Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu (2015)

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu (2015)

Author + Illustrator: Junji Ito  | Page Count: 116

"Hrm. The road to cat wand mastery is long and treacherous indeed!"

An illustrated account of the trials that manga author Junji Ito faced after moving into a new home with his fiancée and her two cats, Yon and Mu. Ito had never before shared a home with cats, and the cats had never before shared theirs with an Ito. Adjustments on both sides would be needed if a happy balance was to be achieved, but anyone who's ever lived with a cat (or cats) will know that they're rarely in a mood to compromise, especially when it involves a stranger.

The natural passing of time is the structure, so don't expect a tightly plotted narrative. And, while it's not a prerequisite, a love of felines is most likely going to help you get the most from the book. The little things, the nuances, the 'I'm judging you!' glances, and the silent 'I'll fucking kill you if you attempt to pet me now!' threats will be more relatable to that audience.

Despite being new to the kitty way, Ito's observational skills managed to capture what makes the creatures unique. His artistic style, his talent for making the ordinary or mundane appear to be something extraordinary or potentially terrifying is used sparsely but effectively; and, lets face it, some of the things that cats cough up on the kitchen floor are a kind of unknown horror.

-It's in the original Japanese format, so read RIGHT to LEFT.-

It's perhaps an extreme view to hold, but I feel that keeping a cat permanently indoors is a kind of cruelty. I understand that in many cases it'll have the animal's well-being at heart, even more so in a place as densely populated as Japan, but the benevolence doesn't alter the feeling that the difference between 'house' cat and 'incarcerated' cat can be construed partly as a semantic one. So while I could empathise completely with Ito's attempts at bonding with the felines, at his wish to win their affections, I had more sympathy for the two cats than I did for the humans.

The English language edition published by Kodansha has an additional short chapter that originally appeared in a book published in support of cat shelters following the Great Tohoku earthquake in 2011. It's just two pages long but leaves a lasting impression.