Japan’s most harried housekeeper and his pet human continue their coexistence. While minor events like fancy gifts and kitten visits abound, that’s nothing compared Saku having to head on a work retreat for two nights. Whose separation anxiety will be worse? And how did this turn into a yuri manga? (I’m innocent, I swear)
Every time I start reading a volume of this I think it’s just like the last and this book will be fulfilling, if slight, and precious little more than a diversion. Yet it never fails to go just that little bit more beyond that.
I love that the series has decided that even if Saku is a disaster of a homemaker, she’s quite competent in other areas, and it’s great the way they have two of her coworkers sounding off as a Greek chorus that also happens to completely misunderstand Yukichi’s fascination with lint rollers (he likes using them to actually clean clothing, naturally). That smidgen of balance makes it work much better.
We get double our kitten-y pleasure this time around, with Yukichi taking care of a wee one as a favour and learning that the boundless energy of youth is not to be trifled with. There’s also another delight of a bonus manga at the back about his own kitten years.
The biggest storyline involves the retreat Saku had to go on, that starts off with some bluster on Yukichi’s part and some misinterpretation on Saku’s and then turns into this incredibly funny but emotional piece on the bond between pet and owner.
It’s got some impressive artwork on Saku and shows off Yukichi as the planner of the two as well as how much they really mean to one another. No book where a cat gets excited to wear an apron should be able to tug the heartstrings like that. That phone call is a moment and a half.
The whole yuri angle is very slight, but very funny, as Saku turns out to not only be marriage material, but made quite an impression on one of the other characters last volume. It looks like it’s going to be a bit of gay panic, but is more nuanced than that (the last image of this story is very amusing and very awkward).
I would further be remiss if I did not mention a brief chapter about lookalike pets at the end, as Yukichi’s mental image of this is hilarious, but Saku’s interpretation is so on-the-nose for the series’ mission statement that I literally barked out loud. That’s a rare and treasured event for me.
My usual complaint remains - this manga is too good for the hoary old jokes about Saku’s weight. It’s like something out of an old Cathy newspaper strip and roughly as funny (ie, not very). I admit that Yukichi is clearly looking out for Saku (and he does the work he demands of her, leading to one great visual), but this is such a lame running gag.
If you don’t like cats and the thought of a huge feline that wears clothes isn’t inherently amusing, you won’t have your mind changed here. I love cats, and big fluffs at that, so this book’s got my number. I wish it was longer, but it’s impressive work for a single mangaka with no assistants.
4 stars - ugh, I can’t help it; this book is so damn adorable. It’s the perfect encapsulation of the joys of pet ownership and just general cat behaviour, plus the cat is huge. What’s not to love?