Interest

Manga Creators Share Their Beloved Cats in New Book

Anime News Network's merchandise coverage sponsored by Tokyo Otaku Mode.

Many popular manga creators and anime industry professionals share a love for cats. Horror mangaka Junji Ito describes his life with his two felines, Yon and Mu in Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, Shōko Nakagawa famously owns 10 cats herself, and they inspired her own series of essays and a subsequent anime series.

Publisher Ichijinsha released a photo collection on October 31 specifically focused on the cats of mangaka. The book, Mangaka no Neko (Comic Artist & Cat), features the favorite pets of Arina Tanemura (Neko to Watashi no Kinyōbi, Idol Dreams), Tomoko Ninomiya (Nodame Cantabile), Utako Yukihiro (Devils and Realist), naked ape (Switch), Ryo Ikuemi (Pops, Cousin, Nina, My Love), Ai Kozaki (Asahinagu), and Shinobu Takayama (Giniro Ookami to Akazukin, Amatsuki).

Each cat is pictured with a detailed profile, drawing by their owner, photographs, and a question and answer section.

Book cover

Takayama's cat "Jaja" with his dog.

Yukihiro's cats are named Sakura and Chiyo. Coincidentally, this is the name of the main female protagonist from Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun.

Kozaki's cats, Komanji and Zunzuku.

The duo naked ape together own nine cats in total.

Pictured are two cats, but the side text reveals that Ikuemi has five cats: Bun, Kinako ("soybean flour"), Ron, Kokabu ("turnip"), and Hige-chan ("beard").

Ninomiya has two cats, Ran and Roku.

Tanemura's sleeping cats, Kai (written with the same kanji as "ocean") and Riku (written with the same kanji as "land")

---

Source: Comic Natalie