Yokai Cats, Vol. 1

Yokai Cats #1

by Pandania

Life with supernaturally adorable cats!

Think cats are mischievous pranksters? Wait till you meet the yokai cats! One has a neck that can stretch to steal food off the counter, another looks like a wall big enough to block a road, but is still warm and fluffy. And that's just the start! Get ready to be surprised and delighted by the daily life of these supernatural felines and their humans.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Cats, Fantasy, Comics, Animals, Humor

136 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 2022

Reviews

[Maia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, fast, silly short comics about cats who share characteristics with Japanese Yokai ghosts. I was particularly charmed by the cat with the extremely long extendable neck and the cat that grew to the size of a wall and blocked roads. Goofy and sweet!

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adorable cats that are also paranormal creatures! Doing adorable paranormal cat things! I have read two books of this series so far, and I am eagerly awaiting the third installment. Different people will obviously have different favorite yokai cats & maybe some that don't click for them, but I truly believe there is something here for everyone. Unless you hate fictional cats, but then my guess is you didn't read this review in the first place.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun and quick read. I loved being introduced to Japan's various yokai in cat form! It was the perfect palate cleanser to all the other books I have been listening to. It had a very easy format with the vertical panels that a reader of any age can easily get into. I think if you love cats and you love Japanese folklore this is the perfect little comic for you.

This got me looking into Kaibyo:



Yokai cats have been a part of Japanese folklore for quite awhile. This book isn't necessarily focused on the traditional Kaibyo, at least it seems not in this volume. It takes well known yokai like the kappa or the kasa-obake and turns them into cats which is so fun of an idea. Looking forward to checking out more from this author.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yokai are supernatural entities from Japanese folklore, and many are more humorous than frightening. This delightful comic imagines a clowder of Yokai cats with surreal and adorable results. There's a cat with a giraffe-proportioned neck, a cat made of smoke, a cat the size and shape of a brick wall...well, you get the picture. My favorite, of course, was the cat who lived at an optometrist's office and was covered in eyeballs!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Not as funny as Cthulhu Cat, but still very cute and silly. I love Rokurokubi and how she finds new ways to annoy her person and get into trouble.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super simple but really cute and fun to read.

[Giselle⊹ ࣪ ˖ (semi hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute and silly paranormal kitties

[Le Gongdong Blur · Rating 5 out of 5]

มังงะที่ทาสแมวอ่านแล้ว จะต้องใจฟู ❤️

ตามตั้งแต่สมัยที่มีเพจเอามาแปลไทย
ถ้าจำไม่ผิดน่าจะชื่อเรื่อง แมวผีปีศาจ
แต่พอประกาศ LC ทางเพจก็หยุดแปลไป

จะเป็นยังไงถ้าภูตผีปีศาจในความเชื่อของเรา
กลายเป็นน้องแมว
มีทั้งแมวไร้หน้า แมวหิมะขี้หึงเจ้าของ
แมวคอยาว แมวเงือก แมวกัปปะ และอีกสารพัดแมว

เล่าแบบการ์ตูนแก๊ก 4 ช่อง อ่านแล้วยิ้มแก้มแตก
โดยเฉพาะแมวเงือก "พาร์เฟต์จังงง"
ไอ้เรานี่แทบจะกรี๊ดแข่งกับทั่นประธาน
(คนที่เป็นเจ้าของน้อง) น่ารักดีต่อใจที่สุดดดด
อยากให้มีแปลเล่มต่อไปไวๆ แล้วววววว 🥹🥹

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly cute! I wasn't going to read this one, since I was NOT a fan of The Evil Secret Society of Cats, but a friend told me to give this one a try and I just adored the first book! All the cats are based on various kinds of Japanese monsters (yokai) and it was hilarious to see how the two melded together. My favorite was the faceless cat or the wall cat. A really cute read. Would recommend.

[Jaimee Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short, very sweet, very adorable!! Little vignettes featuring magical cats based on Japanese folklore — but the focus is really on how these magical cats are no different from regular cats. This little book would be a great gift for any cat lover in your life!

[Lesilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO cute! 10/10, worth the read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is super cute. I love different types of yokai cats.

[Arkyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haha this is so cuteee
Very fun & short manga with adorable cats!

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick, silly and cute

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the cats are so cute this was literally therapy :3

[Babs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastically cute Yokai as cats. Even that umbrella shaped one!!

The Yakuza boss and the salary man strips are amazing 😍 Parfait-chan!!!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga made me laugh out loud. The yokai cats are adorable, quirky, and full of surprises. It’s absurd and I loved it so much.

