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Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga - Guru Guru Pon-Chan


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Bara_Megami



Joined: 08 May 2004
Posts: 106
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:23 am Reply with quote
Wow, Guru Guru Pon-chan sounds delightfully creepy. I am intrigued. I read Othello and really enjoyed it - I thought it was a cut above other shojo manga, so why not try this right?

((And I think you mean Hagu from Honey and Clover, not Megu...))
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tuxedocat



Joined: 14 Dec 2009
Posts: 2183
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:34 am Reply with quote
Ah, Jason.

This example of informative, yet hilarious, writing is why your column is considered a staple of my weekly online reading.

I really like your mention of how the age rating changed on the covers of the volumes mid-series, given the gigantic brouhaha going on in the forums here regarding Japan's Youth Ordinance Bill. I have little doubt that this one would get the 18+ sticker upon reaching the vendors, given its subject matter.

Reading about this manga. I couldn't help but think of all the furry porn that is in my local bookstore under the heading "romance". There is a huge trend in romance fiction to feature werewolf heroes. Not just werewolves, but were-tigers, were-muskrats.... you name it, it's probably in there somewhere. None of these books have any kind of age restriction on them, despite the fact that they are extremely graphic; with the heroes sprouting hair on their backs growling and slobbering ... not anywhere near as "sweet" as what you describe in Guru Guru Pon Chan. It's all humpy-Hiya! ridem' Doggy! without age limit. (Though the audience for these things is usually bored middle aged housewives.)

This manga seems so tame in comparison...

Anyway, a great read. Thank you!
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DoktorZetsubou





PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:20 am Reply with quote
Oh hey, I remember Guru Guru Pon-chan! I read the first volume because I'd really enjoyed Othello, and then found this completely uncomfortable and bizarre to read and dropped it after one volume.

Enjoyed the article, as always.
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1323
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:17 am Reply with quote
This manga I had never heard of before sounds rather cute, even if in a twisted way. Perhaps I'll try to check it out at some point.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:55 am Reply with quote
tuxedocat wrote:

Reading about this manga. I couldn't help but think of all the furry porn that is in my local bookstore under the heading "romance". There is a huge trend in romance fiction to feature werewolf heroes. Not just werewolves, but were-tigers, were-muskrats.... you name it, it's probably in there somewhere. None of these books have any kind of age restriction on them, despite the fact that they are extremely graphic; with the heroes sprouting hair on their backs growling and slobbering ... not anywhere near as "sweet" as what you describe in Guru Guru Pon Chan. It's all humpy-Hiya! ridem' Doggy! without age limit. (Though the audience for these things is usually bored middle aged housewives.)

This manga seems so tame in comparison...


That's what's always floored me about age-ratings in manga. Virtually nothing translated into English is as graphic/disturbing as some of the scenes in your average Laurell K. Hamilton novel, but you don't see bookstores wrapping those in plastic. (I still remember the NYTimes summary on the bestseller list for one of her books: "Woman must have sex with many handsome men to become pregnant.") Sure Ponta's basically a were-lab, but it's the idea rather than Ikezawa's art that makes it so creepy.

Although I admit to being more upset by the idea that because she's a dog she'd age much faster physically than Mirai than by the whole interspecies thing. Moral Disconnect, Engage!

(And TuxedoCat, there's always a were-tiger. I think it's some unwritten rule in the code of Paranormal Romance. Rolling Eyes
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Hardgear





PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 11:19 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Guru Guru Pon-chan is the best manga about bestiality available in English.


Thank you, that one line totally made my day Laughing

The rest of the article was great too, maybe I should check this out, I have just bout every other type of anime/manga in my collection, but no bestiality...
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:19 pm Reply with quote
*twitches* I WANT to try out manga you suggest and I have yet to read, and I'm probably one of the few people here who own all of Othello but... *twitches some more* no. No no no no no. No. I've read some pretty bizarre manga out there I've been ashamed about, but I rather not think really weird bizarre things the next time I see a lab walk bye. I have apparently discovered a line I won't cross when previously I thought nothing of the sort existed.
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Chrno2



Joined: 28 May 2004
Posts: 6171
Location: USA
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:08 pm Reply with quote
Man, I never knew this book existed. This is definitely something you'd find among furry fandom lovers. Although Ponta is not furry enough. At least with 'Wild Half' it's a guy and there is nothing creepy about that series. In many ways that series carries the beginning trend of what we now see in such shows like Shonen Onmyouji. Stories of boys with anthro companions that morph into a male or female version of that creature. But then again it's ongoing formula no matter what the premise is.

Since we're doing a few anthro manga I'd like to see your take on 'Wild Half'. It was a pretty popular manga. You still find a few Japanese sites devoted to it. Yet is was never turned into a series. But I think it did have a radio drama. I have several issues but never finished collecting.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:30 pm Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:
I'm probably one of the few people here who own all of Othello but...


