Are you looking for a good comic for your pre-teen? Curious about CMX’s fall line-up? Or just a fan of all things kawaii? Then check out Sam’s advance review of SUIHELIBE!, a CMX title announced at New York Comic-Con 2008. With cute characters, transforming animals, and a breezy plot, it’s sure to appeal to the beginning manga reader in your life! –KD
SUIHELIBE!, Vol.1
By Naomi Azuma
CMX, 159 pp.
Rating: All Ages
Tetsu Kobayashi is just your an average 13 year-old boy. As a first-year middle school student, he is anything but pleased to hear that he needs to join a club. Enter Cobalt Lan Toriumi, or just Lan for short. She is a cutesy alien girl from the planet Noid, who sole mission is to capture creatures (called Noidys) that have escaped from her home. (They have landed on Earth and are causing a ruckus around town by attacking innocent bystanders.) The two meet when Tetsu stumbles into the Biology room, just as Lan is capturing one of her creatures – a bunny who gets muscular when upset. Through the power of teamwork (yay!), they capture it, Lan disappears, and Tetsu is left to deal with the Biology Advisor, who makes him sole member of the club. Lan reappears again, helping Tetsu to keep the club alive and recruiting three more members, including the smartest girl in school, a pompous bookworm, and the idolized student council vice president.
SUIHELIBE! is a very fun, light, and simple read. The subject matter is very familiar: boy meets an alien girl and hilarity ensues. The writing is very fluffy, never really digging deep into who the characters are or convincing us that the characters are actually a “biology” club, as there is no real science happening. Despite its lack of depth, SUIHELIBE never gets on your nerves. It’s a cute story with a good amount of humor. Azuma’s artwork is in the same boat as her writing, often using recognizable characters models. (Two of the main characters, Lan and Suzaka, look like they were taken straight out of the series 2 Love.) However, the characters are well drawn, fitting the style of the story and working well with the subject matter.
The most interesting part of the book by far was Azuma’s notes at the end of the book. She explains that each characters name is made up kanji of different elements (Tetsu=Iron, Suzaka Shirogane=Tin (Suzu) + Platinum), which is a really nice treat. In addition, the actual title, SUIHELIBE! is made up of the abbreviations of the first four elements (Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Belium). These treats made up a little for the lack of science in the story, as Azuma said “I chose the names, hoping it’d help the characters have chemistry together!”
More or less, I would toss SUIHELIBE! into the Manga Beginners pile. It’s a good read for someone who is not familiar with manga: it’s a light story that’s easy to read. Add cute, well-drawn art on top of that, and you have a great introduction to the form. SUIHELIBE! is great for kids in that respect, as it’s easy to relate to and fun. If you’re an experienced reader, I wouldn’t bother; you’ll get bored easily and not want to read the second (and final) volume. So if you have a little cousin, brother or sister, pick it up for them; otherwise skip SUIHELIBE!.
Volume one of SUIHELIBE! will be available in October.
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