Chi's Sweet Home, Volume 1

Chi's Sweet Home 01 by Kanata Konami is about a little kitten and the family who adopts her when she is separated from her mother and siblings. I read the book because we recently took in a stray kitten and I was looking for something different to read.

I normally shy away from stories told from the point of view of an animal because most authors can't pull it off. Konami is a rare exception. This mangaka gets cats both in terms of personality and in body language.

Although the artwork is amazingly cute it's also spot on. Anyone who has cared for a tiny kitten and watched it grow into cathood will recognize Chi's unstoppable enthusiasm.

The book isn't entirely about Chi, though. It's also about the human family who takes her in — a young show more couple and their potty training toddler. It's the toddler's misspeaking of the Japanese for pee that ends up giving the kitten her name. Just as Harriet ended being the one who instinctively knew how to pan train Tortuga, so does this toddler.

To add drama to the series, Chi is taken in by a family who isn't allowed to have cats. Of course there's rumor of a giant black cat also living in the building. But they are still wary of having Chi in their home. At one point, when Chi discovers the front window, they try to disguise her by filling the window sill with cute stuffed animals!

I recommend this series to anyone who has cats. My entire family: daughter, son, husband and I are all laughing our way through the manga series. show less

I think very highly of this series so far. True, not much goes on, but Chi is delightful. If you have ever lived with a cat, you will probably find quite a bit of Chi's behavior and the Yamada family's experiences to be familiar. And, if you're like me, you may find yourself wishing you could have a big Chi poster to plaster on one of your walls.

The things the Yamadas go through with Chi are things many cat owners (or pet owners, in general) go through when they get their first cat, especially when the cat is a found stray. My own cat, who I have now lived with for almost 8 months, was found under a car when she was a tiny kitten. I had a bit more time to adjust to having her than the Yamadas had with Chi, but I remember getting all of show more her things, figuring out where to put everything, making sure she knew how to use the litter box, and, in general, just trying to figure out what her personality was like and how she was going to fit into my life. Remembering all of that, I had to smile while reading about the Yamadas doing some of the very same things I did.

Although the danger that Chi will be discovered is very real, this volume, at least, focuses primarily on humor and sweetness. Even during the times when Chi is almost discovered and Mr. and Mrs. Yamada worry that they might be evicted, Kanata doesn't weigh things down with that worry and keeps things light with fairly humorous solutions. As anyone who has ever tried to hide owning a cat knows, however, this situation can't last long, and I wonder how Kanata will be able to keep the tone of the series light. For now, for example, the Yamadas have managed to camouflage Chi's habit of sitting on the windowsill, but Chi will soon get much bigger and more obvious. Also, if apartment-living in Japan works the same way as apartment-living in America, the Yamadas will have to figure out what to do when they need maintenance work done or when someone comes to do apartment inspections or pest control.

For those who are wondering, Chi is anthropomorphized somewhat - she meows rather than speaking, but readers are shown her thoughts, which are done in a somewhat inconsistent babytalk. While the babytalk helps emphasize how young Chi is (and may have been a feature of the original Japanese), the inconsistency bothered me a little. For instance, Chi will say something like, "So scarewy!" Shouldn't that have been, "So scawey"? Sometimes her l's and r's are replaced with w's and sometimes not. While I'm sure readability might have been compromised if that had been done, I couldn't seem to keep myself from noting every time Chi's l's and r's were fine. It was a little distracting, so I hope that Chi grows out of her babytalk in future volumes.

Chi has happy, sad, angry, and scared expressions, just like any of the human characters in this volume. However, I thought Kanata did an excellent job of making Chi's expressions seem believable on a cat. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've seen some of those same expressions on my kitten's face, particularly "serious face" and "happy purring face." Kanata can definitely draw cats well. As an added bonus, the entire volume is in color. Manga lovers know how amazing this is. All of the manga I've ever read has been black-and-white. If any pages were in color, it was usually only a few extra drawings of the first few pages of the manga, and US companies don't always release volumes with those color pages actually still in color. I don't think I've ever read anything published by Vertical before, but they've impressed me with this volume, which has gorgeous color throughout, feels well-made, and is still somehow only $13.95 (and that's the cover price - you should be able to find it cheaper).

As a cat lover, I can't help but worry about Chi's future with the Yamadas and feel sad about her continued futile search for her mother. Chi wants to find her mother but can't, or, being a kitten, gets distracted during her searches. She dreams about being with her mother and remembers her mother grooming her when Mr. Yamada pets her in her sleep. It's the kind of thing that makes me want to go hug my own kitten.

Overall, I loved this volume. I loved it so much, in fact, that I plan on buying the later volumes as I can afford them. This is one of those series that I think I would regret not having bought if it ever went out of print, so I'm going to make an effort to collect it.

(Original review, with read-alikes and watch-alikes, posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Chi is a "newborn" kitten who gets lost in the big, scary world. She is rescued by the Yamada family, who aren't allowed to have cats in their apartment. They search in vain for someone to adopt her, but eventually they fall in love with with chi and decide to keep her. Chi's thoughts, dreams, and fears are all displayed with adorable big-eyed drawings. I had this book read within an hour of its arrival on my doorstep. I was sucked right in to Chi's story because she reminds me so much of my own rescued kitten (both in appearance and attitude). Even if my nephew doesn't ever read this book, I'm SO glad I discovered it.

