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拾われ子猫と元ヤクザ #1

Ex-Yakuza and Stray Kitten, Vol. 1

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A MENACING EX-YAKUZA BOSS TAKES IN AN ADORABLE KITTEN!

After being abandoned in the cold rain, tiny kitten Sabu should have been grateful to find a new home. But when he's rescued by Jin, whose every atom screams "yakuza," Sabu suspects he's out of the frying pan and into the fire! Yet Jin's scarred hands and face hide a sweet man beneath... a man who pampers kitties with baths and bottle-feedings!

162 pages, Paperback

First published April 9, 2021

26 people are currently reading
1282 people want to read

About the author

Riddle Kamimura

5 books10 followers
カミムラリドル

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5 stars
478 (36%)
4 stars
520 (39%)
3 stars
273 (20%)
2 stars
40 (3%)
1 star
13 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews
Profile Image for Laura A. Grace.
2,055 reviews326 followers
December 17, 2022
This was SOOOOOO cute!

Absolutely loved it! Not sure what else to say about it except that I am SUCH a fun of a "bad boy" loving animals and taking care of them! Brings out all the warm fuzzy feelings! <3

Definitely recommend if you love fluffy stories, yakuza turned "good" (but gives off alllll the "questionable" vibes to surrounding people LOL), and of course, cats! Very much looking forward to the next volume because I didn't know where this story was going to go, but the more I read, the more I want of this! So so so cute!
Profile Image for AltLovesBooks.
633 reviews33 followers
July 25, 2023
This was a fun manga about an ex-Yakuza adopting a small stray kitten he found left outside in the cold. This ex-Yakuza now runs a cat cafe (I approve of this job choice), and our kitten friend Sabu is now one of his "employees". Lots of gags involving how dangerous Jin looks to Sabu.

I liked it, but I feel like it hits the same notes as Way of the House Husband. I like that the cat is the viewpoint here though, and there's enough differences to make it mostly interesting to me.
Profile Image for Cassandra.
3,062 reviews27 followers
February 23, 2025
I wasn't expecting this to be from the cats POV. A stray abandoned kitten is found by a former yakuza that has an pet cafe. We follow the yakuza guy (Jin) nursing the kitten back to health before letting him loose in the cafe. Mostly guy tries to care for kitten and kitten is scared but then gives in as they find out it is not so bad. It was just okay.
Profile Image for Manon EPAUD .
37 reviews
December 29, 2022
Manga humoristique ayant pour but de casser certains clichés. Pour le moment je n'arrive pas vraiment à dégager l'objectif à atteindre dans cette histoire. A voir la suite
Profile Image for Natalie S.
1,140 reviews9 followers
July 25, 2023
Good drawings, very cute, fun idea.
Profile Image for nico.
44 reviews
September 14, 2025
Omg so sweet. The art style is so great and the way the characters are acting is so amazing.
And I have to say Sabu is such a Cutie Patootie😍
Profile Image for Mystic DreamClouds.
539 reviews12 followers
November 1, 2025
You can never go wrong with a story that has cats!!

This was an entertaining read following tiny kitten Sabu who was abandoned on a rainy day. Sabu fortunately gets picked up by ex-Yakuza, Jin. Thus, follows their journey at getting to know each other alongside new friends and family!

The story is told primarily from Sabu’s perspective with his thoughts as the narration. Sabu is an animated kitty both facially and in his thoughts. He’s quick to make judgements which makes the story enjoyable and comedic with his constant misunderstandings. Sabu is also just a little kitty and many times his kitty instincts take over from his thoughts and determination!

Jin is an ex-Yakuza and an animal lover. I loved how he retained his scary Yakuza look and feel although he was noticeably very gentle and caring towards animals. He handled Sabu with gentleness and care throughout. Jin respects his boss and visits him and his Yakuza brothers, who are all animal lovers. They each have different pets, although we haven’t met them yet.

