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Manga/Magazines
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Written by maehara
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Monday, 26 March 2007 00:00 |
 The efforts of our new Keroron masters to seize control of Pokopen continue - or they would if Keroro wasn't so distracted with building his Gundam models. Perhaps the srrival of the battle-hardened Corporal Giroro will give him some encouragement - or will Natsumi's charms neutralise the newest invader..?
Another volume, another 10 stories from the adventures of Sergeant Keroro, and another two frogs to bolster his unit - not that it looks like they'll ever manage to make their invasion of Pokopen ever happen. The first new frog on the scene is Corporal Giroro, who at first glance seems to be a battle-hardened, heartless amphibian. He's ever so slightly pissed at Keroro's lack of action on taking over the Earth, and he's determined to make his superior officer carry out his orders as intended instead of living as a slave to the Hinata family. That's all very well, but one meeting with Natsumi and the corporal finds himself head-over-heels in love - and soon finds himself joining the family.
Later, object of Natsumi's affections, young poet Mutsumi (I always thought that was a girls' name, but there you go) arrives on the scene with the squad's mad genius and intelligence officer, Sergeant Kururu. Kururu and his unusual inventions soon add a little bit of spice to the story, and another few options for madcap humour - as if this manga wasn't mad enough already.
In between, there are more attempts by Momoko to get close to her beloved Fuyuki, the opening of Keroro's new top-secret underground base (built beneath the Hinata home), and the threat of a visit by Keroro's father to check on how his son's domination of Earth is coming along. Sgt Frog doesn't do much differently each volume, so even if you've only read volume one you'll know pretty much what to expect - and if you've been following the anime this will all seem very familiar, as the anime continues to follow the manga very closely. That's no bad thing, of course - Sgt Frog's humour is pitched just right, and never really gets dull or boring. Repetitive on occasion, yes, but not to the extent that it becomes annoying.
Overall, then, more good stuff from the boys from Keron. Comedy is usually very subjective, but Sgt Frog has plenty in it that should appeal to most people - with the added fun of any number of references to other anime series, movies and tv shows, if you can spot them, although being able to play "spot the reference" isn't essential to enjoying the book. Good mindless fun.
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