Mamizu Arisawa

So, fourth in the series, this is a continuation of the story of Keita Kawahira, an Inukami trainer/tamer/masterperson, and his tsundere-brand Inukami, Yoko. It felt a bit shorter than the other three volumes, though it has the same number of chapters and is about the same thickness on the shelf. This is likely due to the first three chapters being the first part of one story, while the last two are sidestories unrelated to the main plot.

The main story is called "And for Me... It's Your Song", about a wealthy girl who will be killed by a shinigami on her twentieth birthday, because of a pact her grandfather made with it in exchange for wealth. Every year the shinigami visits the household to instill terror, and every year he kills someone who attempts to protect the girl (and her mother before her). Naturally, it's a few days from her twentieth birthday, so Keita and Yoko are called in to take care of things (with ample compensation should they survive, of course).

There's no question that the pair wouldn't take the job, but then the shinigami (named "Sea of Rage") comes a day early. It's hilarious omg. He's over-the-top theatrical with music and a spooky cloak that he throws back to show that he's actually more of the "bishounen" type. But because he's a day early, Keita and Yoko might be better prepared to defeat him and save their employer and her butler ("Sebastian" - what else would he be named?).

There's a bit of pathos with Kei Shindo and Sebastian and their story, but the comedy with the shinigami makes everything better. And, of course, there's the mix of comedy and sweetness in Keita and Yoko's ever-developing relationship, which is probably the main reason I keep reading this series (I tend to deny that I'm a softy for romance and all).

The story cuts off right before the second encounter the Sea of Rage the shinigami, but it looks like it's gearing up to be great.

The first of the side stories takes place in an alternate universe where the Inukami girls are just regular people who attend an all-girl academy for dog trainers, and where Keita and Kaoru are teachers. The basis of the plot is kind of weird (dog training high school? really?), but it's pretty cute. It begins when Yoko starts attending, claiming to be Keita's younger sister, but acts oddly. One thing leads to another, Yoko and Keita turn out to be married, and the end result is all the Inukami girls in sexy cosplay. Kind of weird, but a cute story.

The second side story is only a handful of pages long. Keita has to repair a tear in his school uniform, and Yoko, wanting to show off the skills she has learned from Nadeshiko, offers to do it for him. She does it well, he praises her, and suddenly their entire flat is filled with ruffles and bows as Yoko goes overboard with sewing. It's super adorable.… (plus d'informations)

This is the third of the Inukami! manga series, which is related to an anime series of the same name. Both were adapted from a series of light novels.

Since reading the first two volumes, I read the manga series Love Hina, which I have discovered that Inukami! is fairly derivative of, though with the addition of a magical girlfriend. But LH tends to turn everything up to eleven, while I! holds back just a bit (in the manga, at least - the anime goes all out). The similarities with the LH harem and the tsundere primary girlfriend are strongest in volume three, so far, because the first two chapters involve seven of Keita's relative Kaoru's ten inukami.

My favorite chapters in this volume are the last two, parts 1 and 2 of "Fluffy Tail Serenade", wherein while Yoko is visiting Keita at his school in order to deliver his mobile phone, which he left at home, a magical chicken shows up. This magical chicken just happens to be attracted to strong desires, and a crazy otaku was talking to Keita and Yoko at the time. Naturally, the result is a chase through town while in bizarre cosplay (specifically including nekomimi, or cat ears), which is Kawarazaki's wish.

I like these two chapters best because they're the funniest of the five, and the image of Keita running around in nekomimi and a girl's school swimsuit is hilarious.

There isn't as much character development in volume 3 as in the other two, though in place of that, we are introduced to four more of Kaoru's inukami (three had been introduced previously), and there are more signs of an over-arching plot about Karina and the magical items. There also seems to be something going on with Kaoru, though it's too early to know if it's anything like the plot in the anime (which seemed to not get developed nearly enough and ended too early?).

The chapters are as follows:

Steps 11 and 12: Little Red Riding Hoods Beware, Parts 1 and 2 -- Kaoru has to leave home for a few days, so he asks Keita to come stay with his inukami, on account of an ominous presence Kaoru feels in the area. There's a lot of "ecchi" stuff going on, including a panty thief. These chapters parallel episode 9

Step 13: The Legend of the Holy Drunk -- After getting rid of a ghost at a liquor shop, Keita and Yoko are gifted with a box of booze, so they drink it. But one of the bottles was magical and some really weird stuff happened overnight, and why is Karina-san in a bathtub filled with roses and...dead?! This is not a sub-plot used in the anime, though it is similar to parts of epsiode 19

Steps 14 and 15: Fluffy Tail Serenade, Parts 1 and 2 -- an otaku gets hold of a cosplay chicken, and hilarity ensues. Most like episode 8 of the anime.

