 |
Title: Peach Fuzz
|
| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, this is a strange one. While there is tecnically nothing WRONG with "Peach Fuzz" in terms of content, none of the characters in this series are shinning role models for kids. If I am right to assume this series is ment to be read mostly by kids, then you might want to keep in mind that the main characters set pretty bad examples on how kids should act. Unless you are a bit lover of ferrets the story might bore you a bit, as not too much gets accomplished in this series. |
"Peach Fuzz" is a frustrating series to read sometimes. This series has a lot going for it: It's got great art, it got potentially interesting characters, and you so desperately want to try and love the series to death. But you can't love the series to death. In fact, you can't even really muster up the courage to even like the series. "Peach Fuzz" is a great idea hobbled horrendously by poor characterizations and a story that never quite gets the point where it's any good. The story of "Peach Fuzz" is simple. So simple in fact that only in the hands of true amateurs could you screw it up in the first place. The story revolves around a nine-year-old girl named Amanda, who is very excited today. Why is she excited today? Because today is the day she's going to finally be getting herself a pet, her own personal best friend. Amanda's mom doesn't think Amanda is ready for the responsibility of owning a pet...and she's right, but she buys Amanda a pet anyway. I think mom missed out on parenting 401 that when it comes to kids wanting something, don't get it unless you are absolutely certain they can handle the responsibility.
When they get to the pet store Amanda's mom desperately tries to get Amanda interested in the goldfish the store owner has. Amanda, however, falls in love with a ferret, who Amanda names Peach (because her fur feels like peach fuzz...oh well, this IS a kids comic). Since the daughter is always right about pets, Mom buys Peach for Amanda. This is the part where Peach is supposed to think about the new situation she's found herself in, but to be honest I'm not really sure of Peach is the sanest ferret you're likely to meet. Peach seems to live in her own little fantasy world where she is a princess, Amanda's fingers are snake things, and all the dolls around her are either servants or monsters. She never once in this book seems to realize that she is no longer living in a cage at the pet store. I'm not sure why this is, but her fantasies cause her to cause several problems (although stupid people help make these situations even more pathetic). After buying Peach from the pet store Amanda takes Peach out of the box (after rudely shaking it once finding out Peach was awake) and, not surprisingly, Peach starts running around the car almost causing them to get into a wreck. When they get home Amanda asks her mom if she can let Peach out and see her new home. Her mothers response: Sure, go ahead. So Amanda lets Peach out of the box, and Peach starts running around the house almost breaking something. No one seems to realize that maybe letting the ferret out of the box isn't such a good idea.
What follows is some of the worst characterizations you could read in a comic. There's not a single character you can root for in this series. Amanda is a child, one that is unacceptable of having the responsibility to take care of a pet. She constantly mishandles Peach, she makes her fight her action figured, she lets her friends hold her in ways you shouldn't hold a pet, and she even almost kills when she (get ready) TOSSES HER IN THE AIR!! Of course, considering all this is happening we're not too surprised that Peach is such a messed up and agitated animal. What is troubling though is that we're not on Peaches side either. Peach may be the victim in this series, but we don't root for her to come out on top because...well, because that would mean we want her to continue to misbehave, and that's NOT what we should be rooting for! Maybe it would help if Peach was grounded in some sort of reality, but she's not, so of course there is no way Peach can get used to her new master since as far as she's concerned all she sees is snake hands. What is also baffling is that in her own fantasy Peach comes off as a complete jerk. At one point in the book Amanda gives Peach a doll to play with (one she doesn't like), and Peach takes the doll in, calls her servant, and claims that she can't acknowledge any sort of friendship because she's royalty, and that sort of thing is below her.
And where is the mother in all of this? You can find her sitting around the house somewhere, doing pretty much nothing but complaining about how much pets cost, and telling Amanda that she has to "take care of her own expensive pet." What a role model, huh? So who exactly are we supposed to like in this series? I have to be honest with everyone here: I don't know. Honestly, I don't. Every character has one or more unlikable trait, no one seems to like each other, and not a single person is living on the same planet (or in the same universe) as the character they are standing next to. When Amanda needs advice on taking care of her pet her mom tells her to take care of her pet herself. When Amanda is mistreating Peach, Peach doesn't seem to even realize what situation she's in. Somewhere along the line comes a vet, who comes off as a clueless idiot who does absolutely nothing in the story. Strangely enough, I see a bigger story twist in the form of this useless vet then I see in any of the main characters. As far as the direction of the story is heading, something horrible will have to happen to Peach that will make Amanda realize she has to be more responsible in taking care of her pet. There have been a scare that Peach was seriously hurt in this book, but Peach will most likely have to be seriously hurt before Amanda realizes how big of a responsibility she has in taking care of Peach.
Since Amanda's mother is a dumb broad she'll bring Peach to see this jackass, and he'll make the situation even more perilous since he is obviously not qualified to practice medicine on animals. See, it's sad when I start to envision story arcs that sound better then anything that's in the actual book from the author. "Peach Fuzz" is a series from Tokyopop because the creators won first place in one of Tokyopop's "Rising Stars of Manga" contests (the second one I believe). You know, those books where Tokyopop looks for people who could be the next "Megatokyo" for American comics, the books that I don't review because I wrote a review for the first book and felt bad about panning stories that weren't written for a profit (kind of). What I will say though is that I own the book of which this series premiered in, and I remember not being impressed with the story too much then either. Everything seems like it should fit in place to make a good series, but nothing does. Instead of making cheap (and, in some cases, cruel) jokes about how much these characters torment each other, why not make a series where they learn to become friends. The end of this book suggests that the authors may go in this direction, but Peach vowing that she will "NEVER be able to trust [Amanda]" doesn't bode well for near future installments of the series!
The artwork for this series is excellent. I really hate it when I have to completely rely on the artwork to say anything good about a series, but this is one such case. The character designs are original, the sets are detailed, and the fantasy sequences (pointless as they are) are fully realized worlds that definitely shows that the artist is very talented. I guess I should also add that all the characters are cute. EXTREMELY cute! I should also say these characters may be too cute for how their personalities are, but I need to hold on to something at this point. It may sound like I completely hate this series, but that's not entirely true. I see potential in this series, and if the series went in a direction I believe it could work I can see this series getting better, but right now the series just isn't clicking in the way the authors want it to. On a final note I'm going to point out that the book feels like a marketing gimmick in the end. If you scratch the cover of the book it emits the aroma of a peach, and at the end of the book it has some sample pages from a fellow "Rising Stars" winner called "Dark Moon Diary." I suggest the author of this series fire the artist, as I can tell you right now the art is WAY too cute for a series with the word "dark" in it!
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -