Publisher: Kodansha
Volumes: 14 (Complete), In Print
Shounen
Adventure, Animals, Fighting
Summary: Animal Land is a whole world ruled by animals and nature, and no humans. One day a Tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) finds an abandoned human baby floating down the river. At first it’s a story of a baby being raised by wild animals trying to keep it alive, but what’s this? The baby can understand and talk to all animals! Must animals fight and eat each other? Is it possible for a meat eater and a plant eater to get along? What happens next will change the whole animal kingdom!
Review: The first 6 volumes or so of this manga are an incredible ride. Honestly I was surprised because the art looks very childish and cartoon-y, I thought the story would be too. I was very pleasantly surprised. If you’ve ever wondered what animals might say if they could speak, or what it might be like if an elk could talk to a lion, this is the manga for you.
However, after volume 6, the story takes a weird turn into a Shounen fighting manga, involving the heirs of Quo, and later Quo himself, who is the one who brought the kid, and as it turns out, several other kids as well to this planet. And they all fight for the future of the planet. While it’s not terrible, I can’t say it’s exactly good either. Personally, I would just read the first 6 volumes and pretend that’s the ending (It's not that far off, actually). The last 6 volumes feel a bit uncomfortably to me like a bargain version of Dragon Ball Z, which would probably feel less cliched if I hadn’t read so much Shounen Jump manga already.
Recommended: First 6 volumes, for animal lovers. Last 6 volumes, for those who still haven’t read so much shounen that they might still find a poorer imitation of Dragon Ball Z to be interesting.
Other Works by this author: Zatch Bell! (Viz)
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