Cat + Gamer Volume 8

猫暮らしのゲーマーさん / Neko Gurashi no Gamer-san #8

by Wataru Nadatani, Zack Davisson (translator)

Office worker Riko Kozakura lives to play video games, but her life changes forever when she adopts a kitten! Soon, she has two playful cats and takes lessons from video games to help raise them.

Riko Kozakura has been level grinding as a pet owner for a while now, and has learned many new skills. Life continues in the Kozakura household with two cats and one videogaming-obsessed human in this finale to the popular manga series! “Leveling up” in skills, surprises, and adventures, Riko discovers how to adjust her apartment and daily habits for two cats!

Genres: Manga, Cats, Graphic Novels, Animals, Fiction, Contemporary, Slice Of Life

160 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2022

About the author

Name (in native Japanese): 灘谷航

Reviews

[DianaRose · Rating 5 out of 5]

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!! i’m so happy to have been approved to read the final volume in such a wholesome series💖

this final volume was just as adorable as the rest, and full of sweet slice-of-life moments with cats. i’m happy there was a good ending ❤️

[kristyn ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a wonderful ending to this beautiful series 🥹 i will miss these kitties a lot, but i will be starting cat + crazy soon!! so it will fill that hole in my heart

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a perfect ending to a perfect series!

[Vicky Fortier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so devastated that the series is finished! I loved it so much :(

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shocking amounts of plot (about a chapter’s worth or so) will provide the closure for this series. The rest will be filled with the same old cat antics that have defined it to this point.

I will say, I enjoyed the finale, which hinges on a cat translator app, of all things, and closes out with a predictable, but still enjoyable, punchline in that chapter’s omake about Soboro and Musumi’s thought processes.

There’s nothing wrong with this volume, nor with this series as a whole, which delivered exactly what it said it would: a gamer living with cats. I’m thrilled that this was Kozakura’s best life and there was no shade about finding a man or single-handedly reversing Japan’s birth rates.

But there were better volumes earlier on, so I’m not going to praise this too hard either. If you’ve loved the journey, there’s no reason not to follow it to its destination. But you won’t come around on it based on this last volume either.

I did continue to appreciate how it developed very distinct personalities for Soboro and Musumi. There’s a chapter about cat touching preferences that encapsulates this and how ridiculously fickle cats can be at the same time. Given my own cats, it rings entirely true.

It’s definitely better than my recent experience with Nadatani’s follow-up series, Cat + Crazy, which did absolutely nothing for me. This one had some issues, but it wasn’t bad and I mostly enjoyed my time with it.

3.5 stars - extra half star for that ending, a real love letter to finding your own happiness. The rest is pretty much what we always got and I think the series was good, if unexceptional, fun.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I, too, would quit my job and find a new one just to avoid uprooting my cats’ comfortable life~

[Shelby Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this series so much and I am so sad I won’t be able to read more about these kitties, the final was a great ending
“You can change any time you want!” Happy tears <3

[Libbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda gutted this series is over as it was the perfect little slice-of-life manga with cats and I mean what else could you want?

Was a sweet and fitting ending though.

[:¨·.·¨: `·. izzy ★°*ﾟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why, but this one felt a little rushed. It felt like the author was just trying to quickly finish the final volume and wrap up.

Still enjoyable and sad it’s over.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

Je suis assez triste que la série soit fini, j'ai adoré !

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

Humorous, delightful, heartfelt, and sweet. A perfect ending to a fantastic series.

Kozakura and her cats, Musubi and Soboro, face some big decisions and big changes in the final volume of this adorable slice-of-life series.

The story presents relatable pet moments from viral cat tests to vet trips, purchasing pet swag to the joy of finding the perfect spot to pet (until it isn’t).

Wonderful artwork.

Sad it’s over, but this was such a wonderful series to read. Absolutely love it!

[Sneha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable!
I'm sad the series is over.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my gosh, I didn't know this would be the last one! I am crying! I love the cute little adventures of these 2 cats and their gamer human and I'm so going to miss getting these every few months : (

[Rosalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made me love my cats even more than I already do. I really enjoyed this series!

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a nice ending to a favorite series. I'll miss everyone!

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series, this was a very current cat book

[Casually Bookish Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an utterly adorable way to end the series, I loved it.

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

sweet way to end the series

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful ending to a series! This was a cute slice of gamer life and cat manga.

[Singe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautiful way to end the story 🐈‍⬛ 💜 🎮 I loved following their journey and the growth between Kozakura, Musubi and Soboro. I’m so sad that this is over but I do look forward to continuing with their other manga series Cat + Crazy. If you love games and love cats this is the series for you.

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Heather D-G · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great finish to a fun series. I particularly liked the solution to this volume’s “final boss” and the bonus episode showing what really happened!
An excellent series all around for ages.

