LIFE LESSONS FROM A UFO CATCHER (An Autobiographical Manga) by university professor Kenny Loui has a pretty unique premise—to deliver a series of life lessons based on Loui’s arcade game experiences—most specifically, ‘UFO catcher’ games which, despite the name, have absolutely nothing to do with flying saucers. Instead, they refer to those crane machines where you have to steer a giant claw to grab and win soft toys. With a mission in life to ‘rescue as many dolls as possible from captivity’, Loui has won hundreds of plushies from South Korean arcades over the years. And as a doctor of philosophy, he has also found deeper insights hidden within this innocent (albeit addictive) hobby. Which is why, in collaboration with Filipino manga artist Yamawe, he has delivered these lessons chapter by chapter in graphic novel form. What readers get is a series of philosophical aphorisms combined with cutesy, bubble-gum pretty artwork and a dash of manga anarchy.

So for instance, while ‘always have a plan’, ‘don’t tempt fate’, and ‘one shot (or not)’, all refer to the toy-winning strategy Loui uses in arcades, they are actually life lessons too. The reader also learns the importance of staying the course—yet at the same time knowing when to let go, while understanding that sometimes, you might strike it lucky. These are all genuinely useful nuggets of practical philosophy. Yet while the arcade setting is a charming premise, it is lacking certain elements in its execution. For instance, the book doesn’t offer much of Loui’s back story, or a sense of why ‘UFO catching’—and arcades in general—have such a strong emotional pull for him. This means that the life lessons delivered in each chapter feel a little empty, as they aren’t really set against the deeper or wider emotional context of the author’s experiences. The most readers find out is that Loui is ‘unlucky in love’—but not why. In addition, characters seem to pop in and out of this loose narrative at random and seemingly without context. The effect is bewildering. For instance, who exactly are the various female characters? What is the protagonist’s relationship with Killian, the arcade arch-villain? And why is his former university professor lurking among the Pac-Man and Tetris machines? If Loui is attempting world-building within the arcade space—and aiming to turn it into some kind of hero’s journey realm—then it doesn’t quite work as it’s not clear what his bigger quest is. Instead, the effect is a little bewildering. That said, there are some nice touches—the soft toy characters are cute, readers can swipe QR codes to get musical accompaniments, and the 80s-influenced art is nicely nostalgic.

University professor Kenny Loui’s LIFE LESSONS FROM A UFO CATCHER delivers deep life lessons in a bubblegum-cute manga autobiography (with illustrations by Filipino manga artist Yamawe)—yet there’s a sense it could have been so much more had the author injected more personal information into the action.

~Deborah Martin for IndieReader