147. Chi's Sweet Home, Vol. 2 by Konami Kanata

Chi's Sweet Home, Vol. 2 by Konami Kanata (Canada) - (US)
Chi's Home Sweet Home, Vol. 2

Pages: 154
Ages: All Ages
First Published: 2005 Japan (Aug. 24, 2010, English translation)
Publisher: Vertical
Genre: children, manga, humour
Rating: 4/5


First sentence:

Looks like it's time to move on to dry food.

Acquired: Purchased a new copy from an online retailer.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

An adorable series!  And another adorable entry.  I didn't find volume 2 quite as hilarious as the first but it was still funny and just as cute.  Cute little chapters in which the family is getting used to raising a pet and other's where Chi is exploring and learning about life.  He no longer misses his mother and siblings but he does have a couple of flashbacks of things that remind him of that comforting time.  While there is no real overarching plot to this volume there is the hanging nuisance of a large cat in the apartment complex who is causing trouble knocking over flowerpots, stealing salmon and he invades Chi's home.  Chi begins to meet him more often and at this point learns that he is a cat not the same kind as the family he lives with, though he doesn't really believe it.  Though the family has no problems this time with being caught with the cat, except for one near miss. There is some foreshadowing that this large troublemaker cat, similar in looks to a bear, may be the downfall for any hidden pet cats in the complex.  In the note at the back we learn about the author's background a bit and find that this is not her first foray into manga, but that it was her first manga written for a men's weekly comic anthology.  It is surprising to hear that the intended audience was men since the story is so suitable for children but then on the other hand the father's emotions and attachment to the cat are presented much more as story elements than the mother's.  A really cute, funny series!