Mamotte! Lollipop

Review Date: 2007 April 27 18:24

Reviewed by: Azure

Released by: Tanoshimi

Publishing Country: UK

Author: Michiyo Kikuta

Age Rating: 13+

Page Count: 224

ISBN-13: 978009950641

ISBN-10: 99506416

Summary

Nina is a cute young school girl whose idea of a perfect guy is one who is good looking, kind and who will protect her. All this remains a dream until she accidentally becomes mixed up in a magical exam, now two entrants Zero and Ichi have to defend Nina from the other contenders. Zero and Ichi just happen to be cute, kind guys.

Review

Mamotte! Lollipop has a cute whimsical style familiar to fans of series such as Mermaid Melody or Tokyo Mew Mew. The character designs are sugary, big eyed and fairly typical of the genre. Though there's a plot running through the manga it's really more of an excuse to get a bunch of strange characters in one place so that they can cause as much havoc in Nina's life as possible. To give you some idea by the end of the first volume the cast of heroes and villains are already visiting a hot spring together.

This first volume is focused on introducing the characters, which sees more than a few common personality types such as the ever so violent Zero, the cooler leader type Ichi. The most interesting character has to be Sun, a gothic Lolita with a fondness for sweets and mood swings which see her switch from a sweet little girl to a vicious murderous witch. The page layout is always clear which makes Mamotte Lollipop an easy read. The action is always clear and the characters are distinct from one another. The lettering is also well spaced and laid out.

The book is bulked out by a large number of extras, including a lengthy short story "Medical Magical" which is set in the same universe as Mamotte Lollipop – and inspired the manga itself. There are also a few little games such as spot the difference as well as a preview of the next volume. Tanoshimi have also retained the author's comments which are spread throughout the volume in typical shoujo manga fashion.

Mamotte Lollipop! is a lot of fun, the artwork is cute if a little too generic and it's a simple easy read. It's just at this early stage in the story it's a too unfocused as the author struggles to develop beyond the basic set-up. It's an enjoyable read for younger fans and devotees of the magical girl/boy genre but nothing new.

Rating: 6/10