Félin pour l'autre, tome 1

ねこったけ! / Nekottake! #1

by Wataru Nadatani (Contributor)

Kensuke Fuji vit un drame… Il adore les chats, mais ces derniers ne le calculent pas !
Ses sœurs y étant allergiques, le lycéen n’a jamais eu la chance d’avoir eu un matou à la maison, et il n’a pas vraiment le mode d’emploi pour leur plaire...
Sa vie bascule le jour où disparaît Tamako, une charmante chatte de gouttière qu’il croisait tous les matins. Parti à sa recherche, Kensuke va faire la rencontre de Jin Nekoya, un "maître chat", qui comprend parfaitement le langage félin. Désormais, le lycéen fera tout pour devenir le disciple de Jin, quitte à accepter les défis les plus improbables, et enfin se faire aimer des chats !
Tout ça sous le regard halluciné de Yamada, une copine de lycée…

Genres: Manga, Cats, Graphic Novels, Animals, Young Adult, Comics, Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2016

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!!

this new series is just as fantastic as the cat + gamer series — full of adorable cats and the people who are absolutely crazy for them!

i really just love the way the mangaka draws cats in such a balance of realism and cartoon!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wataru Nadatani’s previous manga, Cat + Gamer, was a very fun look at the joys and foibles of pet ownership viewed through the lens of a hardcore gamer with a sometimes questionable grip on reality.

This is so very not that, to such an extent that I was struggling to believe it was from the same writer. The art style kind of gives it away, but what worked the first time does not work this time around.

Oh, the cat parts are super cute. Honestly, this would work better if Nadatani eschewed plot completely and just went with a full-on artbook dedicated to various species and poses of cats. I would absolutely read that.

This commits the mistake of trying to be hilarious with an absurdist slant that is roughly as effective as carving a turkey while submerged in the Bering Strait. Which is to say, it is neither sensical nor achievable.

Cat loving Fuji cannot have one of his own, so he stalks all the strays in the neighbourhood and learns their patterns and behaviours. Koharu, who is actually our lead, cannot figure him out. She thinks he’s a stalker and she’s not entirely wrong.

The story makes a massive misstep by not sticking with these two. Fuji is more than extra enough to push the boundaries of a series’ reality. Cute rom-com with cats? Let’s go! Then the cat whisperer guy shows up.

Fuji’s new guru, Jin, would be a lot in any story and what I hoped was just a silly cameo soon became the focal point of the whole thing. He acts like something out of Dragon Ball and his cat style martial art is cute once and then offers nothing.

The overall plot of Fuji being sucked into this lunatic’s wake while Koharu becomes fond of him and learns to love cats is… not awful. But it dies in the execution, which tries to mix realism and sincerity with a story where somebody uses a toebean based kick attack.

There’s also a truly annoying habit of the story calling Jin ‘Maestro’, which feels like a very awkward mistranslation of the term ‘Master’. Especially when the manga uses the term ‘Maestro-student’ relationship. Even if it isn’t mistranslated, it’s inelegant any way you slice it.

From styling crow feathers to sitting on rooftops, this quickly leaches most of its charm in pursuit of the notion of being ‘wacky’. Well, it’s wacky, sure, but that doesn’t truly translate into good.

Look, I like wild nonsense in my manga. I happily devoured numerous volumes of Marriage Toxin, read Blue Lock into the double digits, and the completely deranged Can’t Stop Cursing You is one of my favourite series ever. This one isn’t even close, probably because it is far too self-aware for its own good.

You may very well enjoy this if you are super into cats and just want more - I did like some of the parts when the kitten shows up, plus Fuji’s family has potential that, admittedly, quietly gets wasted. For me, well, I live with two cats and have owned at least one for over twenty years and this just made me appreciate mine more because very little of this reminded me of them.

2.5 stars - if you like the sound of this, round it up and enjoy. I just couldn’t get into this at all. I felt the last series got out just in time, but now the role is reversed as I’ll be getting out just in time because I have no desire to read a second volume.

[Victor The Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the creator of “Cat+Gamer”, we follow high schooler Koharu who catches fellow student Kensuke watching stray cats that includes one he remembers when he was younger. Usually more closed off at school, Kensuke turns out to really love cats and watches strays because his mother and older twin sisters are severely allergic to them but he surprisingly gets guidance from buff cat expert Neko-Yajin to fully connect with them through body and mind. Koharu will see Kensuke doing whatever it takes to connect with cats and maybe find a true companion while getting in some funny and furry moments.

