A Man and His Cat Volume I - II written and illustrated by Umi Sakurai
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I started out this series because I loved the cover art work, and because I wanted to read something wholehearted. Some nice slice-of-life manga. Little did I know that this series is going to make me tear up every single time, with its simple kindness. It can be that I’m just in my sentimental-era but usually I don’t cry easily so there lies a mystery.
Main Story (no spoilers)
The journey begins at a pet shop where we get to meet our main protagonist, Fukumaru. A cute, chubby-hubby exotic shorthair, male cat. He has been on sale for some time, as nobody seemed to like him enough to take him home. Up until, our other main protagonist, the classy and charismatic widower, Kanda-san shows up. He goes straight to the little cat and falls in love with him at first sight.
From this point on, the story pretty much revolves around their relationship, and as the chapters pass we get to know more about Fukumaru’s past and his fears and dreams. While simultaneously, little by little, we get to know more about Kanda-san’s background too.
There are also side characters in the story who are loveable and approachable based on any merit. There are more male characters so far in these two volumes but they are approached with the same care and love so I can’t complain. Can’t wait as we move forward in the story to get to know them better.
The Perfect Manga to Read in the Morning (spoilers)
The other reason why I started this manga, apart from because I wanted to read something wholesome, was because I needed to fill the void in my heart. The void that has been devouring me of not reading any manga so far this year. Also, it is an amazing way to help you get back on track with your reading goal. If you have any. I have an absolute love and hate relationship with reading goals, but let’s not get into that now.
Anyway, if you have a second in the morning while you are sipping your coffee I can wholeheartedly recommend you to pick up this manga. You can get it from libraries, or purchasing from Bookshop*-Volume I and Volume II*.
I wasn’t thinking much of it to be honest, until it made me tear up. Multiple times. You can tell that the author absolutely loves animals, especially cats and that love pours from the pages. It absolutely melted my heart. Gave me a cat-fever too. I miss my cats.
Is There Any Difference Between Volume I and II? (spoilers)
Yes and no. Yes, because we get to know more about their background stories, and we also get to know more about the side characters. No, because it’s still wholesome I’m still tearing up in volume II too.
The drawings are adorable and very funny. Each chapter is rather short, so you don’t need to read the whole volume in one sitting. If you have two seconds, you definitely can squeeze a chapter in, here and there. I would have to say that the characters seem a bit, a tiny little bit too good to be true, but hey, it’s slife-of-life, it’s fiction. It’s okay. Let me indulge in fictional characters once in a while.
Can’t wait to read it further, and see where the story goes. It absolutely helps my reading appetite and gives me a feeling of accomplishment when I finish it. Especially, when I’m in between chunky or emotionally, intellectually challenging books.
My Recommendation Overall
This is a pretty short review, I admit. I wasn’t even sure if I should write about it, but then I thought, maybe somebody needs a little bit of wholesomeness in their life. Maybe somebody will find this on a hard day and they check the manga out and they become happier. And for that, it’s worth writing about it. More than anything.
What’s Next…
Speaking of emotionally and intellectually challenging books; I’ve just finished The Glutton by A.K.Blakemore*. With that momentum I’ve already TBR-ed her other book: The Manningtree Witches*. It was delicious.
P.S. If you are an author or a representative from a publisher’s marketing team and would like me to review a book, please email [no************@***il.com] with “Novel for Review” in the subject line.
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