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Reviewed by Dan Polley It appears as though Ponta’s days are numbered in the ninth and final volume of Satomi Ikezawa’s “Guru Guru Pon-Chan.” In the previous volume, Mirai Iwaki learns that transforming from human to dog and back again is working against Ponta by exponentially increasing her chances of early death. And it’s with that news that this volume begins. Iwaki takes it on himself to show Ponta’s family just how lethargic and old Ponta has become internally. He tries by tossing a Frisbee, which gets stuck in a tree. But Ponta passes out before she can retrieve it. When Iwaki and Ponta’s family finally come to grips with the reality of Ponta’s situation, they decide there is only one course of action. They steal the Guru Guru Bone from Ponta and take it and hide it, hoping that taking away the option for her to transform will help elongate her life. Iwaki heads the effort to rid themselves of the bone. In the end, the best he can do is go to the beach and bury it in some sand. “This is good-bye to the human Ponta,” he thinks as he walks away, dejected. In the end, nature succeeds. And it’s through the family’s grieving process that an unexpected twist comes. However, the twist seems to be a formality — a plot device that just leaves the end of the series in a downturn. The art continues to be effective in conveying the emotions throughout the story. Yet in this volume, there are many more soliloquy art pieces that help to build the suspense and wrench the reader’s heart of emotion for the struggle that Iwaki and Ponta face. It’s touching, it’s endearing, and — best of all — it doesn’t feel overdone. The ninth volume of “Guru Guru Pon-Chan” is wonderful and the art takes over to help convey the solemn finality that everyone seems to expect. If not for the unnecessary twist at the end, this would be an A. But the twist seems to be thrown in just for the sake of the ending. The ending would have been fine without it. Comment on this review of Guru Guru Pon-Chan v9 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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