REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 6) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb D. Cook

Nyankees is an action-comedy series, although that's not particularly evident in this volume. I bought this new.

Review:

It's the final volume of Nyankees! Madara's full backstory and connection to Gekka is revealed, and it's pretty dark. Also, Ryuusei gets closure where Gekka is concerned.

This series has been a weird tonal roller coaster, and this last volume mostly abandons comedy in favor of tugging at cat-lover heartstrings. If I could adopt Madara and give him treats and scritches, I totally would - his kittenhood was awful.

Although Ryuusei is left free to make his own choice about the kind of life that makes him happy, this volume definitely has a pro-TNR, "being a housecat isn't necessarily bad" message to it. And if you were wondering about the ultimate fate of any of the series' prominent cats, you get to find out about them here - the only one that made me wince a little was the Sphinx cat, who might have been doing fine at that particular moment but who'd definitely need other arrangements once the weather got even slightly chilly.

What the heck was with that "closing credits" style last few pages, with the music and all of the dancing cats? It felt like a reference to something, but I wasn't sure what.

Extras:

One full-color page that doesn't really count, because it's just the cover art again.

REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 5) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb D. Cook

Nyankees is a comedy-action manga series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

It's time for the aftermath of the great battle inside the warehouse. Ryuusei finally learns about Madara's connection to Gekka, the male calico he's been searching for. Enraged, Ryuusei tries to fight Madara, even though he can barely move. Unfortunately for him, Madara hasn't run out of dirty tricks yet.

Meh, it was ok. The little snippet of Gekka and Ryuusei's story was kind of disappointing, considering it's the driving force behind everything he's done in the series so far. Gekka came across as just another one of cats Madara messed with just because he felt like it, although the preview of the next volume indicates that there may be more to it than that.

The bulk of this volume took itself seriously, so I appreciated the ridiculous revelation of Madara's final trick. 

Extras:

A couple full-color pages, some brief translation notes, and a few character design sketches.

REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 4) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb D. Cook

Nyankees is a comedy/action manga. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Raiga and Taiga make up, but then Hazuki, the tuxedo cat who riled up Raiga in the past, reappears. Hazuki, on Madara's direction, arranges a trap for all of the cats.

This is one of those WTF volumes. How did Hazuki even open those cat treat tubes? And hey, Sango's back.

The cats take the events of this volume super seriously. The author and any human characters...do not. Lol at the woman whose first reaction, upon seeing a Sphinx cat just walking around on the streets, was to take a picture and post it on her social media. Also, she mistook an impending cat battle for a possible impending friendship.

The scene with Mr. Moke was technically pretty dark...until the author briefly interrupted the story to reassure readers that he was, in fact, all right and getting any necessary care.

Extras:

A couple pages of full-color artwork, and a jam-packed two pages of cats (both feline and human forms) paired with their names, genders, breeds, and gang affiliations.

REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 3) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb D. Cook

Nyankees is a comedy/action manga series. I bought my copy of this volume new.

Review:

Three newcomers invade Nekonaki Town, although they don't appear to be working together. There's a Sphinx who creeps out everyone who meets him, a Bengal obsessed with fighting, and a fluffy cat who uses catnip in battle. Taiga's spot as top cat in Nekonaki becomes even more precarious when he faces off against the Bengal, prompting the return of his brother Raiga. Meanwhile, the smoky cat's catnip techniques are super effective.

REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 2) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb D. Cook

Nyankees is a comedy series. I bought this volume new.

Review:

Ryuusei finally meets the leader of the Goblin Cat Tails - and it turns out the intel was bad, the leader is a female and not a male calico. Oops. Next up, a lost pet cat joins Taiga's group for safety, at least until his owner can find him. In the meantime, there seems to be a new threat in town, an odd group composed of a Bengal-looking fighter, a Sphinx cat, and a long-haired cat who seems to exist in a perpetual cloud of catnip.

A lot of my issues with the first volume also apply to this volume, although this time around I didn't even particularly like the artwork - too many scenes of the cats battling in non-catlike poses.

I really wasn't a fan of the humor in the first half of this volume, which hinged on the supposed hilarity of Sango, a huge female calico, being depicted as muscle-bound and masculine-looking in her human form. There is, of course, a scene in which she kisses Ryuusei and expresses an interest in him - all the male cats are predictably horrified.

I liked the introduction of the lost pet cat reasonably well, although it's hard to tell if the second half of the volume was gearing up for anything new or just introducing a slightly different quirky group that Ryuusei would then have to battle. 

All in all, this continues to be a mediocre series.

Extras:

Translation notes (for some reason inserted just before the final chapter rather than at the end of the volume), one full-color illustration, and a vague map of key locations in the series.

REVIEW: Nyankees (manga, vol. 1) by Atsushi Okada, translated by Caleb Cook

Nyankees is a gang fight/cat manga with humorous elements. It's licensed by Yen Press.

Review:

This series stars a bunch of stray cats who are usually depicted as tough human thugs and gang members. Ryuusei is a newcomer in Nekonaki, the territory ruled by Taiga and his gang. He doesn't always think before getting into fights, but he's tough and has the scars to prove it. Taiga and the others think he might be looking to steal some territory, but in reality the only thing he's interested in is finding a mysterious calico tom with a scarred eye. There's a chance that the cat Ryuusei wants to find is the new leader of the Goblin Cat Tails, but in order to meet him he'll first have to fight his way through a bunch of cats trying to create a cat utopia.