The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today Vol. 5

デキる猫は今日も憂鬱 [Dekiru Neko wa Kyō mo Yūutsu] #5

by Hitsuzi Yamada

Saku is looking forward to spending her New Year's holiday vegging out and eating Yukichi's delicious home cooking, but that plan goes out the window when her mom calls, demanding that Saku come visit! Saku doesn't want to leave Yukichi home alone, so she decides to bring him with her! But how will she hide her giant cat from her parents?!

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

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 9, 2021

About the author

Hitsuzi Yamada (山田 ヒツジ, Yamada, Hitsuzi) is a Japanese cartoonist, best known for the manga series The Masterful Cat Is Depressed Again Today, which debutted in 2018.

Reviews

[Mark]

It’s the new year and Saku’s parents are playing the oldest guilt card in the book and dragging their daughter home. And you can’t leave a cat at home, even a self-sufficient gourmet like Yukichi. That means a road trip, provided they don’t die on the way there. Or when they get there. Or on the way back.

Can one section of a manga just utterly elevate the entire thing to such a degree that I have no choice but to give it five stars? Clearly, yes.

The section at the end of this volume is so good that the other stuff is superfluous, which is not a knock on its quality, because it’s really great too. Sometimes I am in the mood for classic ‘hide the alien/giant cat/werewolf/whatever from others’ goofing around and the parental visit brings this in spades.

Saku’s story is interesting too; we’ve seen lots of these parental expectation stories, but there’s a lot of pathos here. With her mom and dad both famous (and dad’s specialty leads to a Yukichi joke that I was waiting for and NOT disappointed by), Saku tried to find what she was good at and ended up as an office worker just living her life.

What’s eating Saku alive is that she never excelled, settling for a lot of runner-up wins that she felt never amounted to much. It’s a good reminder that sometimes we’re the ones who are the problem with expectations we feel we have put upon us. These goals and her lashing out are, for once, all Saku’s own doing and seeing her take the time to realize what she’s been putting herself through is really good.

As usual, Yukichi is up to endless amounts of antics, to balance all that with the usual shenanigans. I love how much he cares about Saku and can’t bear to show it if he can help it. His harried but loving nature feels about how most cats probably are when putting up with humans.

They form a good team and this volume is a little heavier at times, but definitely keeps ladling on the silliness too. It doesn’t hurt that Yukichi wearing clothes has yet to get old, but they do so much with him and his interplay with Saku. We get very few of the regular cast this time and it doesn’t miss a beat.

The bonus manga, featuring Yukichi as a small cat still, takes turn after turn and shows just how much Saku and Yukichi care for one another, but with the benefit of Yukichi’s narration this time so it feels even more impactful than the regular chapters.

A heavy snowfall reminds him of how alone and poorly off he was and he knows just how dangerous it can be, even to a human. The emotional journey in this one is so gooey that I pretty much needed a bucket to mop up the feels afterward.

I wouldn’t want the story to be like this all the time, but as a look at things from a whole other perspective it’s an absolute treasure and incredibly moving. If you get to the paws on the window scene and feel nothing, I just don’t know (well, I do, it just means we’re different, but you get my point).

I’m so glad this series hasn’t gotten stale yet and it’s a real jolt to the system when you need a little cheer in your life. And this may very well be the best volume yet, which is really saying something. The anime can’t get here fast enough.

The only bit negative is the way Saku’s mom nags her about getting married, which I think is annoying, but I also acknowledge is a Japanese cultural thing (and just about everywhere else, to be fair) that is gonna happen. It doesn’t come up so often that it was a big bummer, but it could have been left aside.

5 stars - it was getting 4 anyway and then that little bit of tenderness just took it to perfection. And if that doesn’t do it, well, that full page of Saku brushing Yukichi probably has you covered the rest of the way.

[Rod Brown]

The last volume fell flat for me, but this one picks up as Saku goes to her parents' home for New Year's and sneaks her cat along for the trip. A nice mix of hijinks and heartwarming moments ensues.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: Chapters 48-56-- Bonus: The Masterful Cat's Agony -- Afterword -- Bonus Story

[Rereader]

Dude, I love this series so much. It's funny, heartwarming, and wholesome. I'm so glad I gave it a shot.

[Babs]

As always, SO CUTE!!

Saku has a New Year holiday trip home with Yukichi. Family fun time! Aaaaahahhh the cuteness ❤️❤️😍😍 Bonus chapter with the young Yukichi learning about rice.

[kutingtin]

this anime is about Saku, a hardworking office girl in Japan who is pretty helpless at home, undomesticated and clutzy, she can’t cook and her apartment is a literal garbage dump, she sleeps behind her door and wakes up still in her office clothes.

Until one snowy night she finds a small, black kitten under the park bench near her house and decides to take him in not knowing that this will change her life forever. She feeds him, gets a small box 📦 and labels it Yukichi’s Home 💖

Yuki, an anko cat 🐈‍⬛ grows soo big that he starts walking on 2 legs and is mistaken for a bear, a bear rug, a man in a bear costume or Yuki’s friend which may be a man or woman in a big cat costume.

