Sugar Sugar Rune

(Del Rey, 2005-2006)
™ and © 2005 Moyocco Anno

Usually, when magical girls like Chocolat and Vanilla are sent to Earth they don’t mean any harm and, after learning our ways, frequently end up saving the world from evil. But here it’s kind of hard cheering for either one of our would-be “heroines,” since their mission mandates the stealing of human hearts—happily, the romantic intangible, not the actual article.

Mortals can generate more, but a witch receives only one, so, if they fall in love, it’s all over for them. Naturally, Chocolat would find herself attracted to mysterious pretty boy Pierre, who has secrets of his own. And much to her consternation, shy Vanilla is a bigger hit with Japanese boys who like demure girls than Chocolat, whose “forthright personality” (the text is overly kind—it’s more accurate to say she’s cruel, mean, and graceless) makes her particularly unpopular.

It’s beautifully drawn and genuinely sweet, but I have to admit I felt more than a little uncomfortable when 10-year-old Vanilla announced she was going on a date.

— S. A. Bennett

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