Animal Land

Plot

A tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) called Monoko (モノコ) has her parents killed by lynxes; she feels lonely as she is the only tanuki without a family. A day while she is fishing, Monoko finds an abandoned human baby, whose name is Taroza (タロウザ, Tarouza), and decides to raise him as her child. In a world inhabited only by animals, the human baby is a mystery; he even can speaks with all animal species even the different species cannot communicated between them. This ability makes him able to save Kurokagi (クロカギ), a lynx who questions the world's concept of "law of the jungle". He injures himself while trying to protect the tanuki and vows to protect Taroza thenceforth. Seven years later, Taroza has reunited many other animal species and constructed a village, where he lives with them.

As the story progress Taroza meets with other humans: Capri (カプリ, Kapuri), a girl raised by lions; Jyu (ジュウ, Jū), a sadistic boy who lives along with a wolf; Giller (ギラー, Girā), a man who wants to destroy all animals using genetically-altered beings called "Chimera"; and Riemu (リエム), a girl raised by gorillas. In his quest to make all animals live in peace, Taroza discover the existence of the "Eternity Fruit" that can be eaten by carnivore and herbivore. This fruit was created by Quo (クオウ, Kuou), the last human who lived some years before the start of the series. He had the same desire Taroza has and found the Eternity Fruit and the ability to speech are the solution. For this purpose, he created a machine to make all animals understand others cries, and brought Taroza, Capri, Jyu, Giller, and Riemu from their times to the present.

Production and themes

Makoto Raiku declared he wanted to write a history that was never seen in a shōnen manga magazine before. The first character Raiku created was Monoko, having initially envisioned her raising a baby in the human world, which he changed after talking with his editor. The fact the human baby can understand the cries of all animal species was described as "kind of like a powered-up version of the human ability of 'speech'." Raiku went to Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya to do research, and although needed to look at photographs of animals as he found them difficult to draw, the animals allowed him to make comical chapters even if he was dealing with "difficult themes."

Reviewers have discussed on its theme and content compared to its target audience. Silverman said Raiku uses the animals as metaphor to humans while "handling of the darker side of societies." Silverman deemed it as "darker than it at first appears", compared it to The Fox and the Hound and pondered, "It is, at its heart, a tale of love and friendship and how together we are stronger than apart. But it is also a story of child-abandonment, the cruelties of nature, and the violence of the natural world." Katherine Dacey of School Library Journal cited its humor and art as "better suited" to tweens, while cited its "darker material", and compared Monoko's parents death to that of mother of Babar, a character by Jean de Brunhoff. Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News asserted that "There are plenty of bits here that are more Warner Herzog than Walt Disney" and that "It seems like it's for young kids, but it doesn't seem appropriate for them."

Release

Animal Land, written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku, was first published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009 as an one-shot titled "Episode 0". It served as a prologue to the regular serialization that was done in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from October 9, 2009 to February 9, 2014. Kodansha compiled its chapters into fourteen tankōbon (collected volumes) and released them from March 17, 2010 to March 7, 2014. Additionally, 28 authors wrote a yonkoma version of Animal Land for Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine's six-month anniversary, and two one-shots were also published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine on March 17, and August 18, 2010.

In December 2010, Kodansha Comics USA announced it had licensed the series for an English-language translation for the Northern America. Its first volume was released on August 16, 2011, while the latest volume, the tenth, was published on October 21, 2014. The manga has also been licensed in some countries such as in France by Ki-oon and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.

Reception

The Young Adult Library Services Association, a division of American Library Association, included Animal Land on the 2012 list of "Great Graphic Novels for Teens". In 2013, Animal Land won the 37th Kodansha Manga Award in the category of Best Children's Manga. In addition, volume 8 entered the top 30 in weekly list of Oricon's best-selling manga, while volumes 10, 11, 13 and 14 were among the 50 best-selling manga of a week. The third English volume was also featured in the The New York Times ranking of best-selling manga.

Its premise was very praised; Silverman called it "a fascinating story that should appeal to those looking for something a little different in their manga diet," while David Welsh of Manga Bookshelf complimented its "clever plot." Its "absurdist comedy" was highlighted by Chris Kirby of The Fandom Post; on the contrary, Ash Brown of Experiments in Manga felt its "focus on scatological humor" out-of-place Kirby praised the art: "The style fluctuates perfectly between super cartoony and silly to more real characters with beautiful scenery." Brown said, "The artwork in Animal Land is a little strange—a combination of realism and anthropomorphism—but generally engaging." Silverman qualified it as "a mixed bag"; she commended the "lush" background artwork, while affirmed the tanuki look like humans dressed as animals, which is "difficult to accept."

Silverman criticized some "discrepancies", including the human features in the tanuki, Monoko's uncertain size and age, as well as the fact that Kurokagi wears clothes. Welsh commented on the anthropomorphic features in the animals, deeming it "creepy", also criticizing its "shrillness" because of the "hyperactive characters". In opposition, Kirby, comparing the tanuki's faces to the Excel Saga's Puchuu aliens, stated it has "plenty comedic value on their own." Kirby deemed the characters "interesting", and the world "fantastically different." Brown also praised the characters, especially Taroza, whose growth he appreciated to accompany. Green commented that "It doesn't get there in the first volume, but Animal Land is going somewhere. It turns into a really weird epic that isn't going to prompt shounen readers to question whether they're reading something for a particularly young crowd."