Like his other series, “C+C” is another funny and interesting cat story that’s also pretty informative. It’s very relatable as well as some of us must have or want to have a pet. The story is full of funny moments while having some heartwarming one too. For now, it really does look like Kensuke has a big chance at getting his wish thanks to his cat trainer and friend by his side. A- (91%/Excellent)

[Sol · Rating 4 out of 5]

“When you’re having fun, nothing is pointless.”

It was so refreshing to stumble upon a manga that is genuinely campy – something completely ridiculous that knows that it’s being ridiculous. I feel like a lot of the manga that I read is comedic, but lacking in the camp factor, so I appreciated this! It was such a pleasant surprise for me that I couldn’t help but enjoy and laugh along. “Cat Crazy” is right – this is a manga about people who take devoting their lives to cats to the extreme!

This is a manga about a boy who meets a very Super Saiyan-esque cat whisperer and begs him to take him as his disciple so he can learn all the best ways to be in community with cats. It’s super ridiculous, but weirdly earnest and heartfelt at the same time. I really liked that one of the main messages about getting along with cats is understanding and respecting their behavior, because cats really are like people in many ways – we need to understand each other’s boundaries and treat each other with respect, as opposed to just charging in and acting like besties. I thought it was sweet how, through taking care of a cat for the first time, you get to see Fuji, the protagonist, mature a bit more too.

Yes, this was ridiculous and silly, but I couldn’t help but find it sweet. I also like that we have an audience surrogate character, Fuji’s classmate Yamada. Not that it matters much to the plot, but I thought it was refreshing that it shows a friendship between a boy and a girl without any trace of romance. It felt very realistic, and I liked that having Yamada there to provide “WTF?” reactions made the silly plot all the more grounded and enjoyable.

I just thought it was cute. I think I’ll continue!

[Mersi · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! So silly and the most adorable thing! This is what it's like to be a cat parent.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love cats. So when I saw this, I knew I had to read it. It’s ridiculously fun and entertaining. Cute beyond words. Can hardly wait for volume 2.

[:¨·.·¨: `·. izzy ★°*ﾟ · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

I sadly just couldn’t get into this. It was quite bizarre and the plot style and art style were so different to cat + gamer.

Just not for me.

[Laura Cns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bon début et un univers qui me correspond totalement ! Je ne vais pas décrocher !

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this almost as much as the first book of Cat + Gamer

[Clodjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ce manga nous offre un bon récit avec un graphisme plutôt traditionnel qui suit le style shônen mais avec des touches plus charmantes et détaillées dans ce qui a trait aux chats. Ce manga est donc une agréable et amusante lecture, qui se lit vite et bien (d’autant plus que c’est une courte série de seulement six volumes), en plus d’être un peu éducatif. Un bon manga à lire pour se dé-stresser en temps d’apocalypse viral!

Voir mon commentaire complet sur https://clodjee-blog.com/2020/04/03/f...

[Myriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je me suis beaucoup reconnue dans le personnage principal, frustré de ne pas pouvoir avoir de chat chez lui, et qui épie donc les matous de son quartier dans leur environnement naturel.
C'est mignon, mais les dessins et le côté "shonen" de l'histoire avec l'entraîneur qui le coache m'a un peu ennuyée.
Une lecture sympa mais sans plus, je ne lirai pas la suite.

[Olivia H · Rating 5 out of 5]

totally different from cat + gamer but this genuinely had me cracking up, this is what i imagine my mom does with her free time

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cat + Gamer by this mangaka is definitely one of my faves. It's cats plus nerds and if that's you, then you get all the in-jokes and it is both relatable and laugh-out-loud funny! But Cat + Crazy is quite a different thing. I did laugh out loud a few times still, because the cat behavior is so relatable and funny, but the human characters are just frankly bizarre. There are two high school kids: one is so hyperfixated on cats that he keeps a notebook to sketch and catalogue all the neighborhood strays, notating everything from their appearance to their habits, to the exclusion of keeping up with his actual school work; the other is a girl who is actually a dog person, but she becomes hyperfixated on this weird classmate of hers who is obsessed with cats! Cute enough, but then this "superhero" dude shows up and he is SO into cats that he has invented his own martial arts based on cat movements, and he seems to have an uncanny ability to communicate with felines to the point where they can converse and the cats follow his commands, which is just plain silly. The Cat Whisperer takes the high school boy under his wing to teach him the way of cats, and the teenage girl tags along by proxy. And that's the plot.

