Atsushi Okada

It's the final volume of Nyankees! Madara's full backstory and connection to Gekka is revealed, and it's pretty dark. Also, Ryuusei gets closure where Gekka is concerned.

This series has been a weird tonal roller coaster, and this last volume mostly abandons comedy in favor of tugging at cat-lover heartstrings. If I could adopt Madara and give him treats and scritches, I totally would - his kittenhood was awful.

Although Ryuusei is left free to make his own choice about the kind of life that makes him happy, this volume definitely has a pro-TNR, "being a housecat isn't necessarily bad" message to it. And if you were wondering about the ultimate fate of any of the series' prominent cats, you get to find out about them here - the only one that made me wince a little was the Sphinx cat, who might have been doing fine at that particular moment but who'd definitely need other arrangements once the weather got even slightly chilly.

What the heck was with that "closing credits" style last few pages, with the music and all of the dancing cats? It felt like a reference to something, but I wasn't sure what.

Extras:

One full-color page that doesn't really count, because it's just the cover art again.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (més)

It's time for the aftermath of the great battle inside the warehouse. Ryuusei finally learns about Madara's connection to Gekka, the male calico he's been searching for. Enraged, Ryuusei tries to fight Madara, even though he can barely move. Unfortunately for him, Madara hasn't run out of dirty tricks yet.

Meh, it was ok. The little snippet of Gekka and Ryuusei's story was kind of disappointing, considering it's the driving force behind everything he's done in the series so far. Gekka came across as just another one of cats Madara messed with just because he felt like it, although the preview of the next volume indicates that there may be more to it than that.

The bulk of this volume took itself seriously, so I appreciated the ridiculous revelation of Madara's final trick.

Extras:

A couple full-color pages, some brief translation notes, and a few character design sketches.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (més)

Raiga and Taiga make up, but then Hazuki, the tuxedo cat who riled up Raiga in the past, reappears. Hazuki, on Madara's direction, arranges a trap for all of the cats.

This is one of those WTF volumes. How did Hazuki even open those cat treat tubes? And hey, Sango's back.

The cats take the events of this volume super seriously. The author and any human characters...do not. Lol at the woman whose first reaction, upon seeing a Sphinx cat just walking around on the streets, was to take a picture and post it on her social media. Also, she mistook an impending cat battle for a possible impending friendship.

The scene with Mr. Moke was technically pretty dark...until the author briefly interrupted the story to reassure readers that he was, in fact, all right and getting any necessary care.

Extras:

A couple pages of full-color artwork, and a jam-packed two pages of cats (both feline and human forms) paired with their names, genders, breeds, and gang affiliations.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (més)

Three newcomers invade Nekonaki Town, although they don't appear to be working together. There's a Sphinx who creeps out everyone who meets him, a Bengal obsessed with fighting, and a fluffy cat who uses catnip in battle. Taiga's spot as top cat in Nekonaki becomes even more precarious when he faces off against the Bengal, prompting the return of his brother Raiga. Meanwhile, the smoky cat's catnip techniques are super effective.

It's not saying much, but this was at least better than volume 2. I rolled my eyes at the "four mollies of Nekonaki" stuff, but I enjoyed the cuteness of Raiga's involuntary purring around his brother. Also, thumbs up to the author for the details surrounding the way Mr. Moke was dealt with (ooh, this means my cat would have a chance of beating him in battle). That was actually pretty clever. The author also works humans into the humor pretty nicely - I got a kick out of the old guy who was like an obsessed birdwatcher, but for cats.

Extras:

A couple pages of full-color artwork, translation notes, and character design sketches for Sango.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)… (més)