Oh, the cuteness! This is an awesome graphic novel that is excellent for all ages and definitely a must read for cat lovers.

Chi (the kitten) gets lost from his mother and then found by a toddler boy. The toddler (Yohei) convinces his mother to take the cat home until they find its owner. Yohei and his family live in an apartment where they can’t have pets. However, as Yohei’s family struggles to find a new home for Chi, they get more and more attached to the little guy. Chi also gets more and more attached to his people and is less anxious to find his kitty mom.

The drawings are cartoony with lots of pastel colors. They are very cute and do an excellent job of showing character emotion (including kitty feelings). They will make you show more laugh and laugh. I am not sure I would recommend this to someone who doesn’t like cats, but if you enjoy cats this book will have you laughing your butt off.

Chi is a kitten with a lot of attitude and that “sweet kitten vulnerability” everyone loves. We get to watch as Chi settles into her new home, wins over the family, takes her first vet trip, discovers super balls, and dodges the neighbors. The book is told from Chi’s perspective.

This really is fun for all ages. Yohei is fairly young, maybe four or five, and him and Chi get up to some crazy antics. My whole family enjoyed this. I have a seven year old son and he could relate to a lot of scenes between Chi and Yohei. Seriously we read this as a family and could barely even get through parts because everyone was laughing so hard. As soon as we finished the book my son wanted to know if we could get the next one.

Overall incredibly cute and hilariously funny with wonderful illustrations throughout. Definitely recommended to cat lovers of all ages out there, seriously this was an awesome read. show less

The first thing that happens to Chi the kitten is she gets separated from her family and her life changes. But she is endearing and intrepid and finds her way into the home of a small family who (technically) are not allowed to keep her. So Chi begins her life in kitty fashion, eating, sleeping, peeing and playing. Her insights and understanding of the world are utterly feline and childlike, and anyone who has raised a kitten (or a child) will be charmed by her ways. I’m hooked on Chi!

Oh-oh! Chi is just a tiny kitty who gets lost in the big bad world! Desperate but unable to find her mother and siblings, she breaks down in tears in the park. But her rescuers are close at hand. Taken home by a small boy, Yohei, and his mother, Chi is now safe and loved. But pets are not allowed where the family lives! Will Chi again be homeless? But how can the Yamada family give up Chi? This delightful story of the life and struggles of Chi will amuse you even as it tugs at your heart. Great illustrations and minimal text makes this series a superb choice for all ages.

There are certain books you stumble across repeatedly whether they are mentioned by friends or are included in lists or articles online. One manga I kept coming across is a story about a cat that looked absolutely adorable. I've finally read Chi's Sweet Home, Vol. 1 by Konata Konami.

The story follows Chi, a cute little kitten that gets separated from its mother and siblings only to be found by a little boy visiting a park. Chi is taken home by the family even though they aren’t allowed pets in their apartment. What follows are a series of cute happenings and hi-jinks around Chi’s new home.

Now. Let’s get into the good and the pet peeve, shall we?

The idea for this manga is very cute. I love cats. I love cat pictures. I love videos show more of cats doing funny things. After hearing about this manga for so long I jumped at the chance to read it. Chi is adorable, and the story heartwarming. It’s light, fluffy, and doesn’t have a whole lot overarching plot line. But that’s alright. It’s just not that sort of story. It’s episodic in nature, fun, and fluffy.

Chi gets into the sort of antics that you’d expect of a kitten. We see the kitten do kitten things and the family that takes her in go from bemused to exasperate. Both Chi’s behavior and the behavior of her humans are very true to life, which adds a lot to the manga.

The thing that bothers me the most about this manga is that it was flopped. Flopping, for those who don’t recognize the word, is when a publisher takes a manga that is normally read back to front and left to right flips the entire work so that its read the way we normally see in the US. This is unnecessary at best. Simply put, I don’t like it when the publisher assumes readers are morons who can’t figure out how to read a handful of dialogue bubbles in the correct order. I dislike the fact that the mangaka’s artwork was altered even more.

Aside from backwards, ancient practices the rest of the western manga industry left behind more than a decade ago, I have some issues with the dialogue. The manga is told from Chi’s point of view. Being a kitten, Chi talks in baby speak. At first this was very cute. It really got across just how young Chi was and how ignorant to the world she is. However, it did start to grate a bit on one’s nerve as the manga went on.

I do really like the art. It bears no frills, no deep shadowing or intense detail, but the story being told doesn’t call for it. The art itself tells the story perfectly well and could absolutely tell the story perfectly well without the use of any dialogue. I really like this about the manga. It definitely made me want to keep reading despite disliking certain aspects of the story.

I can’t help but feel that Chi’s Sweet Home deserved a better English release. I can’t say that I will be continuing with the series, but if I happen across more copies at the library it is possible. Ah well, I suppose I can’t adore everything. Still, if you’re looking for something cute and heartwarming this definitely the sort of manga that will put a smile on your face.

This review originally found on Looking Glass Reads. show less