Sgt Frog

Publisher
Tokyopop
Writer
Mine Yoshizaki
Artist
Mine Yoshizaki
Country of origin
Japan
Length
5+ volumes
Year
1999

Sgt Frog vol 1

By otaku_kei
24th Nov 04

They come from... Outer Space!!! Alien invasion force of technologically superior evil... frogs? Wait a minute that doesn't sound quite right does it now? Welcome to the world of Sgt Frog the adorably cute yet scheming, malevolent threat from the 58th planet of the Gamma Cloud System! This follows the abortive attempt by this advance invasion team of frogs to take over the planet Pokopen (that's Earth to you and me!) But when the diminutive alien's cover is blown they are abandoned to their fate on our world, and the invasion fleet turns tail and flees back to its home system!

Abandoned by his people the Sergeant secretes himself in the Hinata household to escape detection but that doesn't last for long. Quickly exposed by both children of the house they capture the Sergaent and decide to put him to work as a 'political prisoner' within the house. But the cunning fiend will not be stopped and even though he may be confined at the moment still he makes plans for the eventual fall of Pokopen!

Well what to make of this crazy title then? I admit that I was a complete sucker for the cover and just drawn in straight away. Aliens, military, frogs, cute... yep all present and accounted for! A light-hearted comedy throughout, healthy doses of slapstick, parodies and injokes at the expense of other manga/anime (a particular fav being the eva early on in the first chapter). Add in lashings of fanservice from Mrs Hinata, in herself a parody of the models used for fanservice! Then of course the major plot following the Sergeant's plans for conquering planet Earth and I think you've got the basic idea of what this is all about.

This is not a groundbreaking series, and as it stands at the end of the first volume it has not hooked me in as much as other titles have done. Aimed as it is for a mid-teen audience there is still a lot here for the older reader to enjoy. The characters are all charicatures, and really only the Sergeant is particularly fleshed out. But the humour comes at a rapid pace and does succeed in just sweeping the reader along.

All in all there is a lot going for this series. Fans of slapstick/fanservice/alien invasions will feel right at home, but for those looking for something just a little deeper then this probably is not the title to invest in. Sgt Frog is fun to read and if I do pick up the other volumes then I hope that the invasion plot develops further.

7/10

-- otaku_kei 24th Nov 04