Dec 20, 2023
I actually discovered this manga about 3 years ago when only 2 volumes were officially available in English and was immediately hooked on Bambi and the world of atsushi kaneko. I was intrigued initially by the bold art style but was drawn in by the action and western inspirations from music and presumably movies and comics. I would compare the vibe of this manga to Tank girl or Kill Bill. I honestly would have thought this manga would have been more popular IN the west because of these theme elements, or at least have had a finished English localization. If it wasn't for the
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fan translation from Ainikki this year, I genuinely thought that I'd never get to finish reading this manga unless I learned Japanese.
Atsushi Kaneko is very successful at painting a rotten world in Bambi and her Pink Gun with the griminess of the world riddled in consumerism, corruption, war, and idol worship. Of course Bambi takes centre stage in my mind and I absolutely love the diversion of morally questionable protagonist. A teenage girl who seemingly acts a fool but is an unstoppable killing machine is one of the reasons why I'd kept this manga in the back of my mind for this long until getting to finally read it. She doesn't bat an eyelash at the sight of explosions and blood, and willingly puts pampi and civilians in danger in order to get what she wants and I actually love that. It's just so punk rock.
Normally, I'm disinterested in most action comics as it tends to become a "villain of the week" scenario (especially in manga) but I was genuinely interested in almost every antagonist stalking Bambi. I thought every character coming after her were more than just throwaway-able bad-guys and kind of added to the intrigue of "this is the type of person who would throw their life away to get 5 hundred million yen." There were plenty of "normal" people who were willing to kill to get this money also and I was always interested in their stories just as much as Bambis.
The only reason I'm giving it a 9 as a opposed to a 10 is just because I felt a little confused by the role of Gabba King in the story (But I guess it only adds to the bizarre themes in the manga as a whole) But otherwise I'd still consider Bambi an unforgettable manga and an instant fav. Bambi and her pink gun is naturally the most punk rock mangas I've ever read, and I'm excited to keep reading kanekos work in the future.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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