[DeepL Translation - needs review] Introduction to Volume 1: A piggy bank is a place where wishes come true if you fill it up with forbidden coins. In order to collect the forbidden coins, the bankers battle it out. Korokke, a young bunker boy, also sets out on a journey to bring his dead father back to life. A great adventure story full of mystery, laughter and excitement!
(Translator: DeepL)
Underrated series! Feels like a HunterXHunter or Dragon Ball aimed at a (slightly) younger audience.
For a CoroCoro comic, I wasn't expecting anything too complex, as the magazine is mostly aimed at Elementary students. While this is true, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the general vibe and story of コロッケ! It feels like the mangaka drew heavy inspiration from series like HunterXHunter and Dragon Ball. As a result, it's got a similar cozy feeling to it, with an interesting world and a unique cast of characters. The story revolves around Croquette (pretty much all the characters are named after food), a "Banker" who is searching for Forbidden Coins. Once a Banker has successfully filled their bank with forbidden coins, they are granted a wish. Croquette's primary goal in gathering these coins is to revive his father, who was killed by a mysterious "Black Cloaked Man". Along the way, he teams up with several other Bankers, each with their own objectives. Only a couple of chapters in, the first "arc" starts, which is very similar to the Hunter Exam arc in HXH.
As of right now, I'm just starting the third volume, but I'm interested to see where the series goes. Additionally, there is a more 'serious' sequel story called コロッケ! BLACK LABEL, which is currently being serialized online, but started in CoroCoro Aniki (the spinoff magazine aimed at slightly older kids).
If I had one complaint, its that the protagonist is about as cliche as protagonists can get for this genre, and has a pretty terrible design overall. For some reason this doesn't bother me too much, though, and just feels like a symptom of the time, demographic and genre. If you can overlook a lot of the cliches and clear copying from its inspirations, I think コロッケ! is worth your time!
From a language learning perspective, this feels like a comfortable read for anyone reading books / manga in the L20-24 range. If you've read any other manga in this magazine, the language should feel familiar.