I’m a easy manga reader, give me himbos, and there’s a huge probability I’ll be happy. With Penguin Gents, written and illustrated by Kishi Ueno, that’s simply what readers get – solely they’re anthropomorphic penguins. Printed and localized in English by Yen Press, translated by Julie Goniwich, and options lettering by Bianca Pistillo.
As a brief one-shot, Penguin Gents excels. There isn’t a lot a narrative as a lot as there are relationship dynamics, character constructing, and penguin enjoyable details – like how penguins carry eggs on their toes. For those who’re unfamiliar with this manga, Penguin Gents is all in regards to the dapper workers of The Watering Gap. They’re at all times desirous to serve their clientele with grace and allure, and your complete workers are enticing buff males who make the most effective servers. However little do the patrons know that these good-looking gents are literally penguins in disguise. Going by names derived from their species, the boys are King, Emperor, Adelie, Gentoo, Chinstrap, and African. Add penguin to the tip of every of these, and you’ve got the penguins they’re modeled after in persona and barely in look.
In the way in which of the story, these penguins have fallen in love with all that the human world presents. And that’s about it! The throughline is that they’re penguins in by small vignettes we get to know every of them and their species on the similar time. Ueno’s art work does two issues to maintain the reader engaged. The primary is that Ueno’s skill to attract enticing males can’t be understated. Nonetheless, it’s in the end how they drop them into probably the most lovely conditions that in the end make the one-shot work on a comedic stage.
Ueno additionally retains the viewers’s consideration by expertly timing after we see the boys as people and after we see them as penguins. The combination of enticing males and lovely penguins is each hilarious and endearing. On high of that, Ueno weaves in penguin enjoyable details that element anatomy, local weather, and social dynamics. Plus, none of those penguin details appear distracting. As a substitute, they lend to the general allure of the e-book. It is because whereas they really feel, partially, like a science lesson, the illustrations of the anthropomorphized penguins enacting the animal traits work. It’s an absurdity that has a grounding in an animal attribute.
My favourite is the small vignette the place King and Emporer are buying. With their fingers full, Emporer tries to get King to cease buying, however the latter insists that they’ll nonetheless carry extra – on their toes. You realize, how they might carry their eggs. However, one factor, people can’t try this. It was actually that second after I was totally purchased into the one-shot.
General, the swap from full colour to black and grey is fairly jarring, particularly on condition that the one-shot is barely accessible in hardcover. Due to that, plainly going with the heavier-weight pages and full-color illustrations would have been a straightforward technique to go. As a substitute, we get a break up. Now that isn’t to say that Ueno’s work doesn’t work in black and grey. It does. However one thing is endearing in regards to the full-color designs that stick to you.
That mentioned, in case you’re in search of a cute one-shot with himbos, Penguin Gents is the manga for you. It’s cute, humorous, endearing, and undoubtedly fanservicey in the most effective methods.
Penguin Gents is out there now wherever books are sold.
Penguin Gents
TL;DR
That mentioned, in case you’re in search of a cute one-shot with himbos, Penguin Gents is the manga for you. It’s cute, humorous, endearing, and undoubtedly fanservicey in the most effective methods.
Kate is co-founder, EIC, and CCO of BWT. She’s additionally a Licensed Rotten Tomatoes Critic, host, and creator of our flagship podcast, But Why Tho? and Did You Have To?. She additionally manages all PR relationships for comics, manga, movie, TV, and anime. She has an MA in Cultural Anthropology and Non secular Research specializing in how popular culture impacts society.
