About the Mangaka

Iwahara Yuji is the master mind behind Koudelka, which remains unlicensed , and also for Chikyu Misaki, licensed by CMX. He also helped with character designs in the Darker than Black anime.

About the Manga

catparadise_1

 

This one surprised me as I was initially not expecting a lot from it. It wasn’t till I realised it was done by Iwahara who did Koudelka (someone please licence this!!), so my hopes were raised a little.

Right off the bat the title and the cover put me off, in a big way. Cat Paradise just sounds a bit sappy, and not really matching the story.  Also the cover, I felt was a bit bland and empty. Huge amounts of wasted space, and that single little ‘1’ at the top looks lonely.

However two things happened, first I realised the mangaka was one I really liked, and secondly it starts with a miko. Yeah I’m biased as hell and anything with a miko in it can’t be all that bad, especially when she’s in full colour hehe.

I have to admit that the colour pages of this volume are nice, the first few with Hime in them are stunning. The double page spread with Kaen towering over Hime is just freaking awesome!!

Though the first one with Yumi is a bit meh.Her open mouthed look makes her seem a bit gormless, and comical.The next page with the student council and their cats was well drawn, but again not up to the Hime pages.

I also felt the colour technique used was a bit off, I like my colour pages to make the scenes look alive and vibrant, they don’t here.

I can see a lot of people having issues with Yuji’s art style, as it is a bit, odd at times. and I have to admit that even after reading some of his other works, it needs to re-grow on me each time I see it. Though I have to admit this time it didn’t take to long.

The character designs are where I had a real issue with this volume, one in particular. Akifuji, when he first appears my first thought was ‘he’s the bad guy’. Everything about his design screams evil, from the way his eyes are drawn to his facial expressions. Even after reading the first volume I can’t see him as a hero type.

The designs I did like however were the cats, Yuji has clearly done some research on the cats, and while he has taken liberties, the basic designs are true to life. I did like the personalities and quirks he gave them, making them more than just tools used by their owners.

While we have only been introduced to a few of the cats so far, Kansuke is my favourite, his personality is just so perfect.

The story is nothing new true, but I like Yuji’s take on it, and thus far it’s being a fun read. Especially since unlike the usual aspect, where the heroes all believe in their goal, this time around they don’t. Or rather they don’t believe in the prophecies and stuff. Rather they just believe in protecting the school. I like this change, since it opens up new doors for the story progression.

Yen Press did an excellent job with this release, with a good smooth translation. Good editing that was both easy to read and see, with great consistency. Some minor guttering, but nothing you can’t live with. I also liked how they handled Kaen’s talking, it was easy to read, while still maintaining the creepy aspect.

This is an excellent start to a series, and one I think will go on my Essential Read List, but I want a few more volumes before I let my enthusiasm run wild hehe.

Where to Buy

This volume is due for release on August 4th 2009

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