ねこにんげん

by Parari

人間と人型の猫が共存する世界。人間にとって猫は「可愛い」対象。ちょっぴり引っ込み思案な猫のハチスケは、人間に可愛がられるのが苦手。そんなハチスケが社会の一員として何を感じてどう行動しているかをお届けします。性別、年齢、人種、容姿、能力、肩書……社会生活を営む上で現代人が日々感じている偏見、先入観、期待される役割。認知バイアスにさらされる現代社会に一石を投じる今読むべき作品。

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Cats, Fiction, Contemporary, Animals

Comic

First published December 19, 2020

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a strange concoction - a world with cat people, who are fetishised by humans. There's a strong satirical bent to the story, basically with the cat people being inserts for people of colour and/or women in a patriarchal society (with the added touch that all the main cat characters are male). That's not the strange bit, it's more having these half human/cat people with five fingered hands with a cat's beans on the fingers, there's something queasy about their depiction. The manga's metaphor is apt, but also dominates the book, blocking out more personal stories and characterisation.

The art is uniformly excellent - you too will find these cat men very cute, and there's something decidedly off about that.

(Thanks to Seven Seas for providing me with an ARC through Edelweiss)

[Laura]

Cute cat books=emotional harm. One day I will remember that.

[Luce · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, if blunt, look at discrimination and societal bias. I really liked the different ways of looking at how people respond to bias against them.

[Tara Cignarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cat Man by Parari
Writing: B
Story: B-
Characters: B
Setting: B
Best Aspect: A different story with a good message.
Worst Aspect: A bit corny.
Recommend: Yes.

[Aurora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Genuinely unsure how to feel about this book. 😅

[em · Rating 2 out of 5]

eh

[Catt Cuthbertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Oh look! A cute book about cats! Surely this will be a light read for a Saturday afternoon."

lol.

A really interesting book, definitely not at all what I was expecting. It's less of a fun read and more of a social commentary on racism and prejudice and different approaches/reactions. This one will definitely stay with me for a while.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going to be completely honest, I didn't know a thing about this book before I started reading. I thought it was going to be a cute/interesting story about a humanoid cat. I mean, I was right that it was a story about a humanoid cat.

This was a really interesting approach to biases and harassment and how people can react to it in different ways. And not just the main characters. We saw how it was discussed in the community and the debates that were had. (Also, I liked the little nod to itself) I recommend this book because it can help young readers understand what bias and harassment can look like but have it explained to them gently.

[Zephorah Dove]

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the DRC!

I started reading this thinking, “This looks so cute” and then the topics got dark and really reflective of issues currently in the world. I really enjoyed how everything played out and will for sure continue this series.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

First note: I was sort of surprised to discover, toward the end of the book, that this is only one volume! (I don't always pay attention when I pick up new titles.) That said, it only NEEDS to be one volume, since it says pretty much all it needs to say in one.

The core story is about sexual harassment, but with petting cats. One of the human women even chastises herself after being caught inappropriately petting Hachisuke after he gets tipsy and starts purring, then reflexively lashes out and claws her when he comes to, since she committed exactly the same behaviour she had experienced herself and honestly should have known better.

It's actually rather odd that cat-people would come about alongside humans but develop a species-wide inferiority complex that would allow the "cats are for petting" objectification to exist. There's even a "joke" that suggests you should choose a partner who owns cats, because they understand what consent is and that consent can be withdrawn at any time. Don't mess with anything with claws!

(Then again, a lot of racism is based around the idea that black people are bigger and stronger, yet they became slaves for white people... hmm. Seems like that would backfire to SCARE cats into submission using firepower, though?)

On the whole, the art is cute, and I like the idea they were going for. It's a good thought experiment, certainly, and if it makes even one person rethink consent (rather than "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"), then mission accomplished!

[Tobiáš Ševčík · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hodnocení / Book review / 書評 Cz / En (scroll down for english) / Jp (日本語は下に)

ČEŠTINA:
Velmi roztomilá manga pojednávající o stále velmi aktuálních tématech, ne příliš lehce, ne příliš hluboce. Jemný příběh o boji, internalizované diskriminaci i lidech, kteří udělají něco špatně, uvědomí si to a snaží se to změnit. Upřímně řečeno, text na zadní straně mangy nebo zde na Goodreads shrnuje mangu nejlépe. Můžete proměnit „kočky“ v jakoukoli marginalizovanou skupinu a příběh stále funguje.

ENGLISH:
Very cute manga which touches on ever-relevant topics, not too lightly, not too deeply. A gentle story of struggle, internalized discrimination, and even humans who do something wrong, recognize it, and try to change. 　Quite honestly, the text given on the back of the manga or here on Goodreads summarizes the manga best. You can change "cats" into any marginalized group, and the story will work.

