The Spring 2021 Manga Guide

Kirby Manga Mania

What's It About? 

Jump into Dream Land with Kirby and gobble up some fun! Everyone's favorite pink puff teams up with his friends to keep arch-frenemy King Dedede in line. Fans of all ages can enjoy this collection of classic Kirby comics—just take a deep breath and hop on in!

Kirby Manga Mania is drawn and scripted by Hirokazu Hikawa and Viz will release its first volume on June 8

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

As far as kiddy manga goes, Viz's Nintendo titles are some of the safest bets in English, and this "best of" collection of Hirokazu Hikawa's Kirby stories is no exception. The short (160-page) volume follows the little pink slime-like alien on a variety of adventures, all of them largely nonthreatening and bursting with elementary school-age shenanigans, and most of which involve teasing King DeDeDe in some way. (His attempt to keep Kirby from the picnic pretty much sets the tone for his interactions with Kirby.) It's light and fluffy for the most part, and that works.

Of course, there's always going to be something in any book for younger readers that raises eyebrows, and in this case that would be when Kirby crashes the picnic and gets ahold of some…”juice.” Yes, as you can guess, the opening story in the book features a drunk Kirby doing stereotypical drunk businessman things, and this may not go over particularly well with the differing attitudes of English-language readers towards such material in a children's story. It's largely presented in as harmless a way as possible, but it's still much more potentially problematic than, for example, DeDeDe's body double not wanting to give up his role as the king or Kirby destroying the castle in an ill-informed attempt to prepare it for an incoming typhoon. Somehow nailing the king's mouth shut to save his nonexistent dentures seems less likely to cause a stir. (My, what an odd world we live in.)

Kirby manga Mania will have the most appeal for elementary school-age readers who are familiar with the character from one of his many games. It's not impossible to understand the book if you're not particularly up on your Kirby lore, but it definitely works better with that familiarity, especially in terms of the character-based humor. The plots are fun and silly, featuring things like board games, ghosts, body doubles, and a hat that speaks your thoughts aloud when you wear it, and there's a gentle use of humorous violence and gags throughout. Author's notes on each chapter give some insight into Hikawa's creative process, making this a good choice for a read-along or a transition to graphic novels for older readers. It's perhaps not quite as good as the Super Mario Brothers manga, but it's still a pretty solid choice for the age group.