Mao-Chan 1

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Ken Akamatsu Publisher Del Rey

Japan is in trouble. It’s being terrorized by aliens that are attempting to steal all of the country’s landmarks and possibly destroy anything in their way. They are considered dangerous, highly intelligent and could very well wipe out the entire country. Such an assault calls for the skilled training of the Japanese Special Defense Corps…which consists of three eight-year-old girls.

Enter Ground Corps Private Mao Onigawara, the sprightly main character for which the manga is named after. Along with her friends Sylvia and Misora who handle security by air and water, the three work together as The Combined Arms Defense to guard Japan with a well-trained precision and untamed glee. They soon discover that the invading aliens are not hideous evil monsters, but cute little critters in the form of kitties and bunnies that makes it difficult for the girls--- or anyone else for that matter --- to want them disposed of.

While Mao and her friends are pleased as punch to be working together, their grandfathers feel differently. Each is convinced that his granddaughter’s method of defense is the most effective, and the surly elders are in constant competition with each other. They get so nasty in fact, that they’d rather the girls split up and work separately than as a collective combat. Although Mao is instructed not to, she happily joins the other girls to ward off aliens to the best of their abilities.

The story continues on in two parts. The first half spans throughout a year or so and focuses mainly on how the girls overcome some of the invaders and what strategies are enforced. The second half drifts away just a bit for awhile and centers on a training session that the girls go through and what happens with that. Although the plot gets a little off track, it doesn’t effect the flow of the story. Author Ken Akamatsu seemed to have taken great care in introducing the girls to different adventures while keeping the point of the story as the central theme and I actually appreciated this. I think that a manga with close to four hundred pages with the same darn thing going on would get real old real fast.

I also enjoyed how the reader is able to get a glimpse of how the girls live when they’re not in combat. There are some side-stories that focus on school sports events (not Mao’s favorite) hanging out together and even a Christmas party, which enables you to see why all of the girls are raised by a grandfather rather than parents. Mao-Chan is an endearing character. She’s adorable and klutzy with a heart if gold, and to not be able to get to know her and her friends would almost make them background characters to the aliens rather than the main characters.

The only reason this manga didn’t get a full four stars was even though the story is entertaining and provides a nice amount of variety, it’s still just a tad bit long. Mangas are great because they’re a nice quick read for someone who wants to pick up a book but doesn’t have a lot of time to read a full-fledged novel. Mr. or Ms. Busy-Reader might not give Mao-Chan a chance and could very well go right to a shorter tale. Also, I didn’t really grasp why three grade school girls are in the Japanese Special Defense Corps. To fight cute with cute? I’m not sure…if it was explained, then I must have gone right passed it because I kept wondering when that would be explained. However, that doesn’t make the story bad; it just makes me finicky about plots.

Mao-Chan is a great story. It has action, humor, and cute little animals. It has suspense and a good amount of goings-on to pique one’s interest, and I’d recommend to anyone who’s willing to give it the time.