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. ( )

In this volume we get more insight into Mr. Kanda’s career as a concert pianist and the reason he isn’t a concert pianist anymore. Fukumaru is still very cute; he plays hide-and-seek and peekaboo and it is adorable. We also learn about Fukumaru’s siblings and mom. A lot of cuteness and some happy tears (and some sad tears as well). ( )

The third volume of this delightful series shows us more vignettes of Kanda and Fukumaru interacting: Kanda trying to read and Fukumaru laying on his book, Fukumaru demanding more food right after eating, Fukumaru trying to get Kanda’s food. And, then, a horrifying event! Fukumaru must go to the vet and, as the woman at the pet store says, get his cherries picked! Which proves to be more stressful to Kanda than to Fukumaru. We see more of Kanda’s past, and why he no longer performs on stage. There are some panels where the characters… over emote? Over react emotionally? that seemed kind of strange. Kanda’s lifelong friend, Kobayashi, turns out to be a deeper human being than he first seemed. And we see Fukumaru’s childhood, which about broke my heart. Then there is a kind of soap opera-ish interaction with one of Kanda’s old competitors- who also suddenly ends up with a cat. Altogether another (mostly) sweet story. The “mostly” part being the weird emotional over reacting. ( )

So far this is my favorite one in the series. We find out why Kanda is no longer playing the piano professionally. That his new friend loves Fukumaru and at the end, Kanda's rival gets a cat that he didn't ask for. Loving the graphics and the continuing story. ( )

This series is so utterly sweet and wholesome it should cause cavities all around. Even through the adorable slice of life moments, we get slithers of Kanda’s past. In this volume, he has a panic attack when an event triggers him. The world also expands a bit more as a new character gets added.

A Man & His Cat is such a mood pick-upper. After reading this, you leave feeling light and fluffy like you’re Fukumaru.
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