Manga Xanadu

I’ve never denied it. I’m a crazy cat lady. I’ve grown up with cats and can barely remember a time when I didn’t have a little furball as a pet. So when tweets about the Japanese game Neko Atsume, or Cat Collecting, started appearing in my time line, I had to check it out. Calling it a game might give the wrong impression. It starts out with just a typical looking back yard, and using fish as currency, you can buy toys and better quality food to attract cats to come to your yard and play with your toys. The thing is though, you can’t be watching. You have to close or reduce the game for the cats to come. It’s sort of random who will come and when.

Cyan is a young Abyssidian cat who is abandoned by his family when becomes sick and has to go to the hospital. Left in the basement of the family’s apartment building, Nyan-Nyans Mansion, he soon meets a gang of stray cats know as the Free Collars, who have made their base there. They are fighting to protect Nyan-Man from being taken over by another gang of strays led by a Siamese cat called Siam. In order to protect his home and keep waiting for the promised return of his master, Cyan joins the Free Collars to fight for their “kingdom.” By Takuya Fujima Publisher: Del Rey Manga Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Fantasy, Comedy Price: $10.95 Rating: I must be getting cynical in my old age. When I first read Free Collars Kingdom 5 years ago, I liked it, even if I thought the fanservice was a little over the top. This second time around, I didn’t enjoy it as much, and as it got closer to the end, I was more annoyed than amused. While I love cats, I don’t care so much for cat boys and girls, and this title seems to be more otaku that look like…

It’s May and that means it’s time to show some love to our furry (and sometimes not so furry) friends! It’s National Pet Month, where the benefits of pet ownership is promoted and pet adoptions are supported. I wrote about some pet manga available in English before, but now it’s time for an update! The most common way of getting a pet in manga is through taking in a stray. My Cat Loki was a Tokyopop original title that sadly didn’t get to finish its three-volume run due to low sales. It’s about a young man, Ameya, who withdraws from those around him after his long-time pet cat dies. But he soon takes in a stray who looks a lot like his first cat, that he names Loki. The two available volumes show Ameya and Loki first coming to terms with each other, and then Ameya coming out his shell and starting to live again. I enjoyed the volumes I read and was disappointed I wouldn’t see the third. I thought I would be put off with seeing Loki as a “cat boy”, as Ameya would sometimes see him as human, but it actually worked in the context of the…

Continuing my ASPCA Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month coverage, I started to notice a pattern in some of the titles I’ve read. In manga, animals are often used to make a point about a character in the manga. They can help to define a character, be indicators from the past that explain the characters situations or used as plot devices. My big problem with some of these uses, is that I usually involves said animal being dead. And said animal is usually a cat. This pattern started out rather innocently. In Fullmetal Alchemist volume 5, when Ed and Al go back to their teacher, Izumi, she is shown helping the kids in the village by fixing their toys using alchemy. But then, a little girl comes to her with a dead kitten, asking her to fix it. It’s a sad moment as Izumi has to explain why the kitten is not the same as a toy, but it works into the whole theme of the manga, so it fits in well. And we didn’t have to get to know the kitten first, so it’s more heartbreaking for the girl than the reader. On the other hand, Karakuri Odette decides…

When ever there is a disaster, whether it’s an earthquake, tsunami, or both in the most recent case in Japan, calls immediately go up to donate to the Red Cross, or any of the dozens of other charity organizations set up to send relief to the people affected by the devastating event. But there is another group that is just as affected, if not more, that rarely gets any attention. Pets.

May, among other things, is National Pet Month. It’s goal is to promote the benefits of pet ownership and support pet adoption. I know these benefits very well, and support them, as every dog and cat in our house was either from a shelter or a stray we took in. Manga is no stranger to pets either. Here are just a few titles that feature either the benefits of pet ownership, or shows strays finding a home, with humans or otherwise. In manga, there are two ways to typically find a pet. The first is the obvious one; a pet shop. Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs is a Teen+ title from Viz Media. It’s about a girl, Suguri Miyauchi, who has an amazing affinity for dogs and gets a part-time job at the pet store “Woofles”. The stories often feature different dog breeds available at the pet store, and matching the right people to the right dog. Petshop of Horrors, another Teen+ title from Tokyopop also matches people to the most appropriate pet, but in a “comeuppance theater” sort of way. Count D has the perfect pet for every customer, and sees that everyone gets the pet they deserve, which doesn’t…

I make no bones about it.  I love cats.  I will read just about any manga that has cat in it, even that peripherally revolves around them.  What’s Michael, Free Collar Kingdom, Cat Paradise, even Backstage Prince, Dragon Ball and Ranma 1/2 that only have supporting characters that are cats I’ll read and enjoy.  But there just isn’t nearly enough to sate my appetite for titles about the four-footed furries.  Vertical’s license of Chi’s Sweet Home is a BIG win, and I can’t wait to get my hands on Viz’s Natsume’s Book of Friends.  But then, over on Twitter, Deb Aoki had to start showing off her cat manga purchases from Japan. Neko Mocchiri is a 1 volume collection about a 20-something and her cat, and was published in Ikki. Junjo Ito’s Cat Diary is also a 1 volume collection, and looks cool in a weird way. Nekoe Juubee Otogi Soushi is two volume so far and is about a painter and his yokai cat companion. And I want to read them all!  Especially Nekoe Juubee, since I love yokai so much, and yokai cats all the more!  Ed Chavez commented: There is a saying in the Japanese manga world……

Kodansha Letting Licenses with Tokyopop  Lapse Brigid Alverson of the Manga Blog reported on Monday something that’s been suspected for a while in the mangasphere, and has finally been confirmed by Tokyopop.  Kodansha, one of the big Japanese publishing houses, is not renewing its licenses with Tokyopop.  David Welsh provides a quick, convenient, if possibly incomplete list of the titles affected at his own blog Precocious Curmudgeon.  This news dominated much of Monday and Tuesday.  Check the Manga Blog for a full roundup of commentary.  This wasn’t an unexpected move, as Tokyopop’s relationship with Kodansha has been rocky at best.  Two years ago, Kodansha made a deal with Random House and Del Rey Manga has been reaping the benefits.  While this doesn’t come as a big surprise, it is kind of painful for those of us that were reading unfinished titles that are now left in limbo.  I’ve been beating the drum loudly for Dragon Voice‘s last volume and lamented the incompleteness of Kindaichi Case Files.  All we can do now is wait and see what Kodansha’s next move will be.  Considering how long this took, it may be a very long wait for the next one.

Warriors: The Rise of Scourge Written by Erin Hunter and Dan Jolley Art by Bettina Kurkoski Publisher: Tokyopop (Harper Collins) Age Rating: Y (10+) Genre: Fantasy Price: $6.99 Rating: Storyline: Tiny, a small kit with a loving mother and two siblings that dislike him, at one point, visited the forest. He was attacked by the patrol from Thunderclan (Tigerstar attacked him) and Bluefur pulled them away. Tiny went to the city in fear of being thrown into a river. He then stuck a dog tooth into his coller, and told a lie, which made him change his name to Scourge. Review: I liked this side-issue. It completely changed how I thought about Scourge. Before, I thought of him as an ugly cat with hatred but from this manga, I learn that it was his bad past that shaped him and he’s actually kind of cute. Did I like it: 100% sure. I definitely like it, Scourge is cute, but his past shaped him into what he had become. He may be small, but he proved his littermates wrong. He killed Tigerstar nine times over and Tigerstar deserved it. Could there be anything changed: Nothing, not from my eyes. The manga…