Guru Guru Pon Chan Highly recommended

Publisher
Tanoshimi
Writer
Satomi Ikezawa
Artist
Satomi Ikezawa
Country of origin
Japan
Year
1997

Guru Guru Pon Chan vol 1-4

By John Huxley
20th Aug 06

OK, so I’ll be the first to admit that I really wasn’t expecting much at all from this one. A romantic comedy about a dog that falls in love with a human? Unless it was directed by that prick who was responsible Love Actually and all those other god-awful films (I could try to remember his name but it might bring back painful repressed memories of actually watching them), I couldn’t think of a concept that was much less appealing to me personally. And as if to compound the problem, the design of the book, the artwork and almost everything else about it just didn’t get me interested in the slightest.

So, you know how this one goes, right? Yeah...and then I started reading it. Almost immediately, after a slightly shaky start when perhaps my expectations were forming my initial thoughts, I was falling in love with Guru Guru Pon Chan. Almost every time I put the book down I was beaming from ear to ear. Perhaps that might sound a bit over the top, but I dunno...something just clicked I guess.

The story is pretty much as described above, although there are a few complications that make things a little more interesting. Ponta is the Koizumi family’s pet puppy, an adorable little labrador even if she can be a handful at times. The family’s opinion of Ponta is squarely divided, with daughter Yuka and grandpa the only ones aren’t utterly fed up with her antics. But lucky for Ponta, grandpa is not only the president of a local highschool but also a budding inventor. His latest invention, aptly named the ‘Chit-Chat Bone’, will apparently allow a dog to transform in to a human upon touch. Yeah...probably best not ask the how and why.

Of course, Ponta being a dog, she sees the bone, steals the bone and eats the bone. Viola! Ponta instantly becomes Pon Chan, the cute little girl with the brain of a dog. During her first experience with the Guru Guru Bone she doesn’t quite realise that she’s a human, yet somehow she manages to fall in love with the neighbour, Mirai. And subsequently pukes up on him, spitting out the Guru Guru Bone as a result. Later she’s reunited with it in a more controlled scenario, as she begins to discover all that being a human teenager entails. Only with the added extra spice of actually being a dog.

Now, at this point I should probably point out that I’m very much a cat person. I don’t dislike dogs and I think a nice dog can make a great pet, but given the choice I’d always go for a (must...resist...awful...pun) furry feline (phew). Still, I’ve spent more than enough time around dogs to appreciate the humour in Guru Guru Pon Chan, as its writer and artist (and self confessed dog lover, if the slightly obsessive ramblings about her own pets are to be believed) Satomi Ikezawa perfectly illustrates the joy and frustration of dog (or more specifically puppy) ownership. From destroyed valuables to unwanted smelly brown presents, it’s all covered in Guru Guru Pon Chan.

And as Ponta slowly adjusts to life as a human, her canine side tends to show through at the most inopportune times. In many ways she’s much like a young child; all these experiences that we take for granted are new to Ponta which lends an air of adorable innocence about her. In that respect some of the humour is similar, if a little broader perhaps, to Kiyohiko Azuma’s Azumanga Daioh and specifically Yotsuba&!. And much like the adventures of Osaka and friends, the humour is aided in part by the style of the artwork. Not necessarily because it relies heavily on slapstick to carry it (...although that too), but rather because the expressive style of the artwork (which can be a little off-putting at first) and the inventive page layout gives it a vibrancy and immediacy that many other titles can’t boast. Comics are a very visual medium, and Guru Guru Pon Chan is a perfect example of this.

And yet although much of the humour may be right on the mark, some of it could also be considered slightly juvenile. But you know, this kind of thing is part and parcel of owning a dog. And hey, any comic that mentions poop umpteen times in the first volume gets a big thumbs up from me!

Presumably because this is a comic aimed at a relatively wide audience, Ikezawa does skirt around some of the more sensitive issues involved in a concept such as this. Poop is well covered as we already know, yet bestiality is only mentioned briefly, and quite frankly that’s got to be the topic on most people’s minds here. I mean, what is Mirai thinking? Sure she’s cute as a human, but come on, she’s still a dog! Still, at least it’s been mentioned even if it was only in passing, which hopefully means the subject will be bought up in a later volume for some cheap laughs at Mirai’s expense.

Although it was the humour that endeared me to Guru Guru Pon Chan, it doesn’t neglect its romantic and dramatic roots by any means. Ponta and Mirai’s relationship is a troubled one for obvious reasons, yet it’s such a sweet relationship you can’t help but cheer them on in times of crisis. And visits from the potential mother in law, and the unwanted attentions of obsessive ex-girlfriend and love rival all constitute as a crisis when you’re simply trying to hide the fact she’s actually a dog. Yet these scenarios are all handled very well within the concept and each adds a layer of intrigue to the storyline in some way.

Having said that, Ikezawa doesn’t let any of this get in the way of a good joke. Almost everything is geared towards getting a cheap laugh or a sneaky pun. Mirai’s love rival, for instance, is a purely comic character that may exert more sympathy than dislike for his ridiculously sincere attitude, but he’s always there to add to the humour more so than the drama.

The fourth volume, which arrived through my letterbox part way through writing this review, does mark a slight change in direction. As the storyline develops and Ponta’s relationship becomes more serious, so too does the tone of the series. It’s still got enough corny jokes in there to last you through the volume, yet there is a noticeable shift in balance of Guru Guru Pon Chan’s various elements. While it’s not an entirely unwelcome change of pace, lets hope it’s only a temporary break in the regular scheduling and we’ll be back on track once the mess from volume four’s surprising (to the point of being unfortunately predictable) cliffhanger has been sorted out.

Whatever the case, Guru Guru Pon Chan is a series that’s well worth checking out. It not only surprised me, it ended up being one of my most enjoyable reads in years. Wether or not that’ll last for much longer remains to be seen, but lets hope so!

-- John Huxley 20th Aug 06