This manga is available on Hoopla so I'm going to read it for free, but I don't think I would buy it to reread. If it were just the teens, I think it would be fine. The superhero guy is way over the top and I'm not terribly amused by him, and this book is nowhere near so relatable as Cat + Gamer because the humans are just so atypical. But it was still a pretty good time.

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love this author's other series which are very short stories about how a gamer relates her gaming ways to cat ownership. I am not a gamer but I found it so cute and I loved it. But this series.... I was excited when I saw that it was more traditional in the manga style (4 chapters in a volume and it seemed to have a real continuing story line) but the plot is chaos and it wasn't enjoyable. We have a young boy who loves the stray cats in his neighborhood but can't have a cat cause his family is allergic. His school mate (kind of the main character), sees his behavior as over the top and strange. Which is all fine but then there is also an Adult male who is teaching the young boy a cat type of karate. The MC (I think), has no point. She is just there and doesn't really have plot around her nor does she help move the story along. She is kind of just a narrator in a way about the young boy but that means that we are less in his head to make all this seem less crazy.

My library has the second one on order already, I think I might try that one and decide from there if I want to continue.

[Dustyloup · Rating 2 out of 5]

read in 🇫🇷 👇🏻 2.25+
Cat Gamer was so much better in terms of narrative arc. this one is kind of bonkers and would please fans of manga like One Piece with its focus on mastering the way of the cat.
Anyway, I only have myself to blame bc my son warned me that it was weird (he stopped reading after ch one)
Quelle déception après avoir lu La Gameuse et son chat ! mieux adapté aux lecteurs de One Piece que des seinen et/ou josei.
C'est ma faute car mon fils m'a prévenu que c'était pas comme l'autre avec des batailles etc. mais j'avais besoin de l'expérimenter moi même 🤣

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up Cat + Crazy, Volume 1 by Wataru Nadatani because I loved Cat + Gamer. I love cats and the cats here were great. That said, I wasn't nearly as interested in the human cast in this though. I don't think I'll continue on with this series.

[Alisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a cute manga to read. I am have cats of my own, and this was fun to read. The story of a new cat/pet owner learning the ways of pet parenthood. This was just cute and a quick read. I look forward to reading more of this series.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cute please let me pet all the kitties

[jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is very silly

[Stella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cat obsessed teenage boy meets cat obsessed cat guru and asks to be trained. Hijinks ensue. I feel like the teenage girl observing it all…these two are nuts.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but not really what I'm looking for in a cat-focused manga. I want more cats, and less people.

[kristyn ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's okay, fuji and nekoya are just autistic

[BreAnna (Bre'sBooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cat whisperer was weird, but I loved Tiger! 🐯

[Sneha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't have the silly magic of Cat + Gamer for me, but still cute!

[jennalikebook · Rating 5 out of 5]

well i wasn't expecting THAT lolol

[Babs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good silly cat fun.

[Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So light and fluffy and silly (in a good way)! It makes me want to start a cat observation journal.

[Mac]

so silly, but heartwarming

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The journey to become a cat-whisperer is a long one--but it's full of feline fun."

On the outset, this looked to be a fairly typical manga about deep enthusiasm, cats in this case. But by the end of first chapter, it had taken a turn to absurd and stayed there.

Kensuke Fuji, a high school boy, loves cats more than anything. To his upset, his mother and sisters are all allergic and he can't have a cat. So he spends all his spare time observing and photographing stray cats in his neighbourhood. One morning, his classmate, Koharu Yamada, sees him in action and thinks he's a peeping tom. His explanation doesn't make much sense to her, but his enthusiasm manages to draw her in.

The turn to absurd comes when the pair meets Jin Nekoya, a self-proclaimed cat-whisperer who has created the cat's way martial arts for the sole purpose of learning to understand cats. Fuji is instantly sold and begs for Nekoya to take him as a disciple. The volume follows Fuji, through Yamada's eyes, on his path to become a cat-whisperer, which contains anything from exercising to bonding with a wild kitten. It doesn't go entirely smoothly, but Fuji's enthusiasm never wavers.

This was a fun volume, but not necessary something I'd be compelled to read more. The author seems to know a lot about cats. Art was good.

I received a free copy from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Brenda Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was obsessed with Cat + Gamer, so I didn’t hesitate to start this new manga. I’m so happy it lived up to my expectations, and then some. I am so invested and my heart feels full :,)