Hard-boiled stories from the cat bar by Yourei Ono

Onodera is a former detective whose partner, Kajita, was assassinated after their patrol car’s brakes were tampered with, and he’s spent the last three years trying to prove Kajita was not killed from a car crash. A dirty cop who has connections with The Undertaker, a deadly hitman, wants nothing more than for Onodera to stop his digging, so he calls in The Undertaker to finish the job. The only problem? Undertaker’s precious kitty has died, leaving him incapacitated with grief. One fateful night, The Undertaker and his target find each other at a cat bar, and nothing is as easy as it seems.

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This starts off with a really non-serious tone, as hit men and former Yakuza mobsters hang out in a bar with a bunch of friendly cats, but that changes after the first chapter. It becomes clear that this is really a dark and twisted tale of murder with a sprinkling of cats now and again. The story is also told very non-linearly, which might be difficult for some readers to follow.  The narrative goes back and forth between Onodera's past on the police force, to the present where he's struggling to survive, to just before the story opens when he brings Dandy, Kajita's cat, to the Cat Bar.  This one-volume story might be a good bridge between adventurous, true crime manga and cat manga, which can often be very lighthearted and silly.

There are a few cuss words and some violence, with quite a bit of blood at one point. This title would be best for older teens.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: 10-12

Publisher: Yen Press
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 9781975321017 (Paperback)

​Tags: Rating: 7/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Action Adventure, Yen Press