The story itself is told in short episodic chapters that are dependent on each other. Each chapter is entertaining and focused on getting Sabu healed, checked, and acquainted with his new environment. I loved how this was depicted because it was important and realistic. That said, I felt like there were too many characters introduced for one volume. Sabu doesn’t interact directly with all of them but there is a character summary page after the chapter, which helps a bit. I’ll likely have to review it a few times for future volumes.

The artwork is simple yet soft. The Yakuza don’t look dark and scary, it’s more Sabu’s interpretation of Jin’s expressions. Overall the artwork is expressive and cute. The animals, especially Sabu, are all expressive and cute! They are primarily drawn round which adds to their cuteness. The volume also has descriptive backgrounds but they are mainly simplistic with enough details to support the foreground. This volume also uses iconography and a lot of shading to add a more engaging experience.

Overall this was an enjoyable and unique read! I loved Sabu’s expressive thoughts and facial expressions because it was engaging. I also enjoyed Jin’s attentive care for Sabu and his scary expressions that led to many comedic misunderstandings. I’m definitely looking forward to the next volume and Sabu’s new job!

Read more reviews @ Mystic's Review Shelf
Profile Image for Natalie.
1,220 reviews21 followers
March 10, 2023
I would say this is a 3? 3.5? I’m not sure.

I went into this manga volume with high hopes, hoping it would give me the same feeling as The Way of the House Husband, but it just didn’t. I definitely see similarities between Jin and Tatsu, but it felt more hollow in this one. I think this is because the story feels like it’s being told from an outsider’s perspective. It’s through the lens of Sabu’s preconceived notions of Jin. Meanwhile, House Husband is more like you're seeing things simultaneously through Tatsu’s eyes and those of the people around him.

I’m not sure if I’m making myself clear.

Regardless, I still thought this was cute. Sabu is such a cute little kitten! I can’t wait to see him warm up to Jin and his “coworkers.” As for Jin, I hope we get more insight on him. I think with a little more depth to him, this could really become a favorite series 💖
Profile Image for Pamela.
801 reviews
April 20, 2025
2.75/5

It was okay. Shades of Way of the Househusband-esque humour, but I like it better when we are not having our attention called to how scary the character is more. I like it better when the story plays out we just see them do wholesome things in funny ways. Framing it with the scared kitten trying to escape got a bit redundant from chapter to chapter when it becomes clear he’s not actually trying to be scary or mean.

If the follow up volumes have the kitten settling into his new position and spending time with the other animals I might like that more.
Profile Image for Cathy.
481 reviews5 followers
November 6, 2025
Nothing groundbreaking, but a cute, light read with lots of fun due to the juxtaposition of a wee kitten under the “employ” of gangsters. 😅
Profile Image for Danie Ware.
Author 60 books210 followers
June 5, 2023
Cute crime comedy that’s kind of Househusband in reverse. A very paranoid and feisty kitten (who spends a lot of time sweating, which is kinda odd) keeps thinking that the bad Yakuza is going to abuse him… but the bad Yakuza is a big animal softie with a cafe full of cats and dogs. Funny, and the cat’s frantic determination to escape is hilarious
Profile Image for blueberry cony.
181 reviews1 follower
December 15, 2022
very cute and heartwarming!!
i really trust jin,,,, and i’m looking forward to knowing more about his pet cafe 🥺🥺

score: 3/5
read 15/12/22
Profile Image for itselv.
697 reviews308 followers
Read
July 22, 2023

The sweetest thing ever! so silly and adorable.

Profile Image for Zac.
297 reviews57 followers
April 6, 2024
This was adorable! An ex-Yakuza gangster adopts a stray kitten and welcomes it into the rescue cat and dog cafe that he runs. I’ll be reading the rest of the series.
Profile Image for ˗ˏˋ mckenna ˎˊ˗.
715 reviews64 followers
June 26, 2024
this is very cute!!! i could see this getting potentially repetitive but i love the dynamics between jin and sabu so far….. very sweet 🫶🏻
Profile Image for Fyre.Katz.
866 reviews23 followers
December 11, 2024
This is one of the cutest kitty manga I've ever read... yes I will continue it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 183 reviews