Sgt. Frog, Vol. 17

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 5 APR 2004

Things just keep getting worse for Sgt. Frog. First he's separated from his military unit (the Space Invasion Force Special Advance Team of the 58th planet of the Gamma Stormcloud system), and now he's been discovered by two earth teenagers, Natsumi and Fuyuki Hinata. They think Sgt. Frog is just a small green alien; little do they know the subtle military mind they're dealing with. Luckily, Mom Hinata, director of a manga label and a total babe, takes a shine to the sergeant, and gives him room and board in exchange for performing household chores. In his chamber (a bachelor pad complete with personal computer), Sgt. Frog spies on his captors, discovers the effects of humidity on his psyche and makes contact with one of his lost squad. Meanwhile, it seems nearly every character is in love with Mom Hinata, and Fuyuki's would-be girlfriend, Nishizawa, can barely contain her jealous rage when she realizes Fuyuki's mother looks better in a bathing suit than she does. (Yes, although most of the story's action takes place in the city, readers are treated to some beach scenes when the fabulously wealthy Nishizawa tries to get Fuyuki alone on a desert island, but can't separate him from his good-looking family.) Things close on a cliffhanger: Lady Moa, a human alien of the Angol tribe, shows up carrying her magic trident. Will Earth survive? This work is a fairly pleasant but unexceptional humorous take on the alien invasion story.