The World of Narue Vol-1
Story and art by: Tomohiro Marukawa
Pages: 190
Official Website: The World of Narue
Published Domestically by: CPM Press
By: Jeffrey Couto

Introduction

Aliens? Terrifying monsters from outer space? Looks like another typical day in The World of Narue, a manga about what happens when you girlfriend turns out to be a member of the Earth Investigation Team of the Galatic Federation. Unfortunately for Kazuto, this is only the beginning!

Let’s go in and take a closer look at the first book in the series, which is being released domestically by Central Park Press.

Story

"Narue is an adorable schoolgirl with a secret. She's really an alien with powers right out of a sci-fi comic! But growing up is never easy, and sometimes it doesn't help when you're from outer space. Join our spunky heroine as she faces androids, alien invasions, and (scariest of all) her very first date! " -- CPM Press World of Narue Page

Review

The first page of this book opens during a rainy morning in Japan, where we meet up with Kazuto Izuka, a junior high student, who’s pondering whether to help out a small puppy that’s out on the streets with nothing to protect it from the elements. As he ponders the situation out of nowhere appears a young girl in a school uniform; she warns Kazuto that this is a trap and moves in on the puppy as she holds a baseball bat. Without hesitation or second thought she strikes down the dog with it much to our shock and that of Kazuto’s.

After this brief moment of disbelief our young hero is told that this puppy was in fact a very poisonous altered space organism. If it were to have bitten Kazuto he could have ended up in a lot of trouble. Having taken care of the dangerous situation Narue flees the scene waving goodbye to Kazuto as he looks on. On this rainy day, on the empty streets of his neighborhood, he finds himself to have fallen in love with a stanger.

So begins a story about young love with an interplanetary spin and all the things that come attached to such strange and unusual relationship. Will Narue and Kazuto be able to overcome all the challenges that await them?

The World of Narue’s overall concept is not new by any stretch of the imagination, but it is a very fun take on some tried and true ideas of the manga and anime world. The concept of having a young girl be an alien and a member of the Galactic Federation, who’s on a mission to help protect our planet from external threats, is certainly interesting and allows the writer of the manga to bring in some fun situations and spins to normal everyday Earthly life. This makes The World of Narue a more compelling read by giving it some nice comedic and sci-fi layers that work well together within the context of a love and friendship story.

The comedy in many instances is borne from the many fish-out-water situations in which Kazuto typically finds himself when he’s exposed to the otherworldly side of Narue and her family, such as evil aliens, androids, and spaceships that can transform into Japanese-style houses to camouflage themselves. As such, it works great and in many instances result in some really good laughter-inducing scenes.

The story’s flow in the chapters collected in this book is good, although in the beginning episodes it felt a little rushed. Once chapters three and four unfold however, things take off quiet nicely. Later chapters expand the story’s universe and introduce us to new characters such as Narue’s older younger sister (!?). As new players join in on the fun and we expand our knowledge of the characters' world the story gets better and better until finally we reach the very funny conclusion in the last story.

Outside of the plot and characters I also found myself enjoying the artwork that Tomohiro Marukawa put together for this manga. Although in some panels I thought he went overboard with the number of things that he had going in them, there was an overall beauty to his style that I really liked. His panels for the most part also made the story easy enough to follow from page to page.

The localization of the book seems right on target with a presentation that goes from right-to-left, translation of sound effects through subtitles was good, and the reproduction of the original art seems solid with no really noticeable issues. In addition to the manga itself CPM Press also included a brief Q&A page with the creator of The World of Narie at the end of the story that proves to be an interesting read and certainly a nice bonus for the reader.

Conclusion

The World of Narue is a great read for fans of sci-fi with a hint of comedy and real life situations. I enjoyed it quite a bit and look forward to seeing what happens in the second book.

Very recommended.

Jeffrey Couto