Nonetheless, Yuki is the star of this series, for me- his character as a domesticated master cat is everything a girl could ever ask for🙏🏻✨ He goes to the supermarket with a cash card and has excellent cooking skills, he cleans the apartment so divinely that it shines like brand new everyday, he grew to accept that his role in life is to make sure that Saku’s overall well being is at 💯 the best way he can (massages, baths, premium beer 🍺, wakes her up on time for work, carries her home when shes drunk, irons/folds her clothes etc.)

[Ken Yuen]

Still good, but we get less of our usual cast of characters because most of the story hanging out with the parents.

Edit: I don't think I've appreciated before how the lady owner has depression. It really paints the cat taking care of her in a different light

[Mischa]

Thought this one was extra cute. These books are my new bedtime stories and I just love how wholesome they are 😻

[Noe]

Cute, comfy, wholesome and a big fluffy cat that cooks for you. What more could you ask for?

[Aurora]

I always enjoy this series. <3

[Hazelle]

Precious as always 😻

[Shae]

I don't know that I will ever get enough of this one. There are so many layers to it, that I always leave the volumes thinking about things in my own life. These are the kinds of slice of life stories I like.

[Océane Le Roux]

A quand le tome 6? Sérieux, j'aime tellement ce manga, cette petite bulle de douceur à chaque fois 🥹

[Allegra]

I really enjoyed the previous volumes of this series but volume five was a very tender and active entry. I feel that the first two volumes were really pressing on the humor of a giant cat taking care of its owner. The third and fourth volume began to really explore that two characters out in the world developing relationships. And, following the tail-ends of the fourth volume, the fifth volume really started to dive deeper into what these two mean to each other and it is very sweet to read. One development I enjoy reading is Saku making more of an attempt at taking care of herself even if it's just so that she is able to care for Yukichi. It's a welcome change after seeing this cat having to take care of her when she's blackout drunk (though that was rather funny).

[Sakura]

The series is really beginning to have more of a plot!! Although it’s a light and fluffy comedy series, and this volume isn’t an exception, this one has a lot of lore and plot driven chapters, rather than random silly jokes and antics. And I love it…?! Saku’s backstory really makes me understand her better, and I love how she interacts with her parents. Not to mention the bonus chapter at the end… this one totally deserves five stars!! This whole volume is so sweet and heartwarming. I think once I’m finished this series, this volume will stand up as at least ONE of my favorites.

(This book contains mild language and alcohol. I would give it an age rating of 10+, but the rest of the series so far is 13+ in my opinion, so keep that in mind.)

[Megan]

This is easily stealing my heart and becoming one of, if not, my favourite manga series out here. So far Saku's been kind of an unrelatable (if still likable) character and I really loved her backstory here and being able to piece together a bit of why she is such a fuck up and get some real empathy for her.

Loved it.

[Annasarah Richard]

I had this book for a while now, and didn’t realize that I didn’t read it yet so I opened it up. I’m so sad that I waited so long to read it. It was very wholesome, and had a very cute vibe, and did I mention it’s about a cat? A cute oversized cat and his owner to be exact. Glad that I finally picked it up. Now time to buy more ❤️

[Sara]

I LOVE this series. Total escape reading. Their trip to the parents' is simply hilarious. I rarely ever buy books these days - (the library is where it's at!) however, our library and even across the state for interlibrary borrowing doesn't have this issue, so it was a must purchase. I was not disappointed!

[Barbara]

Its a little annoying how everyone is drunk all the time and the women are constantly worried about dating and finding a husband. Not sure why the Japanese are like that. I don't think it is amusing. Alcoholism is not amusing nor should it be tollerated.
I hope children are not reading these.
The cat is the best character. The main character is a complete loser.

[Raechel]

Saku and Yuki the Cat find their plans for the New Year changed after her parents want her to come home. This volume we learn more about Saku's life growing up. I found myself understanding a bit more about her. As well as, we discover a bit more about Yuki's drive to help Saku.

[Claire]

This volume is hilarious as she has gone home for the new year and Yukichi has gone with her, so there are disguises and paranoia all around. She does finally tell her parents and her mother becomes obsessed! As always, the last section from Yukichi's POV is ever so cute!

[Gabby]

Rating: 3.5

This volume is one of my favourites! We got to learn more about Saku’s history and family as we spend New Years with her parents! I was more connected to the main character in this volume which is something I felt I lacked in this series so far!!

[Bentgaidin]

Family drama, New Years, and more people learning the secret of the giant cat; this continues to be cute and heartwarming.

[Autumn]

Just as adorable and funny as the other volumes. The art is gorgeous. I love that we get to meet Saku's parents and learn more about her youth.

[Rebecca]

Awesome as always, I love when it shows him as a small kitten.

[Loz]

Real cute, fun story, a very quirky funny.

[Laura Sanner]

This series is so fun! I love the short end chapters where we get to see kitten Yukichi!

[Samantha Soper]

Another cute chapter in the Masterful Cat series. Always a delight. This one almost made me cry a couple of times; there were so many touching moments.

[Hailey Forsberg]

I can’t wait for the next volumes to come out in English! This manga is my new favorite!

[R]

Another great volume!! Awesome illustrations.

[Dee]

The love they have for each others is unmatched 😭