MAI the psychic girl (volume 1 of 3)

28Jul10

I know I’m behind on this series. It was originally published back in 1995, and I vividly remember thumbing through some of the single issues at the comic shop. And as big of a fan of anime and manga as I was and am, I couldn’t really bring myself to read MAI. I think it must have been because the covers made the story look very passive, while I was (at the time) really into very aggressive comic books. Frank Miller and Chris Claremont had introduced me to arguing superheroes with their own personal agendas and flaws. Characters than ran straight into the fray. And MAI just seemed like a little girl running from something… always running.

MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL is about a teenage girl raised by her widowed father. Her mother passed away when she was young and left her daughter, Mai, not only memories but she also passed down her psychic abilities. Her father, knowing this, has tried to protect Mai from unknown and unseen enemies by preventing her from using her powers. But Mai, often succumbing to boredom, finds herself using her powers to entertain herself while in class or when she is supposed to be studying. unfortunately, one day her slip in judgement causes her to use her powers at a time that gains the attention of these unseen forces her father has been shielding her from; an organization that for some unknown reason collects psychics like Ash Ketchum (sp?) collects Pokemon.

For fear of spoiling things, I will say no more about the story. But I will say that this is a character and story that have been rumored t be courted by Tim Burton to be made into a live-action film.

So, here we are fifteen years later and I finally got online and purchased a used copy of the first two volumes, just to find after reading volume 1 that I was right; so far it is about a girl constantly running. But it has also been more. It is slowly carving out the hero’s journey for our heroine, Mai. And it’s doing it pretty well. I actually found myself flying through the pages waiting for some sort of betrayal from a character close to Mai, or for one of them to die. I don’t know if it was intended to be plotted out that way, but that’s how I’ve been reading it. It also has the innocence I always enjoyed about manga.

POSITIVES: Interesting, strong and engaging female main character; quick and fun read; level of action and violence is innocent enough for young readers; and nice hero’s journey.

NEGATIVES: At times it seems like the character poses are repeated, especially the “guy running in suit” pose; Couldn’t hurt to slow down some of the character developing scenes.

OVERALL: great way to get into manga if you are young or old. Also a great way to see what was being imported into the States back in the 1990′s (just as the internet was coming about). Definitely worth getting.

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