Umi SakuraiCritiques

I would've gave this a four star except they put ads in the comic for the TV show for this comic. Bad taste. Besides that bump in the road, the story was great as usual as well as the graphics. Geoffrey who is Kanda's old piano friend is coming to visit and along the way he finds unwanted kittens. Well of course, he has to rescue them and bring them over to Kanda's house! Love the kittens!

A new cat friend arrives in the mix -- this one abandoned in a stinking hovel filled with garbage. The manager of the local cat cafe recruits Mr Kanda and his former student Kuju to help him rescue the cat, but Fukumaru is not happy about yet another stray. I loved this little friend, a talkative Siamese cat, and how he and Kuju have developed a bond.

With regard to the one-page stories, I laughed out loud at "The Cat Is the Hat". Very simple and very silly. Loved it.½

I needed this one today.

It's all very repetitious as yet another side character gets a sad pianist backstory. Someone get that man a cat, stat! Oh wait, is that a stray there in the corner?

Sheesh! Figure out another plot already, dude!

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 80. Fluffy Attraction -- Chapter 81. A Purromise with Daddy -- Chapter 82. We're All Crybabies -- Sorako and Hoshinaru -- Chapter 83. I Hope Mew Like It -- Chapter 84. What's "A Life with No Regrets"? -- Chapter 85. Mew, Me . . . We Were All Little Once -- Afterword -- Bonus Strip

Fuyuki Kanda is a father?!?!

We get to see what kind of father he is as -- sure enough! -- his child has problems that may only be solved through the healing power of cats. Fortunately Kanda has seven handy . . .

Lots of slapstick this time . . . between the bouts of traumatic drama, that is.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 74. The Scent of Joy -- Chapter 75. Smile -- Chapter 76. Daddy's Children -- Chapter 77. I Can Do It Meowyself -- Chapter 78. Cat-pturing Happiness! -- Pretty Cat -- Chapter 79. Mew Can't Stop Me Now -- Afterword -- Bonus Strip

The story in this volume is a bit redundant with that of Kanade Hibino, the previous pianist who hates Fuyuki Kanda but maybe just needs some cats in his life to get some perspective on his personal problems.

A new character introduced in the final pages has potential to make the next volume more interesting.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 66. Fukumaru's a Great Fisherman -- Chapter 67. Don't Mewmic Me -- Chapter 68. Genuine Feelings -- Chapter 69. Meowma's Warmth -- Chapter 70. Scrub-Brush Invasion -- Chapter 71. A Present from Meowma -- Chapter 72. Warm Tears -- To My Dear One -- Chapter 73. Emewrgency! -- Afterword -- Drama Set Visit Report -- Bonus Strip

"Is this a cat manga . . . or a music manga?" one of the characters asks in the author's afterword. And I gotta say, I'm here for the lives of the musicians: their struggles, successes, and rivalries. The cats could all be sent off to live on a farm in the country next volume, and I'd happily bid them farewell. Go on, and take "mew-r" dumb puns with "mew." (And yes, that's the exact level of humor we're being offered. See the chapter titles below for more. Ugh.)

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 57. Let There Be Mewsic -- Chapter 58. Fukumaru & His Merry Pals -- Chapter 59. Dad's Voice -- Chapter 60. Not Enough Daddy -- Chapter 61. A Warm Flavor -- Meowy Bedfellows -- Chapter 62. Sibling Harmeowny -- Death by Flattery -- Chapter 63. Daddy of the Big Four -- Chapter 64. Go Fur It, Mori-Mori -- Chapter 65. Mew're a Daddy's Boy -- Afterword -- Bonus Strip

Fukumaru the cat continues to annoy with his dumb cat puns and sappy misadventures, but I am all in on the emotional journey of Fuyuki Kanda, the man who owns him . . . especially that cliffhanger!

But before that bit of excitement we follow Kanda through some turmoil as he deals with multiple lost cats and comes to some realizations about his place in the lives of those around him.

I'd probably love this series now if it featured dogs instead of cats. But I do have a strong like at least.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapter 48. A Happy Time -- Chapter 49. Time to Choose -- Chapter 50. Fukumaru in Trouble -- Chapter 51. I Miss You -- Chapter 52. Don't Mew Lose Heart -- Chapter 53. Lost Kitty Fukumaru -- Chapter 54. Get Through -- The Gorilla and Hibinon -- Bonus Strips -- Chapter 55. A Man and His Sleepy Cat -- Chapter 56. Daddy Gets Furrious -- Afterword -- Where Is Your Home? -- Bonus Strip

Aided by their cats, Mr. Kanda and his pianist rival work through some of their issues. It's super low-key, but there is some engaging emotional drama.

The heartwarming adventures continue and the characters learn how to overcome personal roadblocks: Fukumaru's tendency to cry, and Hibino's hang-up about buying expensive gifts to show that he cares about people (instead of going with his instinct and getting something the person will appreciate, regardless of cost). Also a dog makes an appearance in this volume with some words of wisdom and a possible connection to another new friend!

