Biker Girl (review)

Aki, formerly an average seventeen-year-old girl, finds her life irrevocably changing with the appearance of a strange bicycle in her garage. The presence of the bike means that Aki is fated to be the next family hero, destined to stop the nefarious biker gang that past heroes were unable to defeat. Aki resists this role as long as she can, but she eventually dons a helmet and climbs onto the bike, transforming into Biker Girl. The bike itself has superpowers, and the fusion of girl and bike seems unstoppable; Aki just may fulfill her family's destiny and get the boy of her dreams, all in one intense week. Aki is likable both in her everyday insecurities and as a bold superhero, ensuring reader connection with the central character. In this graphic novel, Rocks utilizes traditional manga details, including expressive dialogue bubbles that change form according to moods and interspersed mini-flashbacks that offer background details, while ultimately producing a Western graphic novel: the panels read from left to right, there is less adherence to manga symbols, and the pen-and-ink illustrations evince a spontaneity and variety that may attract readers who find manga visually formulaic. Though the ending is predictable, that won't trouble enthusiastic readers, who will resent the mundane nature of their own bicycles even while cheering for Aki's success.