Review by Frank Plowright

Misako Rocks! is now on her fourth all-ages graphic novel, although the lack of a unifying series title means only a brief mention of how Nala spent her summer indicates a connection to Sew Totally Nala. That being the case, wouldn’t it be prudent to name a few more of the similar looking characters in the opening scene? Especially Lilico, star of the first of the series Bounce Back, who prompts the plot via announcing she’s visiting relations in Japan. Several of the girls shown on the sample art aren’t named before page 55, although some are strictly makeweights as far as the story is concerned.

Angie immediately asks to come along to Japan with Lilico, while twin sister Kiara is more cautious. Kiara’s character is well developed, her anxieties highlighted, prominent among them a need to prepare. To underline what a big deal this is for the friends, planning and preparation are shown in detail over the first chapter, although as a story about young girls, it ignores the possible parental concern about financing flights from New York to Japan.

The mystical elements are now almost absent, but the brief return is going to puzzle anyone who’s not read the previous books. Japan as an area of curiosity for readers is more smoothly incorporated. Rocks takes the cast on a fair tour, although sometimes without supplying extra information needed. Nala is very keen to visit Tokyo’s Harajuku district, yet there’s no supporting reasons, and the limitations of the art concentrating almost entirely on the cast means it’s not visually distinct either. Neither is Osaka, although a trip to Kyoto at least features distinctive sights.

Rocks is better in transmitting the differences between American and Japanese culture, and plenty of them move the plot forward, although thankfully with very few instances of contrived misunderstandings. Kiara’s anxieties, strong at the start, seem to transfer to Angie in Japan, who’s much more uncertain away from her usual environment, and her poor behaviour becomes the sustained tension hanging over Double Trouble. The lost element of the title is brief and ingeniously solved.

As with other books in the series, troubles and disappointment are definitely minimised, and the added attraction here is plenty of illustrations of the wide-eyed girls enjoying themselves in assorted clothing. Appeal to the intended audience is pretty well guaranteed.