The Spring 2022 Manga Guide

Donald Duck Visits Japan!

What's It About? 

Donald Duck works for the American furniture business "Duck Furnishings". It's been two months since he and his employees, José Carioca and Panchito Pistoles, were reassigned to the Asian Culture and Distribution Department, and the phone hasn't rung even once. Just as they're starting to wonder why they were transferred in the first place, the CEO suddenly orders them to travel to Japan! The three caballeros must learn all they can about Japanese customs, entertainment, culture, food, and clothing before they return to New York city. Assuming they don't get into too much trouble first!

Donald Duck Visits Japan! has story and art by by Meru Okano and English translation by Jason Muell. Tokyopop will release its first volume on May 31.

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Is It Worth Reading?

Rebecca Silverman

Rating:

I loved the old Disney film The Three Caballeros as a little kid, probably because I just liked watching Carmen Miranda's sister, and my sisters and I wore out our taped-from-TV VHS. I was therefore delighted to find that the Caballeros are the stars of this book, because I have such fond (albeit fuzzy) memories of them. I'm not sure if it speaks to the way memories don't always hold up or the quality of this Disney-collaboration manga in general (or just a lack of Aurora Miranda) that this turned out to be more of a miss than a hit, although it's hard to fault the idea behind it.

The basic premise is that the Caballeros – who consist of Donald Duck, Panchito Romero Miguel Junipero Francisco Quintero González III, and José Carioca – are screw ups at Duck Furniture in New York, so their boss decides to punish them by sending them to work at a traditional ryokan in Gunma Prefecture. Ostensibly they're there to learn about Japanese hospitality (omotenashi), but really he just wants them out of his feathers. But of course they do learn about omotenashi and other aspects of Japanese culture in a series of harmless adventures. The best chapter is when poor José gets homesick and has a heart-to-heart with the inn's gardener, learning about the beauty of imperfection and transience. It's a more clearly-told story than the main plotline and at the same time feels less like it talks down to the readers, showing what the book is capable of when it isn't mired in slapstick comedy or trying too hard.

Since Donald Duck isn't the most nuanced of Disney's characters, it should perhaps be expected that things won't be particularly deep. Nor should they be; honestly, watching Donald's feathers fluff after a dip in the hot springs or his attempts at picking mushrooms is decently entertaining all on its own. It's really the lesson portion of the book that falls a bit flat, and the fact that only José is at all recognizable in the art certainly doesn't help. (Donald's ever-expanding bottom is…something.) This feels like a book for the Disney completist; not terrible, but definitely a few steps shy of actually good.

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MrAJCosplay

Rating:

Who doesn't love the three Caballeros? I grew up on a few of the animated shorts highlighting this lovable trio, so to find out there was a manga with them as the focus immediately got me interested, and suffice to say I was not disappointed. The Three Caballeros were always very much associated with the idea of visiting other cultures and gaining insight into what makes them unique, so telling a story of the characters' adventures in Japan in manga format is a relatively brilliant idea. There are some elements of culture shock here as our three lovable goofs try very hard to navigate this new lifestyle, with plenty of cute slapstick that I think even younger readers would be thoroughly entertained by. This is also one of the first times I've seen Donald treated with respect by others; his friends often referred to him as boss even though he is often the first one to break down in front of all the stress. There are a lot of depressing and rather violent entries in this season's manga guide, so reading something like this was an absolute breath of fresh air. If you're a fan of Disney at all, or like me you grew up with these three lovable bird brains, then I definitely think it's worth a read.