Yup, okay, this was it, this was the volume that finally made me cry. You think you know what wholesome manga is?? Not unless you've read this you don't

adorable kitties but just slightly too much Geoffroy for my refined tastes (by "refined" I mean only wanting to read about the cats)

bro, this series IS going to make me cry. So far it's just been tears welling up but I sense a full-blown sob on the horizon. :,) What a great balance of little cute moments mixed with a real, heartfelt narrative about various relationships, mental health, and yes- CATS!

After last volume's extreme focus on cutesy cat antics I was ready to drop this series. But this time around the author course corrects and changes up the storytelling format to amp up the human drama. Panic attacks and a professional rival suddenly draw me back into the series, and now I want to read the next volume.

Okay, this is already too cutesy for me to endure -- especially all the meow puns forced into the cat's thought balloons. I have one more volume checked out from the library that I'm going to read, but I already know a dog person like me shouldn't be following this series.

Whoa Mr Kanda has kids!? Two of them?! This was quite the dramatic installment of the series just by virtue of introducing new characters. All of the established and new characters interacting made for a chaotic but nice story. There were also some loose ends tied up from a previous volume, and some cameo appearances by very cute bugs (that are probably much less cute in real life). Good fun.

My “meowy heart goes all warm and fuzzy” while reading this volume, which gives readers some background that adds some real depth to this series.

If you love cats, love Japanese culture, this is a manga for you!

Even more dramatic revelations in this installment! Geoffroy Lambert has the spotlight this time as we learn about his childhood and his complicated relationship with his father. We also observe the healing power of a box of kittens. AGH the kittens were so dang cute!

I really loved the first few volumes of this series, but its quality is seriously declining as it continues to drag on.

Readers are treated to a little bit more cuddly cute cat shenanigans in this volume than have been present in the previous couple of installments, but—at this point—it’s just too little, too late.

There are already way too many characters in this series, and so many of them are variations of the same. How many angst-ridden musicians do we really need? Well, the author seems to think there are never enough because we get yet another tormented and insecure wannabe pianist; this one used Kanda’s son in the past to try to further his career aspirations and is now so guilt-ridden and ashamed he can barely face the always jovial Kana when he accidentally runs into him. Ho-hum…I just don’t care anymore.

The beauty of A Man and His Cat was Kanda and his relationahisp with his cat Fukumaru. Now, Umi Sakurai almost completely ignores the two of them in favor of a never-ending slew of interchangeable and uninteresting characters I don’t even want to be bothered keeping track of.

I am so bored and disappointed with A Man and His Cat that vol. 9 is where it ends for me.

Cute! A story about a man who adopts a cat and love the man and cat find in each others company!

I loved that this volume focused more on the music side of the characters and introduced new characters from Mr. Kanda’s famous pianist days, including the unsettling Gustave Lambert, who gave me Monsieur D’Arque from Beauty and the Beast vibes. Adding more of the characters’ various musical achievements really opens up their world. And it gives us delightful moments such as Kobayashi proposing an afterparty for their concert, being declined because everyone wants to hang out with the cats, then pumping it up as an afterparty at Kanda’s. Kobayashi can be a bit over-the-top sometimes, but this was funny. I’m really looking forward to the next volume!½

The series continues to amuse me and I absolutely love it! Kanda is now cat-sitting Hibino's cat and Fukumaru could not be happier. This volume was about Kanda and his music more than about the cats, which is okay with me as long as I see Fukumaru in any way shape or form, I am content.

What an emotional story! I basically spent most of the book sobbing because Fukumaru went missing. I've known several people who've had cats run away (all of them came back), so I could well imagine how panicked Mr. Kanda was and how scared Fukumaru was :( The afterword story was very sweet. The only reason it’s not five stars is that I still find some of the characters scary when they’re yelling with strong emotion; they look angry even if they’re not.½

Am I ever going to rate a volume of A Man and His Cat other than 4 stars? I really love this series. In this volume, Mr. Kanda’s music rival also gets a cat, so they bond over their pets. Mr. Kanda also learns how to enjoy music in a live setting, which is heartwarming.

This volume wasn't as enjoyable as the first, although I do think it's cute that Kanda and his boyfriends are still getting on well.

The main issue I had was the "idol" comic, where Kanda's coworkers start treating him distantly because they think he has a girlfriend. Because they want to "preserve" their image of him. Which somehow having a girlfriend would tarnish.

The canonically noted - by his coworkers! - sad widower. Would have his image tarnished among his coworkers. By getting a girlfriend, who is seemingly what is making him happy.

This is such a stupid plot I don't even have words to describe how absurdly stupid it is.

This is a big thing in Jpop and Kpop idol culture, and it's awful there, and it's... really cringe here.

Otherwise it's an okay volume. Probably won't be getting volume 3, though.