Archive for the ‘Fiction: Manga’ Category

Toklo’s Story by Erin Hunter

ISBN: 0061723800
112 pages
published in 2010.

Toklo’s Story is the first manga adaptation of Seekers, the newest series by bestselling author, Erin Hunter (who is actually a conglomeration of authors…) In this book, we get a little more of the backstory of one of the main characters of the series, Toklo. We follow him as a younger cub with his mother and brother and the difficulties that arise when a big bear threatens them away from his territory and he finds that life is much more complicated than he had thought. We see some of the beginnings of his brothers’ illness/weakness as well as some more insinuations about what makes Toklo’s mother quite so unstable as a parent.

The illustrations were sort of horrid and often didn’t make sense, as at times it seemed as though the seasons were changing from frame to frame (trees full of leaves followed by a ground covered in snow in the next panel?) However, the story was interesting and although not much happened, it was still engaging. I liked all of the clever ways the writer incorporated typical bear behavior into a story that would still be appropriate for 9-12 year-olds. I’ve been constantly impressed by the way that Hunter does not censor herself when discussing hard facts of life for any wild animal (whether circumstances like the cubs’ father in this book, or in her Warriors series, sequences of fighting and death or more ginger subjects like birth, etc.) While it is a bit over the top at times, it does not come across as overtly graphic and instead just seems to be a frank discussion about these characters’ ways of life.

I would buy another manga book for her Seekers series if it came out in an instant just to hear some more back story, perhaps, as hearing about the bears’ lives before their journey is interesting to me. I’ve been enjoying the main series a lot so this was a nice addition, but I do wish they would have chosen the illustrator more carefully. It took a lot away from the story as the illustrations in most of Hunter’s manga editions have been very weak. As the book is at least half illustrations, it really makes a big impact on the reader to have lazy illustrations.