The updated version of Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989) beloved tale Unico V01: Awakening has been created by Samuel Sattin and Gurihiru. It is a sweet, but has a little edge, tale about a unicorn who has angered the goddess Venus, for no other reason than her jealousy of his beauty and how he is worshiped by her earthly followers. However, in a rare act of defiance, one of her servants defies Venus by hiding Unico from her. Living through time and space, Unico will have many lifetimes, but fated to forget them as soon as he leaves. It is not until the most recent one, Venus and her vessel (a hunter named Byron) might finally succeed it destroying Unico forever.
There is bright, stereotypical comic/graphic novel art. It looks like Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle or other similar artwork. This keeps with the manga/anime history. However, it is not as dark as Howl’s and Kiki’s might still be a tad older. But it is the same style, with the same look to the characters. Overall, I liked the story. There were a few places that I was not thrilled with, but it is good for most ages (9 to 12 is probably best, but a strong 6-8 could be read to or can read). There are a few potential triggers, such as the hunter is a hunter and keeps his trophy heads on a wall, there is a monster creature and fantasy elements that might not be for the younger/sensitive readers.
Friendship, magic, helping, and social themes are the plot of the day. Maybe things are not WOW Best Book Ever! But is a cute, cozy read.