Nekogahara: Stray Cat Samurai, Vol. 4

猫ヶ原 [Nekogahara] #4

by Hiroyuki Takei

WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN

As Norachiyo and his companions recover from a harrowing trip downriver, he begins to tell the tale of his dark past--how he left home in search of his master, how Abyhei found him and took him under his wing, and how he was ultimately betrayed. See what made Norachiyo the tom he is today in this penultimate, action-packed volume of Nekogahara!

Genres: Manga, Animals, Cats

176 pages, Paperback

Published September 11, 2018

About the author

Hiroyuki Takei (武井宏之 Takei Hiroyuki) is a Japanese manga artist, best known as the creator of the manga and anime Shaman King. His brother, Hirofumi Takei (武井宏文) is also a manga-ka.

Reviews

[Doc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The past of Norachiyo is revealed.

For those that it has been a while since you have read the last volume of the series this young cat on the cover of the manga might look like some new character but I assure you it is that gnarly, nip addicted, vengeful, old tom cat that we have been following since volume once as Norachiyo tells us how he met Shiriya Abyhei. It's a tale of tragedy that is a step toward a quest of either redemption or more bloody vengeance. Only time will tell as Norachiyo and his companions continue their journey.

My fave part of the book is probably why they had to choose the disguises they had to before leaving being Norachiyo's fault because no ordinary disguise would be good enough to hide the "felicidal rage"he oozes though Much of his past history was a good read a well. :)

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really Enjoying this series. Some of the manga artwork is still just a blur to me which feels a waste when most of the book in general is clear and easy to follow.
This volume was middle of the road for me. It explained a few things but didn’t really progress the story much.

[AltLovesBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of manga starring cats, and I'm a huge fan of Japanese history. What do you get when you combine the two? Samurai cats. Ninja cats. Nip-addicted cats. Pleasure house cats. Very gritty, very dark, but also with funny moments as well. I'm a huge fan of this series.

Volume 5 is largely comprised of a backstory-infused flashback into Norachiyo's past and how he got to where he is. His past isn't a happy one, much like you'd expect from the rest of the series. Turns out, someone he knew relatively well from his past is now fairly highly placed in Japanese society, and it looks like there's about to be some butting of heads! I loved getting a look into Norachiyo's past, and the opening few panels were hilarious.

A common mild complaint about this series is that I sometimes have trouble following the action when things are happening quickly, and this volume does have some of that as well. In-the-moment panels are sometimes hard to decipher, until you finally get a wider glimpse of what's happened later on. But in the scope of the story and how much I like this manga series, it's totally a mild complaint on my end.

[Enairolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

C’est déjà l’avant dernier de tome de ce manga. Lors de sa sortie, j’étais très intriguée et je dois bien avouer que j’y suis allé un peu à reculons comme on dit. Je ne savais pas trop dans quoi je m’embarquais et je n’étais pas certaine d’accrocher vraiment à ce titre. Et puis finalement, j’ai été hyper surprise et j’ai pris plaisir à découvrir chaque tome à sa sortie. Le fait que ce soit une série courte m’a beaucoup plu également, au moins on va droit au but et on ne tire pas l’intrigue sur une tonne de tomes.

Dans ce quatrième tome, après avoir échappé in extremis à Abyhei Shiriya, Norachiyo accepte de raconter à Shôto et Shishiwaka comment il a rencontré l’officier de la police secrète, autrefois membre du clan du terrifiant boss Ôdama. Mais qu’a-t-il bien pu se passer entre les deux chats pour que leur relation change à ce point ? Et comment Norachiyo a-t-il vraiment perdu son oeil ? Le chamouraï est enfin prêt à révéler son lourd passé…

Ce tome ci était vraiment génial à lire, tout comme les précédents d’ailleurs. Ici on découvre le passé de Norachiyo. Il va raconter comment il a rencontré l’officier de la police secrète. J’ai trouvé ça tellement intéressant de découvrir le passé de Norachiyo, ça nous permet de mieux comprendre ce personnage finalement. On découvre comment il a perdu son oeil, mais aussi, et surtout, la relation entre les deux personnages. C’est un tome que je trouve hyper important puisqu’il contient des tas d’informations. Il ne reste plus qu’un seul et dernier tome et je suis déjà impatiente de le découvrir. D’autant plus quand on voit comment celui ci se termine, on a vraiment qu’une envie c’est de se jeter dessus. Mais il va falloir patienter malheureusement..

Il y a certains passages qui m’ont fait rire dans ce tome ci. Surtout les premières pages, je dois bien avouer que c’était vraiment pas mal et surtout drôle! Un tome riche en révélations puisque l’on plonge dans le passé de Norachiyo. C’est un tome important et surtout très intéressant que l’on a là. Il nous permet de mieux comprendre et cerner les personnages. Il me tarde vraiment de découvrir ce que nous réserve le dernier tome mais je sens que ça va être vraiment génial!

[Sean Bai · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume is mostly about Norachiyo's backstory, which is very interesting and doesn't feel like filler. It doesn't detract from the main story, and serves to show you how Norachiyo got his scar. It's actually pretty sad and tragic, but I'll let you read it yourself.

The last 30% of the volume prepares you for volume 5, the finale.

Some parts of this book are pretty funny, and the villains-turned-heroes grow on you and become quite endearing.

[Melissa Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review on book 5.

[ReadingFrog · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars.