James Nicoll Reviews

2019’s Kaiju Girl Caramelise, Vol. 2 is the second of six volumes in Spica Aoki’s Kaiju Girl Caramelise (Otome Kaijū Kyaramerize) manga series. Kaiju Girl Caramelise has been serialized in Monthly Comic Alive since early 2018.

Social outcast Kuroe Akaishi has, to her own astonishment (and that of the other students at her high school), caught the eye of high-school model Arata Minami. In many stories, the handsome student’s apparent romantic interest in Kuroe would be a cruel joke. But in fact Arata is quite sincere. 

As flattering as this is, Kuroe dreads what will happen when Arata learns the truth about Kuroe’s unfortunate medical condition. Whenever Kuroe is stressed, she becomes an office-building-sized kaiju. 

A first date with dreamboat Arata is just the sort of experience that could well stress Kuroe.

For their first date, Arata takes Kuroe to Destinyland, which is very definitely not a thinly disguised Disney Land. Destinyland offers all manner of entertainments, many of which offer the enticing potential of close proximity between Arata and Kuroe. Arata is quite keen on the idea of getting closer to Kuroe. Kuroe would be keen as well, were it not for her fear that Arata will no longer love her once she is a Godzilla-sized rampaging monster. Boys are notoriously fickle. 

Therefore, every time Arata proposes a course of action that might force them closer together, Kuroe cautiously nixes the suggestion. Her reasons are not always plausible, leaving the befuddled Arata to worry that he is forcing unwanted attention on his crush. 

Kuroe’s efforts are doomed. Her measures to avoid stress are themselves stressful. Partial transformation cannot be avoided. Arata will notice. What then? Shameful retreat home? Or will heart-broken Kuroe embrace her inner kaiju and trample Destinyland into ruins?

~oOo~

Aoki’s art supports her narrative effectively, shifting to reflect Kuroe’s mood at any moment. 

This manga requires the reader to accept one astonishing premise: that two teenagers, one of whom has no experience whatsoever with romantic relationships and has crippling self-doubt, the other of whom has been isolated by being distractingly good looking, would somehow be unable to communicate clearly and frankly with each other. As long as the reader is willing to believe in these painfully inarticulate teenagers, the rest of the story flows logically.

Appearance, reactions to appearance, and what people will do to control or avoid reactions to their appearance are running themes in the manga. Kuroe may be the most unusual example, but she is surrounded by people in situations analogous to hers. Everyone might profit if they compared notes. None of them are inclined to do so, at least not two volumes in. 

Fortunately for the population of Tokyo, this is a romantic slapstick comedy. Thus, Kuroe’s occasional kaiju rampages do property damage without, as far as I can tell, killing or even seriously hurting anyone (although Arata is injured by the JDSF​’s attempts to attack Kuroe in indestructible kaiju form). This is a light-hearted manga in which nothing tragic seems likely to occur. People seeking easy reading about such subjects as romance, wacky misunderstandings, and trampling large cities whilst in the form of enormous atomic dinosaurs may enjoy this. 

Kaiju Girl Caramelise, Vol. 2 is available here (Amazon US), here (Amazon Canada), here (Amazon UK), here (Barnes & Noble), here (Book Depository), and here (Chapters-Indigo).