What's so cute about Manga? Let me tell you...

It's Manga Week on Chick with Books and we need to talk about cute. When I first "discovered" Manga, I only saw cute. Big eyes, bright faces, and very stylized. School girls with special powers, etc. Then I saw that there was more to it than that. And as this week will show, there are all sorts of genre of Manga. Wanting to read "real" books, I chose to stay away from "the cute"... but then I discovered some cute that I just could not resist...

Chi's Sweet Home written and illustrated by Kanata Konami... Chi is a cute playful kitten out for a walk with her mother and siblings. She's enjoying the outdoors so much that she gets lost. She can't find her mother! She's terrified & scared and collapses in the grass with tears in her eyes. Along comes a little boy named Yohei, finds Chi all alone in the park, and asks his mother if they can take her home. Well, it looks like Chi's too little to be left on her own, but the Yamada family live in a building that doesn't allow pets... OK, they take her home until they can find a permanent home for her... BUT, no one seems to be able to take her, and Chi is so cute, they end up keeping her and this it about her adventures.

Adorable doesn't come close to this Manga series! If you are a cat person, you have to read this! I'm a dog person, with some cat leanings, and I just love this series! The drawings are simple and the stories and fun. Told through the eyes of Chi, and the way she views things sometimes is hilarious, this is simple a must read.  The series continues and book 11 comes out Oct. 10th.

Yotsuba& by Kiyohiko Azuma... Yotsuba is a 5 year old little girl with green hair. The story revolves around her life with her adoptive father and their neighborhood friends. This is another cute, light and fun Manga. Yotsuba has a beautiful sense of wonder and we experience the world around her through fresh eyes. Everything is new and strange to her. The air conditioner and pizza and a multitude of everyday things. And this also hints to the fact that there is something "different" about this little girl. Where did she actually come from? She does have green hair after all... What these stories of Yotsuba teach us is to enjoy the world around us. This is a charming and heartwarming series that is still going strong too. Volume 12 came out last November, so look for volume 13 soon. Yotsuba is silly, charming and lighthearted. I enjoy reading this series now and then. It's not a "must" read for me, but when looking for something "light and easy" these stories always make me smile.

These light, fun, sometimes silly stories are very popular with a wide audience in Japan. These are not reserved for children, but are appreciated and enjoyed by adults. These types of Manga are a great escape that can simply make us smile.

Happy Manga reading... Suzanne

Chi's Sweet Home by Konami Kanata... A Review

If you love cats, this is a Manga series for you! Chi is a very cute little kitten that has lost its way. On an outing with her mother and siblings, Chi becomes separated from them. Realizing that she is lost, she desperately searches and encounters all sorts of scary things out there- like dogs and speeding cars! Exhausted and scared, Chi wanders into a park, and with a thud falls down, tears streaming down her face. This just tugged at my heart! At the same time a very young boy named Yohei falls with a thud right across from Chi, crying. The two look into each other's tear filled eyes and Chi thinks, "You don't know where your home is either, huh?" And then Yohei's mother comes to help Yohei up. Yohei tells his mother that the kitten fell down too, and asks his mother what they should do. Well, how can you leave a cute little abandoned kitten all alone in a park? They bring Chi home...

Although there are complications... the Yamada family lives in a building that doesn't allow cats... And Chi still yearns for her family, especially her mother. But after failing to find a good home for Chi, the Yamadas decide to keep Chi as part of their family, and hide her from the neighbors. This makes for some very entertaining stories, one of which is how the Yamadas solve the problem of Chi showing herself to the neighbors after learning to jump onto the window sill so she can get a look at the whole world!

Chi's Sweet Home is written by Konami Kanata. In volume 1, there are 20 short chapters that see Chi learn to use the litter box, learn what taking a bath is all about, learn what the vet is and other cat like adventures. It is a very sweet, very cute Manga that even Publisher's Weekly picked as one of the best Manga in 2010...

"This manga has got to be the cutest thing 2010 has seen. Kanata gets inside the head of a tiny lost kitten who has a mind of her own which gets her into all sorts of wild adventures. Full color fun and a perfect reminder of why cats are adorable."

There are currently 4 volumes available, with the fifth volume coming this february. Nice features of Chi's Sweet Home is that it is written in a western style, which means you read it like a normal graphic novel. AND, it is in full color! Another nice touch, because most Manga is in black & white.

This is a Manga series that all ages can enjoy. In Japan this Manga is popular with adults as well as children. Chi is a sweet kitten, but she does have spunk and a mind of her own! If you've ever lived with a kitten you will really appreciate this story, but it's a universal story about finding ones place in the world and being part of a family. I really enjoyed reading this first volume of Chi's Sweet Home and look forward to the next volume!

*P.S. I read this as part of The Manga Reading Challenge 2011!