REVIEW: A Man & His Cat Picture Book: Fukumaru and the Spaceship of Happiness (book) by Umi Sakurai, translation by Taylor Engel

Fukumaru and the Spaceship of Happiness is a picture book spinoff of the A Man & His Cat manga series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Fukumaru, a cat who is much loved by "Daddy," the man who adopted him, learns about wishing on a shooting star and wants to wish on one of his own. However, the star he wishes upon crashes and turns out to be a spaceship crewed by alien cats. They need Fukumaru to provide them with Happy, the thing that powers their ship.

Oh, the sound I made when I learned that the adorable A Man & His Cat series had a related picture book, and that it was available in English. Anyway, this was just as cute and sweet as I expected it to be. Fukumaru and Mr. Kanda's love for each other gives me all kind of warm fuzzy feelings.

Although there's a flashback to the time when Mr. Kanda adopted Fukumaru, this book will probably work best for fans of the manga series. 

REVIEW: A Man and His Cat (manga, vol. 2) by Umi Sakurai, translated by Taylor Engel

A Man and His Cat is a slice-of-life series. I bought my copy of this volume brand new.

Review:

Fukumaru and Mr. Kanda continue to make an adorable little family, although Fukumaru has some leftover worries that Mr. Kanda might ditch him for a cuter cat. We see a little more of the pet store employee who first helped Mr. Kanda, Mr. Kanda's coworkers, Mr. Kanda's friend Kobayashi, and even some flashbacks to Mr. Kanda's time with his wife. We also learn a little about Mr. Kanda's childhood.

I was not quite in the right mood to read this volume when I first started it. It seemed very aimless in every way to me, and I kept trying to recall whether volume 1 had given me a similar impression. But I continued on, and after a certain point the volume grew on me. I'm still not really a fan of Fukumaru's design, although I suppose that's the point - he's an odd-looking cat for everyone except Mr. Kanda. 

REVIEW: A Man and His Cat (manga, vol. 1) by Umi Sakurai, translated by Taylor Engel

A Man and His Cat is a slice-of-life manga. It's licensed by Square Enix Manga, which I'm apparently going to have to keep an eye on - they have several interesting-looking works coming out in the next few months.

Review:

Fuyuki Kanda is a widowed music teacher who decides to buy a homely one-year-old cat at a pet store. The cat, who he names Fukumaru, is worried that his new owner will take him back or abandon him, but luckily for him, Mr. Kanda adores him.

This series is sweet, gentle, and warm, and I absolutely love it. I found out about it via a review on The Manga Critic, and then I kept coming across it via other sources until I finally broke down and bought it. I'm so glad I did.