日本語:
とても可愛らしいマンガで、時代を超えて普遍的なテーマを扱っている。軽すぎず、深すぎず、ちょうど良いバランス仕上がってきている。闘い、内面化された差別、そして過ちを犯した人間がそれを認め、変わろうとする姿を描いた優しい物語であって好きになちゃいました。漫画の裏表紙かここグッドリードスの紹介文が、この漫画を最も的確に要約しています。「猫」をどんなマイノリティーに置き換えても、この物語は通じます。

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this is an unexpectedly thoughtful read.

In a world where humans and humanoid cats exist, there is something friction.

While some cat folk enjoy the attention and have found fulfilling careers in entertainment or other notable fields, other cat folk like Hachisuke just want to live their lives without being objectified as “cute things” or fetishized. His reservations often put him on the outs with humans who don’t understand their own biases or how their behaviors can be perceived negatively.

Luckily for Hachisuke, he’s got a small group of furriends who can support each other as they navigate this world and the unique challenges they face.

I liked this story?

I’m sure if I really dig into some of the analogies here to IRL oppression, I may find some things that aren’t exactly cogent. But, at surface level, I think this story holds.

I’m definitely interested in reading more~

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unique story of equality, personalities and respect. Reminiscent other stories of people who are "other than" the "traditional norm" (fill in the blank) and how they are treated (less than, celebrities, play things, property) with the twist of being a cat. The "extreme opposite" characters (as we as humans do see cats as pets/our property/for our pleasure in both the real world and this alternative reality) helps the reader take a step back and realize how our actions can be taken. Even those who are well meaning. Read via an online reader copy.

[Jes Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first few pages, I was like. Oh it’s kinda uncomfy that we’re sexualizing/fetishizing cats. But it ended up being weirdly relatable, as the cat people are essentially representative of women (and/or people of color). I liked the characters a lot, and how they all had different feelings/ways of interacting with humans in order to feel safe or okay. I dunno. It was weird but really interesting.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This manga definitely needs more love. It's a really touching and deep story. We follow a group of cat people and follow their day to day lives. It discusses consent involving touch and personal space. Also, the discrimination they face in the workplace. This book really surprised me with how thought provoking it is. I went into it expecting a cute cat manga and went out thinking about how we can all be better people.

[Rebecca Whaley]

I enjoyed this. Thought it was going to be just a cute story but it was much more than that. This was sweet but also had some harsh sides about the cats lives dealing with humans and unwanted attention. The characters each deal with issues and it made me so sad. it ended on a good note thankfully. good read overall.

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the DRC. It got a little heavy handed and repetitive at times, but I liked the message and the relationships that are being built. Looking forward to seeing where the series will go!

[Julia-Paz Garza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art style was simple and cute. I enjoyed that the humans were a bit more angler than the round cat men. The story was easily paced and kept me reading wanting to know what was happening next. The topic and themes were a little heavy so be warned (s/a related) but it was handled with grace.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best manga I've ever read in my life. Just like it says on page 79: "I thought the story was good. It presented complex topics in an age accessible way."
Highly recommended! I really hope more volumes will come out someday.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intense read; don't be fooled by the cover. The library I borrowed it from had it set for Tweens, but no...older teens and adults for sure. Deals with a lot of tough issues in a unique way concerning sexism, discrimination, abuse, consent, etc. It was also sorta strange...X^D

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute art style and storyline for some heavy topics like bias, consent, fetishizing other genders/races, etc. Definitely for older teens/adults as some parts could be uncomfortable or hard to understand for a younger audience.

[Jess List · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this would be a fun short little read about cat people. While it was an amazing read, I didn’t realize how I would be truly drawing lines of similarity from this fictional world to stark realities of our own. SO GOOD.

[Kathleen Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read this ARC, and it was impactful and wonderful and something I want to read over and over again. Such an important read, I really can't wait to put it on my shelf.

[Laura Sanner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't expect this book to be about consent and racism. Great art.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy, but enjoyable read with a very strong underlying conversation about biases, consent and prejudice from the perspective of anthropomorphic cats.

[Roxana Rathbun · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting conversation about consent using anthropomorphic cats.

[mayra❣️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it was better than i thought it would be lmao dove into tough subjects but make it cute and add boundaries✨

[Matt Glaviano · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

Really odd book. I get what it's trying to do but I'm not convinced it's entirely successful at it.

[Ray Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cute graphic novel with an interesting premise and a good message about societal perceptions of certain minorities.

[Jillian -always aspiring- · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but it was missing something. It needed more flair.