In the early 2000s there was a golden period in which Raidue broadcast a series of anime never seen before in Italy, starting with Digimon and Ufo Baby, ending with Monster Rancher and Pretty Cure. Among these, a humorous series stood out that those like me who were obsessed with Japanese RPGs released in those years on the first PlayStation could only appreciate. Obviously we are talking about GuruGuru: The Circle of Magic, taken from the manga of the same name by Hiroyuki Eto.
Having debuted in 1992 in Japan, the GuruGuru manga arrived for the first time in Italy in 2002 with Dynamic Italia, without however seeing its conclusion. Thanks to J-POP Manga we can consider ourselves lucky to see GuruGuru back on the shelves of our local comic shops and bookstores in a new edition with more faithful translations, a better format and new covers. The series is still ongoing monthly, but if you are in a hurry you can already take home the two boxes which contain all the volumes in full. For this review we will only examine the first volume of this new J-POP edition. Are you ready?
Original title: 魔法陣グルグル (Mahōjin Guru Guru) Italian title: GuruGuru – The circle of magic Italian release: 25 September 2024 Japanese release: 1992-2003
Number of volumes: 8 (complete) Publisher: J-POP Manga Genre: Adventure, Crazy, Fantasy
Art: Hiroyuki Eto Story: Hiroyuki Eto Format: 12.4×18 paperback with dust jacket, B/W + color Number of pages: approximately 372 pages per volume
We reviewed GuruGuru – The merry-go-round of magic via the print volume provided to us free of charge by J-POP Manga.
From the village of Jimina, west of the capital of the kingdom, begins the adventure of two (more or less) intrepid and virtue-rich young men. The valiant warrior Nike, pushed by his parents to undertake the heroic journey to defeat the lord of evil, and the young Kukuri, apprentice of a witch apparently incapable of performing spells without generating disasters. The two will be selected by the king of Codai among many other aspiring heroes and, as in any self-respecting Japanese role-playing game, they will set off freeing the nearest village from the dark threat that oppresses it. One monster after another, defeated most of the time with a stroke of luck, Nike and Kukuri will become increasingly bonded to each other and will not hesitate to throw themselves headlong into mortal dangers in order to save their companion.
In a world of mystery and magic
GuruGuru is a humorous adventure that is based on the classic aspects of Japanese role-playing games: life points, skills, equipment, magic, key objects and so on. During their journey the two protagonists will receive the help of guests who will join the party temporarily (without bringing any benefit), they will encounter menacing enemies characterized in a decidedly hilarious way and they will come across strange characters such as goblins of denial and the iconic old man of the KitaKita dance, which has become the very emblem of this series. There is not a single moment in which the author stops for a moment to start a gag and on very few occasions we will see Nike act in a heroic way or Kukuri be aware of what she is doing by tracing circles with her stick: everything that happens in GuruGuru to advance the plot happens almost by chance, by mistake, by a fortuitous stroke of… luck. And that’s what makes it hilarious and engaging.
The Circle of Magic by Hiroyuki Eto is a manga that started in the middle of the 90s, consequently the drawing style and the structure of the tables, at least for the first volume in question, appears a little dated compared to modern standards. The only full-page illustrations are the splashes that intersperse the various chapters, but even those are largely created with the same caricatural style that distinguishes Eto’s work. Despite this, it is a perfectly functional style for narration, which certainly does not aim to keep the reader glued with an exciting story, at most with a simple plot which aims to entertain with its over-the-top humour, without sparing absurdities twists and turns.
But scores are important, you know?
The new Italian edition, edited by J-POP Manga, is available individually in 8 volumes, still being published, or in two box sets of 4 volumes each, already available, which contain the complete series. The 2024 edition, of approximately 372 pages per volume, is embellished with a matte dust jacket with glossy varnish for the characters on the cover and the series logo, with new illustrations created by the author specifically for the reprint.
The roundabout of magic can also count on a new and more faithful Italian translation which corrects the previous adaptation in the best possible way, as well as a lettering created to the best of possibilities with the original onomatopoeias remaining intact and accompanied by the usual captions that explain them reading. Holding the volumes in your hands you get the impression of having a product of undoubted value, however the price of each volume is decidedly high if we consider the series as a whole – 13.90 euros for each of them.
After being sealed for 300 years, the demon lord Giri awakens and sends his monstrous minions to wreak havoc on the world. To find a legendary hero who can defeat Giri, King Uruga XIII decides to organize a tournament in his castle. The winners, however, will be anything but the stereotype of the hero: Nike, a boy raised by his father to become a valiant warrior, and Kukuri, a girl from the MiguMigu tribe raised by an old witch. When the two meet, they activate a mysterious magical power: thus begins an epic and hilarious adventure for them!
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Who do we recommend GuruGuru: The Circle of Magic to?
GuruGuru is a light-hearted and often zany manga that I would recommend first of all to lovers of classic Japanese RPGs, DRAGON QUEST above all. It must be said, however, that the now somewhat dated drawing style and the structure of the tables can make reading difficult and not everyone may find it easy to read as it is simple to follow the events on the television screen. Furthermore, the expense for the entire series is not exactly cheap: if you love the Nike and Kukuri universe you cannot miss this edition, but if you have any doubts you should think carefully before deciding to start this series.
Unique comedy that recalls Japanese RPGs. The Italian edition is excellent…
…which however lacks color splash pages. The composition of the tables tends to make reading difficult
GuruGuru – The merry-go-round of magic
The real magic is finally seeing it complete
A huge thank you goes to J-POP for finally bringing GuruGuru: The Roundabout of Magic back to Italy in its complete form and in an edition that really leaves no room for defects, other than a small discordant note relating to the slightly excessive price high for each of the volumes and, consequently, for the box sets. Although it is a series that accompanied the childhood and adolescence of many Italian manga fans, in my opinion it is not a work for which collectors would spend too much money to add to their library. If you are looking for a light-hearted, fantasy and delightfully zany manga, GuruGuru is for you, but you will have to come to terms with a creation that could be, nowadays, rather dated.
