When I first began reading Chi's Sweet Home a feline-themed manga series by Kanata Konami, I thought the whole thing would simply be about cute kitten shenanigans. And, while I DO enjoy such antics (I mean, I can watch cat videos on YouTube for hours), I knew there wouldn't be much depth to the series if it were JUST that. Not enough to sustain me through four volumes at several hundred pages a pop.
Boy was I wrong!
Sure, the bulk of the first volume was just Chi geting into trouble (adorable trouble) as she acclimated to her new family and new surroundings. About the only drama was the apartment Chi's human family lived in at the time didn't allow pets. But the storyline deepened as I read into the second and third volumes. Sure, there were still the Cute Kitten Eposides, but Chi also learned about friendship and family and what it meant to have a loving and comfy home (and that not all kitties have these luxuries...like her new friend Cocci).
Part 4 brought out All The Feels, though:
Early on, Chi's human daddy sees a poster advertising a missing kitten who looks exactly like Chi. He's torn over what to do: Should he ignore the poster? Or should he do the honest thing and call the number?
Meanwhile, the reader learns that Chi's cat mom goes out every night to search for her missing kitten. While playing with Cocci, Chi encounters his littermates, but doesn't realize until much later that his new friends are actually his brother and sister (a "DUH! moment for our fuzzy little heroine, but it adds to the drama).
Things come to a head when Chi's cat mom saves the kitten from being hit by a car...and ends up getting hit herself. Chi's human family comes to the rescue, and Chi's cat mom ends up being OK. But Chi's human daddy knows it's time to take both cats home. Their REAL home. And they do just this, much to the sadness of little Yohei.
At first, Chi is happy with her cat family. But as time passes, she starts to miss Yohei and the only home she's ever known. The poor kitten gets sadder and sadder until her cat mom tells her she may leave and go home to her her human family.
Chi races away, but her human family has packed up to move. To France. Chi returns to find the apartment empty. Oh no! Chi begins calling out to Yohei, but will she catch up with her family in time?
You'll have to read the book to find out!
Overall, I adored this series! --AJB
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