This volume, I feel like noting, doesn't have quite the same amount of fanservice as earlier volumes, though there is still quite a bit of "ecchi" goings-on, especially in the first two chapters.… (plus d'informations)

As the second in the Inukami! manga series, this volume carries on with the story and lovely art and everything that the first volume had. Like the first one, it has five chapters, some of which were similar to (but not quite like) episodes from the anime of the same name.

This volume introduces more characters, in the form of nine inukami that belong to Keita's cousin Kaoru, in addition to Nadeshiko, who appeared in the first volume.

The chapters are as follows:
Steps 6 and 7: Enter Nadeshiko, parts 2 and 3 -- these continue the story began in part 5 in the previous volume, which parallel episode 4 in the anime
Steps 8 and 9: Tomohane Strikes Back, parts 1 and 2 -- the youngest of Kaoru's inukami decides to get revenge on Yoko after what happened in "Enter Nadeshiko," but things don't go quite as planned; this matches part of the plot of episode 6
Step 10: Yoko's Missing Object -- what happens when Yoko loses the sign of her contract with Keita

Step 10, "Yoko's Missing Object," is my favorite of the stories in this volume. It's so sweet, but also quite funny, and the facial expressions are just perfect. Of the five chapters, this one focuses the most on Keita and Yoko, and it has a whole heaping of character development as a result. Well, a whole heaping relative to some of the other stories. "Tomohane Strikes Back" is more about the humor than anything else, I suppose, though it does introduce us to two characters and shows more of Keita.

Since the first story in this volume continues from the first, I'd have to say that it shouldn't be read without reading volume one first. It's also very firmly in the 16+ category, as indicated on the cover, but I think there is slightly less nudity in this volume.

Like volume one, I really love this one, and I'm very glad I treated myself to it for my birthday. I'm looking forward to an excuse to order the next volumes in the series!… (plus d'informations)

I ordered this as a birthday treat for myself because I recently saw the anime and enjoyed it immensely, but felt sad that it was over and there were still plot points that could use filling in. I saw from the Amazon "Look Inside" feature that the manga series covers some of the backstory more fully than the anime, which is pretty much all I needed to know.

This first volume has rather a different feel from the show, though. The story is, of course, in a slightly different order because of the change in medium, but it's basically the same thing. Where the real difference comes in is the tone: the early episodes of the anime that match the five chapters of volume one rely a lot more on humor and visual gags. The exposition about Yoko and Keita's relationship is also slightly different here: there is a lot more affection on Yoko's part at a much earlier stage in the manga.

The manga does still have its humor, if not in quite the same perverse way as the show, and the artwork is quite lovely. I don't want to understate the fact that it's still very much a book for older teenagers and adults, though - there is nudity depicted (though never explicit), and plenty of the fanservice that parents probably wouldn't find appropriate for middle school students. (It's labeled for 16+ on the cover anyway.)

An inukami is a spirit who can take the form of a human or a dog and who, along with a human trainer, works to defeat evil spirits. Keita is a bit of a blacksheep in his clan, the members of which have traditionally been inukami trainers, because none would make a contract with him when he was old enough. However, one named Yoko has finally come forward to be Keita's inukami, and the story is about how that happened and what comes next.

There is tension in their relationship because Keita is a slacker and a bit of a "greedy letch" (as described at one point in the manga), and Yoko is the tsundere type and completely jealous of anyone Keita even looks at.

This volume includes:
Step 1: When Boy Meets Dog -- the story of how Yoko and Keita met
Step 2 and Step 3: With a Hot Springs, a Cat, and a Buddha Statue, Parts 1 and 2 -- similar to (but not entirely like) episode 7 in the anime
Step 4: A Date with Yoko -- Yoko has been watching television and wants to go on a date, so she does - just not with Keita
Step 5: Enter Nadeshiko -- after the disaster in Step 4, when Keita and his grandmother's inukami Hake realize that Yoko really doesn't know much about how to live amongst humans, Hake decides to have another inukami named Nadeshiko stay with them for a little while, in order to teach Yoko -- this is similar to episode 4

I really liked this volume and am very glad that I decided to buy it.… (plus d'informations)