Fancy Gigolo Peru
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a three ''
tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
''
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by
Junko Mizuno is a Japanese manga artist. Her drawing style is often termed as ''Gothic kawaii'' or ''kawaii noir'' style. Art style Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with terror and erotica, has often been termed a ''Goth ...
and published by
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...
. The series has been licensed in North America and France where the first volume received mostly positive reviews.


Story

A candid and naive cotton-ball like alien Pelu leaves his home world, the all female planet Kotobuki, and travels to Earth to find love and to have a child. However, Earth women view him as an entertaining pet. He drifts in and out of their lives, solving their problems in an attempt to woo the women of Earth.


Development

Junko Mizuno is a Japanese manga artist. Her drawing style is often termed as ''Gothic kawaii'' or ''kawaii noir'' style. Art style Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with terror and erotica, has often been termed a ''Goth ...
initially had a general outline of the story but did not know how long it would take. She wrote down the
storyboard A storyboard is a graphic organizer that consists of simple illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. The storyboarding proce ...
s for the first three to four chapters and had precise views on sequences and characters. She usually produced 16 pages per month and thought that while all her previous main characters were females it would be interesting to have a non-female character. In a 2010 interview, she revealed that the character of "Pelu" is based on " Moja-ko", a character created by
Fujiko Fujio was a manga writing duo formed by Japanese manga artists and . They debuted in 1951 as a duo under their real names. The Fujiko Fujio name was used for their respective works from 1953 until 1987, when Fujimoto was too ill to work consist ...
, author of ''
Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...
''. Another influence for ''Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu'' was the film series '' Tora-san'', about a lovelorn wanderer. Some of the stories were inspired by melodramas for housewives.
Patrick Macias Patrick Macias (born 1972) is an American author and co-author of several titles on pop culture fandom, specifically relating to Japanese culture and culture in America. Macias is also a correspondent for NHK World Television show ''Tokyo Eye' ...
translated the manga into English.


Manga

The series serialized is written and illustrated by
Junko Mizuno is a Japanese manga artist. Her drawing style is often termed as ''Gothic kawaii'' or ''kawaii noir'' style. Art style Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with terror and erotica, has often been termed a ''Goth ...
. It was serialized in
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...
's monthly ''
seinen is an editorial category of Japanese comics marketed toward young adult men. In Japanese, the word means "youth", but the term " manga" is also used to describe the target audience of magazines like '' Weekly Manga Times'' and '' Weekly Man ...
'' magazine ''
Comic Beam is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Enterbrain on a monthly basis since November 1995. In 2006, it had a circulation of 25,000. ''Comic Beam'' is considered an "alternative" manga magazine in the Japanese publishing industry, whe ...
'' and the serial chapters collected into three ''
tankōbon A is a standard publishing format for books in Japan, alongside other formats such as ''shinsho'' (17x11 cm paperback books) and ''bunkobon''. Used as a loanword in English, the term specifically refers to a printed collection of a manga that w ...
'' with the first one released on March 24, 2003, and the third on January 31, 2005. Outside Japan, the manga has been licensed in North America by
Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...
, and in France by IMHO.


Reception

Jason Thompson feels that Pelu is the "most extreme form of Mizuno’s cute but dumpy men" and a secondary character in the manga while the stories are some of Mizuno's best. David Welsh in
The Comics Reporter Thomas Martin Spurgeon (December 16, 1968 – November 13, 2019) was an American writer, historian, critic, and editor in the field of comics, notable for his five-year run as editor of ''The Comics Journal'' and his blog ''The Comics Reporter'' ...
states that Pelu's quest is "just a framing device that allows Mizuno to examine the resourcefulness and resilience of women, even kind of awful women. It also allows her to play with different tropes of different styles of manga storytelling." and describes the work as creepy, cute, and, he suspects, completely sincere. He asserts that you get your money's worth with the illustrations of ''Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu'', along with a passion "beyond craft and imagination" within the pages. Scott Green for
Ain't It Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book proj ...
asserts that ''Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu'' "sets up an infinity effect of laughing at something terribly bleak, then feeling bad about finding mirth in sorrow, then laughing at the absurdity of it all, and so on" and concludes that while Junko Mizuno is a divisive creator, readers needing to "get" her work to appreciate it, the manga features enough dire absurdity that it will force readers to laugh. Joseph Luster feels that the combination of Mizuno's "sexy/nasty/classy artwork" and "otherworldly storytelling" is a potent combination. Luster recommended ''Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu'' as being a good place to start with Mizuno's works, as it is accessible but with "something more" giving a frame to the work. Erin Finnegan describes the story as "trippy, disturbing, and funny", and felt it could continue forever. Finnegan was disappointed that the science fiction themes of the story were muted after Pelu came to Earth, until the space hippo made another appearance. Katherine Dacey describes the story as being surprisingly poignant, noting that although Mizuno's works aim for shock value by having "cute characters engaged in degenerate behavior", that the shock value here supports dramatic and thematic functions, as a reflection of how childlessness is portrayed in popular culture, "as if being childless were worse than being afflicted with a terminal disease". The French cultural magazine ''
Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...
'' describes the art as both psychedelic and naive, the roundness recalling 70's girls comics and finding the universe to be completely "
kawaii ''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime ...
". However the sugar-coated style and gentle text hide a rude and ruthless world. The reviewer asserts that behind its pop aspect ''Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu'' is an acerbic social criticism with Junko Mizuno presenting a dark vision of the current world and the layers of cuteness make human vileness even more apparent. Benjamin Roure in Bodoï describes the first volume as "original and uplifting" with childish and rounded drawings hiding the violent background and an impish tone that will reserve the work to adults. A. Perroud for BD Gest' criticizes the work for being "
Pikachu Pikachu (; Japanese: , Hepburn: ) is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' media franchise, and the franchise's mascot. First introduced in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'', it was created by Atsuko N ...
meeting the Shadoks told à la Arthur de Pins" with plenty of cuteness that would please ''
Hello Kitty , also known by her real name , is a fictional character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as a British anthropomorphized white cat with a red ...
'' devotees, and absurd scenes and unfathomable dialogs which succeed without logic.


References

{{Comic Beam Last Gasp titles 2003 manga Enterbrain manga Manga series Science fiction anime and manga Seinen manga