Unico: Awakening (Volume 1)

In an opening reminiscent of Snow White, innocent Unico is banished from the heavens by the goddess Venus, who is jealous of the unicorn's charm and the affection he receives from everyone. On earth with no memories, Unico encounters untold dangers from city streets to unfriendly humans. Together with his new friend Chloe the cat, the unicorn far from home starts to relearn about himself, his wondrous magic that can make wishes come true, and the dark presence that will never let him be safe.

I've enjoyed a fair bit of manga, and it's such a treat to see Unico's story retold for modern kids. It seems like most of the updates involved modernizing the art style, but I'm not familiar enough with the original to say how the stories compare. Although, the story is definitely full of many manga staples, including adorable animals, cosmic evil, and a climactic monster fight.

As it's own story, I really enjoyed Unico's adventure. Unico and Chloe show strength and kindness, even when faced with hardships themselves. They quickly become fast friends, but don't always see eye to eye, and their friendship reminds that it's important to tell friends what they need, not what they want to hear.

I will say, the last chapter escalates very quickly. After all of the small-town, cute animal fun, the big boss fight is a bit of a shock. Nothing gory, but there is a giant monster.

This first volume tells a complete story and leaves hooks for the sequel. Young manga readers will cheer for Unico and friends as they stand up for the little people (or animals) and start down the path toward a cosmic fight.