+ Anima
| Manga | |
|---|---|
| title | + Anima |
| Original title | プ ラ ス ア ニ マ |
| transcription | Purasu anima |
| country |
 Japan
|
| author | Natsumi Mukai |
| publishing company | MediaWorks |
| magazine | Dengeki Comic Gao! |
| First publication | January 2001 - March 2005 |
| expenditure | 10 |
+ Anima ( Japanese プ ラ ス ア ニ マ Purasu Anima ) is a completed manga series by the Japanese illustrator Natsumi Mukai ( 迎 夏 生 , Mukai Natsumi ). It was first published in 2000 and has over 1,900 pages.
The manga, which can be assigned to the Shōnen genre as well as fantasy and adventure, tells of people who have certain physical characteristics of animals.
action
+ Anima are people who have certain physical characteristics of animals. For example, the eleven-year-old Cooro crow's wing can grow. With this skill he rescues the fish man Husky, who has been held captive by a circus since childhood because, as a mermaid, he should be the attraction of the circus. The two decide to look for more + anima and meet Senri, who has the claws of a bear, and Nana, who has bat properties.
Characters
Cooro ( ク ー ロ ) is an innocent little boy of eleven years. Since he was left behind in a church as a baby, he does not know his parents or any other family members. His kindness and very direct character often get him into trouble. He loves apples more than anything. His + anima ability is that of a crow .
Husky ( ハ ス キ ー ) was caught by a fisherman and sold to a circus, where he had to perform as a mermaid. Therefore, he is often mistaken for a girl, which makes him somewhat averse to girls. He is very reserved, shows little emotion and hardly talks about his past. In reality he is a prince, the son of a queen. His + anima ability is that of a fish .
Senri ( セ ン リ ) is the most silent of the group and, at around seventeen, also the oldest. Although he hardly ever speaks and seems rather reserved, he is a very nice person. He owns a book in which, in the course of his travels, he collects numerous flowers that help him to remember people and events. If he loses or removes his blindfold, the hostility of the bear whose + anima abilities it + has displaced its human side and it becomes extremely violent.
Nana ( ナ ナ ) is a + anima with bat skills. Although sonar allows her to orientate herself in the deepest darkness, she is terribly afraid of dark forests, as they remind them of her violent father. It can also produce an ultrasound scream that will numb anyone who doesn't cover their ears in time.
Publications
+ Anima was published in Japan from January 2000 to March 2005 in individual chapters in the manga magazine Dengeki Comic Gao! from MediaWorks . From December 2000 these individual chapters were also summarized in ten anthologies ( Tankōbon ).
From December 2004 to May 2006, all ten volumes were published in German by Tokyopop- Verlag every two months . The translation is by Stefan Hofmeister. The manga was also published in English by Madman Entertainment in Australia and Tokyopop in the USA. The publisher Taifu Comics published the manga in France, TVM Comics in Vietnam. It has also been translated into Chinese.
reception
Critic Jason Thompson calls the stories, which often revolve around prejudice and tolerance, "simple but entertaining". The anime-like style is "ordinary but subtle" and the appealingly drawn backgrounds are reminiscent of Wild West scenes, as well as the design of the protagonist Cooro seems to be based on the American Indians. According to the trade magazine MangasZene , the characters gain more and more depth in the course of the plot and offer the reader lovable characters to identify with. The plot is not very profound, but humorous and interesting. The main topic is how people deal with different people. Natsumi Mukai's drawing style gives the characters a cute look, which is what makes the series so attractive. The drawings are also very detailed, which is particularly evident thanks to the large panels. The German Animania calls + Anima an attractively drawn “funny fantasy story” with “detailed panels” as “artistic highlights” and, like Jason Thompson, refers to American-style backgrounds and Indian clothing by Cooro and Senri. This “adds something mystical to the whole and increases the cuteness factor immensely”.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jason Thompson: Manga. The Complete Guide . Del Rey, New York 2007, ISBN 978-0-345-48590-8 , p. 12. (English)
- ↑ MangasZene No. 24, p. 32
- ↑ Animania 01-02 / 2005, p. 32f.
Web links
- Tokyopop's official website for the manga series
- Anime News Network about the manga