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Cat_Gamer Vol 1-6 (Following stats on Vol 1 only)
By Wataru Nadatani
ISBN: 9781506727417
192 Pages
Available in Paperback and on Kindle/ComiXology
Trigger Warning: soft Mental Health mentions, cartoon violence
Synopsis:
Riko, a twenty-nine-year-old office worker with an obsession for video games, finds her quiet life upended when she takes in a stray cat in this adorable manga series!
Her coworkers can’t quite figure her out—she never talks about her personal life, she never works overtime, and she never joins them for happy hour. Is she antisocial? Nope, she’s rushing home to play video games! One day, a stray cat is found in the office parking lot, and before Riko knows it, the cat has moved in with her! Having no experience with pets, Riko uses lessons drawn from video games to guide her in cat care, while her cute companion tries to understand her behavior through a cat's worldview.
My Thoughts:
I stumbled upon the first three volumes of Cat+Gamer at one of the county libraries affiliated with mine while I was wasting time waiting for my car to be repaired. I had never heard of it, but it had a cute cat on the cover and that's usually enough to sell me. Well, let me tell you - it did not disappoint. The story is about Riko, a 29-year-old socially reclusive office worker who lives on a daily schedule that is optimized to efficiently play and clear her adored video games. Riko has no outside of work friends and passes on social gatherings so that she can go straight home and game until bedtime.
Her life changes abruptly when a cat is found in the parking lot at work. The office asks for a volunteer to take it home and nobody else volunteers, so Riko impulsively agrees. She then panics when she realizes that she knows absolutely nothing about caring for a living creature and, in doing what she does best, she starts looking at the situation as though it was one of her video games.
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| Nothing could go wrong here, right? |
What follows is a hilarious mix of adorable cat stories and assorted video game comparisons. Every time the cat - now named Musubi - does something new, it is compared to a behavior that Riko recognizes from her gaming experiences. At one point she inadvertently makes a friend, in the form of the shopkeeper at the local pet supply store, whom Riko sees as a great and knowledgeable master. Around volume four, the shopkeeper comes over for a pet play date and suggests that Riko get a second cat to give Musubi a companion. So in comes Soboro, and with her a whole new set of pet experiences.
The art work in these graphic novels is cute and elements of story are relatable to cat owners. Like when Riko shares a photo of Musubi online, which goes somewhat viral, and inspires her to start a social media account for her pet - something many a pet owner is familiar with. This actually leads to funny moments, where coworkers follow the account without realizing that the cats belong to Riko. Other references may be lost on those who aren't familiar with particular games, but the writer did an awesome job of breaking down those references so they would be understood my most readers. Overall, it's a very reader friendly series of books.
Parent's Guide:
This book is rated 11+ but is appealing to younger kids due to the fun and relatable content. Cat+Gamer was the category winner of Excelsior Award Blue 2023. The books on the Blue shortlist have been designated as suitable for children aged 11+ (or Key Stage 3 in schools). Cat+Gamer was also the Overall winner of the 2023 Award. Learn more about the Excelsior Awards here.