[Andrea Hubbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5 Stars

[Wordsworn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has been so cute! I'm sad to see it end, but I understand that nothing can go on forever without getting stale. It's a sweet ending also, I'm satisfied. It's been a comfy/cute ride, and I definitely recommend this series to anyone who loves cats and also video games and wants a chill slice-of-life manga to read. :)

[Daniel Shellenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's strange to say, since this is only the eighth volume, but we've come to the end of the series. Now if that sounds all dramatic or anything, no worries this isn't one of those "and we sure had some good times together, but that was Fluffy's last day, and now I just sit in my dark room and think about Fluffy and cry", no, just get that right out of your head. This is an animal story as it ought to be: a short slice out of the life of a quirky animal lover and her silly (though honestly fairly normal for cats) beloved pet cats, enjoying some hijinks and light-hearted low-stakes "awww, what are the wascawy kitties doing now, aren't they swOOOOW adowable!" (I'm sorry, I'll stop that now) adventure. No sudden shifts in tone or heartbreaking deaths here. The ending just involves our protagonist, the gaming/cat-obsessed office lady, having to deal with the fact that her company is moving and she can't find a cat-friendly apartment in the new area and making a choice about how to move to the next stage in her life based on what she values most, her job or her cats (one guess which she chooses). This was a short and amusing series which is basically about a non-cat person discovering the eccentricities and joy of cats, it's not got much in the way of story or drama, but that's fine, sometimes you just need a chill read about cats (and their goofy owner) being silly.

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kozakura is becoming a more knowledgeable pet owner, which has given her the confidence to try new things with and for her pets, including: spa days, merch and "wall tests"! But also leads to a new decision for this little family and a goodbye (for now?).

As always, it's a wonderful time hanging out with Kozakura, Musubi and Soboro! Enjoying their antics, their funny faces and growing their community of cat lovers! Sad to see the series end (probably?), but it's good to see a tidy end rather than it being drug on past when the author really has anything to say or share.

Content notes: No issues; there is a point where Kozakura downloads a "cat translation" app and takes it for complete truth and never really questions it, but at the end we get to see from the cats' perspective and it shows how wrong the app has actually been!

[Vilma Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe this is the final volume in the series! This is such a cute and funny manga. It was definitely one I could turn to for comfort as some of my other series decided they wanted to inflict emotional damage on their readers.

Kozakura is just so relatable. All she wants is to live a simple life, with her cats and her video games. To her, that is bliss. And honestly, that truly does sound like bliss. I happen to be allergic to cats, but even I could see the appeal. If you want a fun read, that will have you chuckling and going "awww" then this is the series for you.

And since it's only eight volumes long, you'll be done reading it before you know it and wishing there was more. At least, that was my experience.

[Coquecigruelalu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clap de fin pour cette saga toute mignonne autour des chats et des jeux vidéos! J’ai adoré les liens entre les deux thèmes tellement bien trouvés par l’auteure!
Les dessins sont simples mais suffisent à l’histoire.
Les deux chats 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 sont très représentatifs des félins en général, j’ai reconnu le mien dans certaines façons de faire qui m’ont bien fait rire!
Le fait que l’héroïne soit une passionnée de jeux vidéos m’a clairement fait adorer ce manga! Je me suis beaucoup retrouvée en elle et lire un tome de cette série m’a toujours donné très envie de prendre ma manette!
Bref je recommande pour les fans de jeux et de chats!

[Danica San Juan, LMSW-C · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. I know this is supposed to be a cute manga! So why am I yearning for character development!

When the main character wanted to participate in a social media challenge, I was hoping a reference to her anonymous cat social media account detailed in Volume 1 would appear to bring the series full circle. I was also surprised that her coworkers all know that she has cats. Recalling Volume 1, she wanted to remain anonymous, so did I miss where it was revealed in one of the later volumes that she did open up to her workplace about having cats?

Also, I think her career change to become a realtor, albeit a realtor to help other cat owners, came out of nowhere.

I know I shouldn't be taking this cute series too seriously. I'm still sad it has ended, but I look forward to the continuation of the authors Cat + Crazy series!

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard for me to believe that this is the last book in the series. I've enjoyed reading along with the antics of Riko and her beloved cats Musubi and Soboro.

Riko has to make the hard decision of where to find a place to live that's reasonable, allows cats, and is a relatively close distance to her job, which is also moving.

Will see be able to find what she's looking for in time or will she have to make sodm tough decisions!

You'll have ot read to find out!

[Mike S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be sad that it's over, be glad that it happened. I loved this silly lil series and sitting for a half hour or so with a volume every now and again. It's been a week of Big Feelings in a year of them, but I held it together. I'll miss Musubi and Soboro, but am very thankful to now know a proper term: The Flehman Response (as opposed to what I called "the shitty cat face"). Aw hell. Bye Cat + Gamer.