Um. I think I missed something. I thought Othello was just a very pure form of magical girl story ("pure" as in it didn't have the glitzy trappings but still the basic storyline and premise) when I read it, or at the very least about the undue pressure put on kids by Japanese society not to stand out. So...um...what did I miss?

On the other hand, I can easily see how Pon-chan is utterly creepy even if I didn't find it so. So seriously, how did I end up with such a different interpretation of Othello??
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:11 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
littlegreenwolf wrote:
I'm probably one of the few people here who own all of Othello but...


Um. I think I missed something. I thought Othello was just a very pure form of magical girl story ("pure" as in it didn't have the glitzy trappings but still the basic storyline and premise) when I read it, or at the very least about the undue pressure put on kids by Japanese society not to stand out. So...um...what did I miss?

On the other hand, I can easily see how Pon-chan is utterly creepy even if I didn't find it so. So seriously, how did I end up with such a different interpretation of Othello??


When did I say anything about my interpretation of Othello? I just said I'm probably one of the few people who own the whole series, a series that very few have heard of, and is now out of print. But now I'm just really confused about you're interpretation of it since you call it a magical girl comic- That just made me go "huh?" because the comic I read by Satomi Ikezawa had absolutely nothing to do with magical girls. It was a slice of life story with an interesting psychological element involving split personalities. I know there's more than one Othello out there though, so maybe you mean a different comic?
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Princess_Irene
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Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:32 pm Reply with quote
littlegreenwolf wrote:

When did I say anything about my interpretation of Othello?


Sorry, I didn't mean you specifically, but the way the title has been talked about in general. Embarassed

No, I mean the same Othello by Satomi Ikezawa. I got the magical girl thing from Yaya's spoiler[old "transformation" brooch that she mailed to herself and the way she turns into Nana when she looks in a mirror.] That's why I said it was like a magical girl story without the glitz. I mean, she "changes" to fight, right? It hadn't really crossed my mind that it was about a split personality once the "trigger" was revealed. Mind, I was writing a dissertation on magical girls at the time, so I may have been looking too deeply. Academics can screw you up that way...
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Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 7:30 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Will everyone find love with a member of their own species? Will Mirai get germs from kissing a dog in the face?

I immediately thought of Peanuts and lol'd.
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GVentola



Joined: 16 May 2007
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:16 pm Reply with quote
I read this series and I found it more cute than sick. Sure, I joked that it was bestiality, but (spoiler?) spoiler[all the serious stuff only happens when Pon-chan is in human form, if you know what I mean.]Some highlights are when the human Pon-chan goes into heat and all her male classmates go gaga. And when one of the other gals who likes Mirai asks (spoiler): spoiler["Did that bride just turn into a dog?"]
In other news, in real life a guy just married his Golden Retriever. He swears it's platonic, but he came upon a wedding while walking his dog one day, and said, "That could be us!"
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simside



Joined: 07 May 2010
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 2:41 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
Virtually nothing translated into English is as graphic/disturbing as some of the scenes in your average Laurell K. Hamilton novel, but you don't see bookstores wrapping those in plastic. (I still remember the NYTimes summary on the bestseller list for one of her books: "Woman must have sex with many handsome men to become pregnant.")


I read one of those solely based on that NYTimes summary, because I thought that was hilarious and did not believe that was all there was to it. Then I read the rest of that series, because I still couldn't believe that's all there was to it.

Guru Guru Pon-chan is still one of my favorite series of all time, but I'll admit I wouldn't have ever touched it, even after liking Othello, if I hadn't been given the first three volumes to review. I thought it was less creepy than the premise makes it sound, but even when Ponta is human, there's always that fact lurking in the back of your mind, and it does get downright gross and wrong in a few places. But it is always incredibly sweet and funny, and it's a shame that more people haven't read it.

Granted, that's because it sounds too creepy for a shoujo manga. I still have a hard time recommending it, because anything that starts out "I swear this isn't nearly as gross as it sounds" doesn't exactly inspire confidence. But still. It's worth reading.
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Brand



Joined: 30 Jan 2006
Posts: 1028
PostPosted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 4:15 pm Reply with quote
This sounds pretty cute. I've already kind of read the reserve version in Tomu Ohmi's Kindan no Koi series of manga. Which is about a woman and a 300 year old wolf who turns into a human, it doesn't seem that bad.

The concepts in Laurell K. Hamilton novels kind of just crack me up. My friend was really into reading them at one time and told me about one where the main character's boyfriend was a Wereseal. And I was like "Really?...uh yeah...I think I'll pass on that." Like I dig the whole sexy fantasy thing but to me somethings just don't work.
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