Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, vol. 1
Published by: Viz Media
Writer & Artist: Yukiya Sakuragi

224 (214) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2005. February 2007
Translation: Hidemi Hachitori, Honyaku Center Inc.
Adaptation: Ian Reid & John Werry, Honyaku Center Inc.
Touch-up Art & Lettering: Kelle Hahn
Cover & Interior Design: Hidemi Sahara
Editor: Ian Robertson
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, ages 16+ (may contain sexual themes)

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Premise: Girl and her dog move to the big city. Suguri is a bit of a flake, but is real good with dogs and through an odd chain of events, lands a job working at a pet store.

Synopsis:

Suguri has lived a sheltered life for much of her 18 years, and her overprotective parents worry about her quite a bit (her curfew is 5:30). They’ve even gone to the trouble of finding her a nice, quiet job in town, though she isn’t too keen on staying home and living with her parents forever. Her best friend is Lupin, a mutt who is just a year old. (that’s the two of them on the cover.)

One day while Suguri is out walking Lupin, she gets picked up by a couple of sleazy guys. This isn’t that kind of comic, and the guys figure Suguri and her dog are probably a bit much to bother with anyway, so they ditch her at a rest stop halfway to Tokyo.

This is how she meets Teppei. He’s taking his dog Noa to another breeder so he can raise a litter of purebred puppies, to sell at his pet shop. Since it’s bit of a drive from Tokyo, he pulls into the rest stop to to buy some lunch, and while his back is turned, well, it seems Lupin got away from Suguri for a bit and is now introducing himself to Noa, in a way that only a couple of dogs can shamelessly get away with.

Now Teppei isn’t going to be able to cash in on a purebred litter of black labs, and he’s also out the stud fee (paid in advance) so his first meeting with Suguri has been a little expensive. He’s a nice guy, though, and since she’s stranded he gives her a lift back to her hometown despite all the trouble she’s caused. On the drive back, Suguri offers to work off her debt at Teppei’s pet store–an offer he seriously considers, since it’s obvious she has a certain way with dogs. While Suguri’s parents take care of the expenses for her and she doesn’t have to work off the debt, it’s just a few days later that she shows up in Tokyo, practically begging for a job at the shop.

She turns on the puppy dog eyes. Teppei can hardly say no to that, now can he?

…and that’s just the first chapter. The rest of the comic is a slice-of-life revolving around dogs, their owners, the pet store, and how Suguri slowly adapts to life in the big city.

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Review:

I’m sure I’ve mentioned more than once that there is a manga out there for just about any interest. If you like puppies, this sucker averages about 5.8 cute puppies per page. OK, so I exaggerate, but it has to be something close to that. The art is well done, in that each dog breed is recognizable, and the puppies are doing those cute puppy things, like yawning or stretching or giving you that look.

Inubaka shouldn’t be mistaken for a kids comic, however. There are some basic realities to running a pet store, like cleaning up dog crap or puppies with health problems, and those issues are dealt with in frank and no-nonsense fashion. Not that any of the content would be necessarily bad for, say, a 10 or 11 year old, but this isn’t their manga: Suguri is 18, so while the dogs’ dramas might be OK, some aspects of her life might inspire some interesting questions from your tween girls. This (and perhaps content in future volumes we’re unaware of) is probably why Viz has an Older Teen rating on the book, rather than 13+.

Also, there’s more here than just dogs. Our two leads are fleshed out well, with their own motivations and hints at deeper backstory. The plots were also a pleasant surprise, in that this isn’t just a setup for wacky hijinks or shoujo romance or over-the-top comedy, the manga is honestly about a pet shop, and the lives of the folks who work and shop there (and their dogs). It’s not Shakespeare, but there’s quite a bit here to sink your teeth into.

It is a niche comic, though, so right now I’m only going to give it 2 marks out of 5 — if you’ve ever had a pet dog, though, you might consider it to be a 3 or 4.