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What's Michael? #2
What's Michael Book Two
what's michael
117 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Makoto Kobayashi
114 books15 followersMakoto Kobayashi (小林 まこと, Kobayashi Makoto) is a Japanese manga artist.
Kobayashi's professional career in comics started in 1978, when he won the 'Shōnen magazine New manga artist' award for his work Grapple Three Brothers.
Over the years Kobayashi has published a number of sport manga, specifically about Judo, starting from his first serialised work Sanshiro of 1, 2 (1981-1984), winner of the 1981 'Kodansha Manga Award'. However, his best known comic book, especially in the West, is What's Michael? (1984-1989), a humour strip about an orange cat, for which Kobayashi won another 'Kodansha Manga Award' in 1986.
Kobayashi's professional career in comics started in 1978, when he won the 'Shōnen magazine New manga artist' award for his work Grapple Three Brothers.
Over the years Kobayashi has published a number of sport manga, specifically about Judo, starting from his first serialised work Sanshiro of 1, 2 (1981-1984), winner of the 1981 'Kodansha Manga Award'. However, his best known comic book, especially in the West, is What's Michael? (1984-1989), a humour strip about an orange cat, for which Kobayashi won another 'Kodansha Manga Award' in 1986.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 11, 2020
I think I'm really in the mood for something like this. Light hearted but completely bonkers and way more insightful than Garfield. I thought I'd get bored after volume one but in fact I'm even more attached to it! I will definitely keep this close at hand to pick up when I'm feeling down.
My husband said something after flipping through the book that cats do whatever they want - eat, sleep, etc. ;) - why are humans so obsessed with stuff that's absolute nonsense? Who's smarter, people or cats? You decide!
My husband said something after flipping through the book that cats do whatever they want - eat, sleep, etc. ;) - why are humans so obsessed with stuff that's absolute nonsense? Who's smarter, people or cats? You decide!
July 13, 2025
A cute...ish collection of short stories about one cat in particular, Michael! All the stories are relatively standalone, so it's not really necessary to read the first book to understand what's happening. In fact, there's not really even any internal continuity, since it will go from Michael being a normal housecat to a baseball game between cats and dogs.*
I mean, there's SOME continuity, since Michael DOES have a "wife" in later volumes—even if his owners in the story where she appears here are ridiculously thick about it (not getting Michael fixed AND getting him a wife who's still a kitten). For the most part, though, it feels like Michael is just "any orange tabby" who is able to be the focal character of whatever is going on in the current story, since Michael has had at least three different owners just in this volume, all behaving differently for comedic reasons, such as having Michael and his owner do the same things together: eat, sleep, groom, use the bathroom, sit in each other's designated spots.
About all I find objectionable is Kobayashi has a thing about drawing the cats defecating—a lot—and I don't mean having the poop hidden behind a barrier but actually having it visibly coming out. He's curiously unashamed of showing that in a lot more places than are probably necessary.
(Yet Michael is not "anatomically correct" like they are in a lot of other cat comics I've read recently. Interesting.)
Mostly a good, funny series, but slightly gross, so I wouldn't recommend this specific volume to anyone who doesn't like that kind of humour. This also has the "wicker furniture" story I don't really like, because I can't imagine ANY cat owner being so clueless as to buy furniture so enticing for cats to use as scratching posts.
*with the cats being... cats... and losing spectacularly because I guess the dogs manage to restrain themselves long enough to not try to play "fetch" with the ball while cats really can't be bothered with organised sports (although, I do wonder how the dog touched second base if the cat player was napping on it)
I mean, there's SOME continuity, since Michael DOES have a "wife" in later volumes—even if his owners in the story where she appears here are ridiculously thick about it (not getting Michael fixed AND getting him a wife who's still a kitten). For the most part, though, it feels like Michael is just "any orange tabby" who is able to be the focal character of whatever is going on in the current story, since Michael has had at least three different owners just in this volume, all behaving differently for comedic reasons, such as having Michael and his owner do the same things together: eat, sleep, groom, use the bathroom, sit in each other's designated spots.
About all I find objectionable is Kobayashi has a thing about drawing the cats defecating—a lot—and I don't mean having the poop hidden behind a barrier but actually having it visibly coming out. He's curiously unashamed of showing that in a lot more places than are probably necessary.
(Yet Michael is not "anatomically correct" like they are in a lot of other cat comics I've read recently. Interesting.)
Mostly a good, funny series, but slightly gross, so I wouldn't recommend this specific volume to anyone who doesn't like that kind of humour. This also has the "wicker furniture" story I don't really like, because I can't imagine ANY cat owner being so clueless as to buy furniture so enticing for cats to use as scratching posts.
*with the cats being... cats... and losing spectacularly because I guess the dogs manage to restrain themselves long enough to not try to play "fetch" with the ball while cats really can't be bothered with organised sports (although, I do wonder how the dog touched second base if the cat player was napping on it)
May 18, 2021
Ngakak abis lihat kelakuan Michael. Kobayashi-sensei tau persis seluk beluk perkucingan :))
September 11, 2012
If I understand correctly, this is volume 2 of the first publication of What's Michael in English, before the Dark Horse editions. (Eclipse Comics, who published this one, is now out of business.) So I believe there's some repetition between this and the Dark Horse comics, but I'm not sure as I don't own all of them.
With that said, this manga is hands down the best comic I've ever read about cats. The author/artist is obviously a cat owner, and the gags ring true. The format is standalone stories of a few pages each (Michael being an "everycat" with different humans each time), and (with one exception in this volume) the cats are not anthropomorphic and don't speak human language. I'm not a visual person, yet the wordless action was mostly easy for me to follow, which is a testament to Kobayashi's skill. The stories not only poke fun at cats and their strange behaviors, but also at humans from all walks of life.
The English adaptation is done really well, never mind that it was published in 1990. This comic is underappreciated because it was one of the earlier efforts at translating manga, and I think it's out of print at this point, but it's a must have for cat owners.
With that said, this manga is hands down the best comic I've ever read about cats. The author/artist is obviously a cat owner, and the gags ring true. The format is standalone stories of a few pages each (Michael being an "everycat" with different humans each time), and (with one exception in this volume) the cats are not anthropomorphic and don't speak human language. I'm not a visual person, yet the wordless action was mostly easy for me to follow, which is a testament to Kobayashi's skill. The stories not only poke fun at cats and their strange behaviors, but also at humans from all walks of life.
The English adaptation is done really well, never mind that it was published in 1990. This comic is underappreciated because it was one of the earlier efforts at translating manga, and I think it's out of print at this point, but it's a must have for cat owners.
August 23, 2014
This is my second reading of this particular book. I absolutely crack up at the graphics. A cat with magnets on their feet, Michael's sweating head as he tries to control himself, and his little girlfriend. I am a cat owner but not a person who thinks of myself as a cat mommy. I own cats and enjoy their antics. Every cat has something unique to offer. This book is spot on for the glimpse of their hilarity.
July 14, 2013
My friend Ethan shared this with me because they knew I'd love it. They were right.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews