Dec 15, 2024
I would like to begin this by saying that before I read this manga, I had already had a favourable view of the police overall, I typically did not care about what the police do much less the Japanese police. This bias will inevitably affect my review, although I can ensure you that whatever position anyone may have regarding these two aspects will not prevent them from falling in love with this manga.
Hakozume: Kōban Joshi no Gyakushū, or by its official English translation, Police in a Pod is an amazing manga about the innerworkings of the Japanese police force. This story initially and oftenly focuses
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on Kawai Mai, an aloof rookie with a questionable sense of justice and her development is just amazing. Accompanying her is a cast of eccentric, likable yet still quote true-to-life police officers that made my experience reading PiaP nothing but enjoyable. Other than characters, comedy is one of PiaP's strongest suits - every joke just lands the right way, and never gets old. And that's the true beauty of PiaP. You can tell the author was a police officer, and had extensive experience at that, because her way of depicting the very real daily lives of the Japanese police is just so natural, so easy-to-understand and above all, interesting that, even those unfamiliar with Japanese culture and policework, like me, can't help but be taken by PiaP.
Besides being a slice-of-life about police stuff, PiaP is also partially a story about the struggles of women working in a field, though changing to accommodate them, still and will always be hostile to them, a story of adults trudging through rough work and finding joy, pride and purpose in what they do, and occasionally an police drama. PiaP did all four of these aspects individually nothing but justice. I'm sure some will even find themselves in one of the stories. The police drama, in particular, though rare, is extremely captivating and never fails to put me on the edge of my seat.
Put these four stories together into one manga, however, and PiaP is honestly a bit of a mess, haha. Anyone who falls in love with one aspect of the manga may find other aspects a bit weak or even off-putting. Additionally, the pacing is also a bit messy, and the ending, though fittingly grounded like the rest of the series, still feels underwhelming nonetheless. Finally, for some inexplicable reason, half-way through the manga, an arc canon and quite integral to the series, specifically concerning one recurring character, got jammed into a side volume that's sold separately from the main series and never got officially translated into English. So if you're reading the official Kodansha-licensed English version, a lot of important stuff suddenly happened off-screen that almost never got brought up again. If you had read this manga, or once you read it, you'll know which part I'm referring to.
Police in a Pod is overall an amazingly unique and entertaining manga. Give it a try - it, or at least one aspect of it, is definitely worth your time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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