Kimi wa Petto or
Tramps Like Us (no, that's not what it means in
English) is a
josei manga series by
Yayoi Ogawa. It was serialized in
2000 and has
14 volumes in total. The manga was even awarded the
Kodansha Manga Award for its excellence. It tells the life story of
Iwaya Sumire, a young career woman struggling to go through life in a society where women does not take center stage, and her pet, a struggling young modern dancer.
Sumire Iwaya was a misunderstood young woman. Due to her strict work ethics and cool demeanor, her colleagues saw her as standoffish and rigid. Even her own boyfriend ends up impregnating another women he was having an affair with. Bogged down with stress at work and angst over her recent break up, she stumbles across a box which contained a homeless young boy and decides to take him in as a pet.
She found solace in the company of
Momo-kun who often helped her in sticky situations. She also rekindles an old flame with her senior in college and things became serious between them. But it was not easy juggling daily life while trying to keep
Momo a secret. When she was not able to chose between her boyfriend and
Momo, she then came to realize
Momo's importance in her life.
When I stumbled across this manga, I was immediately interested to read it. I sometimes call my boyfriend, (
eh wait, he's my fiance now ^^") my pet as well. He used to follow every single thing I say, and I used to call him that out of annoyance. Even now, sometimes I still do feel that he's like a pet to me. And after reading the manga, I couldn't stop laughing. It was like the two of us drawn out on paper. So cool!
So maybe it's captivating for me as I can relate to it. After I finished with the whole series, I wanted a pet like
Momo-kun and then knocked my own head. I do have one already. :D But seriously, this is a good read. It's very easy to relate to, whether you're single or if you have a boyfriend. The flow is well done, taking you from troubled moments to happy moments, funny moments to frustrating moments etc. The story did not only focus on
Iwaya's perspective but also from other important people in her life.
The art is also simply beautiful.
Ogawa puts in a lot of effort in creating the ambiance of a scene so you feel magically transported. I've read another manga by the same
mangaka, the art is not very much different from the other manga. But I like it, her characters has a more realistic feel than most.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Josei, Romance, Slice of Life, Mature
Rating: 9/10
Note: The manga is also adapted into a TV drama series of the same title. Part of the cast include
Matsumoto Jun!
