Leave it to PET! 2
May 28, 2009
This is more of the same from the first volume, but I think the stories in this book work a little better because there’s more recycled critters running around. The first book got a little repetitive with all the stories about Pet stepping in and helping Noboru, whereas this volume is more about Noboru calling for help and multiple robots showing up and antagonizing him.
Some of the newcomers are pretty cute. For some reason, the others hate Tiny Tin, who is apparently a businessman. I don’t know why. My favorite so far is L’il Bagz, a recycled bag robot apparently designed by a youngster in Japan. L’il Bagz is in training and speaks in a cute little baby voice (conveyed through baby talk, one of the few times I’ve seen it used well in a manga). Also, I’m all about the continued dissing of P-2, the cool-looking robot who is actually too light to be of any use to anybody.
The stories are still only a few pages long each and are mostly full of cute gags. Several here are for introducing new robots, like the recycled cup robot with five different personalities, one for each cup that was recycled, or the Can Crew, two robots who belonged to a deceased old man and now hang around with Noboru. For whatever reason, PET et al also dislike these two, who are vaguely portrayed as bumbling bad guys. Noboru continues to have misfortunes he calls his robots in for help on, like dropping his Game Boy in a puddle, boys who won’t take turns at the arcade, or getting stuck on a fence.
Some of the chapter titles are… interesting. One of them is “I’ll Form the Head!” Another is “The Unbearable Lightness of P-2,” which I’m pretty sure will fly over the heads of most other people reading this, but I certainly enjoyed the allusion.
The book is still pretty adorably designed, with color pages and some activities and information in the back and throughout. The art and format of the stories are kid-friendly, and the humor is actually pretty decent for a kids’ series. It’s not something I would pick up for myself, but it’s pretty good stuff for the target audience.
This was a review copy provided by Viz.
May 28, 2009 at 6:52 am
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