Manga Review: Fairy Idol Kanon Volume One

[Jason]

Title: Fairy Idol Kanon
Volume: One
Mangaka: Mera Hakamada
Originally Serialized In: Comic Bunbun (Poplar Sha)
Genre: Kodoma, Fantasy
Licensed by: UDON Kids
Rating: All Ages
Price: $7.99/US

Kanon loves to sing, but she doesn’t realize how important her voice can be. While singing with her two best friends, Mariko and Kodama, the three fourth graders discover a fairy princess- Alto. She has come to the human world from the fairy kingdom to try to find the energy that the fairies need to survive. When she hears the harmony of Kanon and her friends, she knows she’s found the source of the energy she needs.

Fairy Idol Kanon is another series in UDON Entertainment’s new line of kids’ manga. This sugary sweet title should appeal to little girls who love to perform and who dream of stardom. The characters are only beginning to be developed in this first volume, so we mostly just get a sense of who they are. Kanon is the forthright lead who has an amazing talent, but who really just wants to be a good person and make people happy. Mariko is more devious and determined, but at heart she wants to do the right thing. Kodama isn’t as important to the story in the beginning, but we do find out that she’s the smart one. Little is known about Alto, though the story hinting that something is going very wrong in the fairy kingdom is intriguing.

To a more jaded adult reader, the plot is rather fantastic, but younger readers, especially those girls in the book’s target age range of ages 7-10, should be enthralled by the idea that three girls can start their own singing group and aim for idol fame. The magical moments are mainly thrown in to help move along the girls’ singing career, though it seems likely that Alto and her magic will become much more important as the series goes on. In this first volume, the girls deal with their first audition, handle the disappointment of rejection, and face the jealousy and bullying of a child star. The lessons they learn aren’t terribly subtle, but they also are so obvious as to be annoying or preachy.

Hakamada’s sweet manga is a nice choice if you’re looking for a manga to share with the young girls in your life, whether friends or family. I applaud UDON for branching out into kids’ comics and for doing such a nice job of it. Fairy Idol Kanon is nicely translated, clearly printed, and even includes color pages. All in all, this is a nice starter manga for young girls, who will likely ask you for volume two as soon as they are done with volume one.

Reviewer: Snow Wildsmith
Proofed and Edited By Lissa Pattillo