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Akari Otokawa's Cat-Life Balance Manga Ends in Next Chapter
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
Manga creator Akari Otokawa revealed on their X (formerly Twitter) account on November 20 that their Cat-Life Balance (Kurone-san wa Nyaa to Nakanai) manga will end in its 15th chapter, which Kodansha will release on December 18. Kodansha released the manga's 14th and latest chapter on November 20.
Kodansha USA Publishing licensed the manga and will release the first compiled book volume on May 12, 2026. Kodansha USA describes the story:
Everyone at work loves Mamoru, because Mamoru never says no. Replacing lightbulbs, carrying boxes, taking over an impossible client from a retiring colleague… He'll do it all, and it's earned him the nickname "Prince of the Office." This glittering extrovert's opposite at work is Kurone, a quiet woman in another department who soaks up her boss's senseless mood swings with a blank stoicism. After one particularly long day, Mamoru is thrilled to be walking home alone, sipping a beer (because all his colleagues went drinking and left him to work overtime), when he encounters something strange: The usually glum Kurone is in the park, gleefully playing with stray cats. This secret seems silly, but it brings Kurone joy. It's the start of an unlikely relationship that will lead Mamoru to start reflecting on his life and who he really wants to share it with. Is work really all there is, or can he strike a balance with the help of these fluffy new friends--and a human who might become something more?
The manga launched in the Morning two online magazine and on the Comic Days website in July 2024. Kodansha published the manga's first volume on February 21, and the second volume on July 23.
Otokawa and writer Shigemitsu Harada launched the Cells at Work! Lady spinoff manga in Kodansha's Morning two magazine in January 2020. The manga ended in September 2022. Kodansha USA publishes the manga in English digitally.
Sources: Comic Days app, Akari Otokawa's X/Twitter account
