Welcome back! I hope you all are enjoying your week. Do you guys have pets? If you do, this a great read about the adorable and frustrating nature of pet ownership.
SYNOPSIS
I finished the first volume of Cat + Gamer last night and read it all in one sitting. The book tells the story of a mysterious office worker named Riko. To her office she’s a bit of a mystery, she never works overtime. Riko never tries to go out with the rest of them. They wonder if she’s anti-social or has a secret. But it is nothing so serious she’s actually a intense gamer. Riko’s sole focus is on her games and completing them.
That all changes when a cat is found in the parking lot of her office. While most of her office mates turn down taking it home due to family and allergies. Riko surprises everyone including herself by offering to take the kitten home.
The only problem is Riko knows nothing about raising cats or taking care of them. Going to the pet shop she tries to learn the basics. But her new cat continuously surprises her. From the way it plays to it interacting with her when she’s gaming. The story goes through the ups and downs of pet ownership.
Riko uses her experience with video games as a guide to raising her knew kitten. There are some especially funny portions one going into her trying to find the sex of the kitten, who she names Musubi. The other with Riko going into a panic when she thinks her cat has fleas.
The chapters are interspersed with chapters from the kittens point of view. The kitten having just as interesting experiences as Riko as he learns about his world with his new human.
The ‘conflict’ the comes up at the end of the first volume is Riko starting a social media account for Musubi. Everyone in her office starts following the account. One of her sharp eyed co-workers discovering that the account belongs to someone at their office. Riko is nervous about the office finding out it is her as she does the captions for the account in a cutesy voice like she’s speaking for Musubi. Riko becomes concerned when the office won’t respect her or think she’s silly.
REVIEW
Overall this is a very cute manga, it is like a sweet treat. It was a good read for taking a break from my more serious reading. I especially like Riko being a secret gamer. She reads as autistic to me. It is fun to watch her confusing the people around her when she talks about things in video game metaphors.
Her reactions to the different things that Musubi does are very relatable to any pet owner. Especially the bits about gaming with a cat and trying to take pictures of their various cute poses.
I’d give this book four stars, it’s well written and very relatable and I can’t wait to pick up the next volume.
Amazon: Cat + Gamer Volume 1
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