is that good.

Satomi Ikezawa opts for a rather sad parting in this volume, which I respected tremendously.  It takes a lot not to end on the perfect note, and while everything doesn’t go the way you expect it to, the thing is sad right up to the last few pages.  Things perk up right at the very end, and there was a part I was rather unhappy to see shoehorned into the last couple pages, but the seriousness of what happens sticks around after the end of the volume, so it wasn’t a total cop-out, and it was still one of the saddest endings I think I’ve ever read.

The relationship between Ponta and Mirai gets all the stops pulled out this time, and it tugs on the heartstrings in just about every way imaginable.  I teared up more than once while reading this, which I’m a bit ashamed to admit (especially since this is meant for younger girls), but the relationship really is that strong, and it goes through a few happy-sad extremes here.  Mirai is probably the stronger character, and though everything that happens in this volume happens to Ponta, she felt a bit more two-dimensional than Mirai did.  Both opened up all the way in the last volume though, and they went on a final date which was really… just the best thing ever.

Ponta and Mirai’s relationship really is what makes this series so good.   There are plenty of madcap comic hijinx that happen throughout the volumes, and the cute factor is handled quite nicely, but everything always comes back to them, and… really, in the end, everything that didn’t kill them only made them stronger.  Very few series peg the chemistry between the main couple as well as this, and Ponta and Mirai are one of the most genuine couples I can think of.  I prefer series where the characters get together right away for that reason, because the relationship is much stronger if a lot of time isn’t spent messing around with other people or trying to decide the least embarrassing way to bring things up.  And when you opt for a sad ending at the end of one of those types of series… well, more power to you, because it works the best.

Actually, speaking of embarrassment, that was probably another thing which made this series a lot different.  Ponta has no sense of shame, so she had no problem expressing herself to Mirai.  Mirai would often reciprocate, because this lack of shame or embarrassment for her feelings made her more childlike in a way, and just a lot more open.  There were a few cases of misunderstandings, but… overall, a lot of time Ponta and Mirai’s feelings were just reaffirmed again and again, and it was wonderful to see the two getting closer.

Yeah, it’s hard to get over the fact that the main character is a dog, and it is a series meant for little girls… but it really was one of the best shoujo manga I’ve ever read, for what it’s worth.