Kamichama Karin

    (Tokyopop, 2005)
™ and © 2003 Koge-Donbo
Read right to left; black and white graphic novel series.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, but what happens when the cover is all there is to a book?

Koge-Donbo, best know for other inanely cute projects such as Digi-Charat, has created in Kamichama Karin a series that is everything its cover promises to be: and no more. Adorable girly clothes, starry wide-eyed characters, and lots of metaphorical pink are the rule, so forget plotting, character development, or background illustrations. The incomprehensible premise is a flimsy cover for the magical-girl transformation story. Vaguely, it’s about an orphaned girl name Karin who must fight against (probably) the forces of evil with the aid of a magical ring her mother left her (which, of course, she didn’t know was magical) that lends her the divine power to transform. This inanity of the premise is only ousted in its ridiculousness by the children’s battle cry: “I AM… God!”

If you’re looking for quality, give this series a wide berth. It’s a sloppy romance-adventure aimed at the age group just below Card Captor Sakura, but not nearly as likeably done.

— Shiaw-Ling Lai
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