[the goodreads man · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than the Iliad, No longer human, better than all the classic literature you read in school, better than any opera or any classical historical account of conquest. I love yokai cats . The one about the beans really made me laugh

[Mac Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real Rating: 5

Who knew we needed a graphic novel based on cats and Japanese folklore?! Well I for one am glad it ended up in my hands.

Based on the supernatural entities and spirits within Japanese folklore, we see abnormal cats living very normal lives within a series of short comic strips.

A cat with no face, but you can't mention it without him getting upset. A cat so big it's like a wall, but still floofy and huggable. A cat with such a stretchy neck that it can steal food from the tabletop.

Spoiler alert, l've already bought the second volume and I'm glad to say there are many more that will eventually live on my bookshelves.

Don't you just love it when you get a surprise book for your birthday and it ends up being the most adorable thing you've ever laid your eyes on?

IG: @lyraslibrary

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute twist on typical yokai and a good introduction to their wide range, while making it adorable and accessible to younger readers.

[Adam Stone · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm glad there are comics for everyone. And books for everyone.

But I admit, I get a little sad when I think of all the people I know who slave over their writing, and create really cool worlds, or idea based fictions and they never get published. But something like this, which is a mediocrely drawn book where the premise seems to be "What if we took Garfield and Marmaduke, and drained what little humor there was from them, so we have jusst a book filled with three panel cartoons with cats that hinted at the idea of jokes without going to the trouble of trying to be funny. Let's pringt 10,000 copies, and charge $15 a piece."

I think I would rather read The Family Circus cartoonist draws instructions on how to assemble Ikea shelves than pck up another one of these stupid cat books.

I love cats, but this is a frustrating genre of comics that seems completely unengaging to me.

But if you enjoy books like Creepy Cat, Vol. 1 and The Evil Secret Society of Cats, Vol. 1, but think Garfield and Marmaduke are just too complicated and hilarious to read, you are welcome to this. For me, if I get the desire to read manga with cats, I'll stick to the more plotty and entertaining books like I Am a Cat Barista, Vol. 1 and Cat Massage Therapy Vol. 1

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given that The Evil Secret Society of Cats was sufficiently entertaining, and that Japanese monsters (yokai) are interesting, this seemed like an obvious choice to read. Like Pandania's other work, this is a decent, lightly amusing read. It is obviously an earlier work, since the art is a bit less refined, especially evident in the humans-- though there is probably also a stylistic choice with how they are drawn, less cartoonish, but also without real facial features. There is also (somehow) way less plot than even in the other work, but not sure it is really needed. It is fun to see how the strange and somewhat silly Japanese monsters manifest as cats.

[McKenzie Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

For more bookish opinions, visit my blog: Craft-Cycle

An adorable read featuring the adventures of supernatural cats. From the sweet pranksters Nopperabo (No Face) and Hyakume (Hundred Eyes) and the wise Nekomata (Two-Tailed Cat) to the cuddly Nurikabe (Plaster Wall) and always helpful Satori (Mind Reader), this was a fun slice-of-life collection.

Loved the mash-up of yokai spirits and cats. It made for a humorous, sweet, and slightly spooky read. While these cats may have unique appearances and special abilities, the humans around them still encounter the same issues as non-supernatural cats such as shedding, the constant demand for snuggles, and general mischief.

Such a sweet, fun series. Will definitely be checking out volume 2.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet the cats who have a bit of a mythical side. Like Nopperado who has no face, or Ningyo the cat mermaid, or Satori the mind reader. Also learn about living and caring for a mythical cat.

A cute collection of short comics with a lot of imagination. Cats are quirky enough as it is, but imagining them with mythical attributes takes it to a whole new level of pet ownership. Hand this to cat lovers and Japanese mythology fans.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There is one illustration of a man in the shower from behind with a bare butt. No violence.

[Barnaby Haszard · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids were bored and pushy so I got them to sit and read with me on the sofa for a bit, then they wouldn't let me leave until we finished the whole book. What if there was a cat with no face? What if there was a cat with an umbrella for a head? It's funny how Pandania obviously finds some of these silly thought experiments more fruitful, with 10+ strips for some and only a couple for others. Overall, it's a fun manga that made me and my kids laugh. Especially the cat that repeats everything you say.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunted, mythical, mystery cats from Asian culture-- yokai-- cats? It's as humorous as it is mythical and mundane. There are cats without faces (but the owner can tell just what its thinking) to cats with long necks that wrap around their owners, to others that wear masks and freak people out.

It's exactly what it sounds like so if you want a brain break and some cat entertainment that's not endless cat videos, read the manga.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a CUTE, little read!

Essentially, this is a collection of vignettes about cats reimagined as having classic, Japanese yokai traits. You’ve got a cat with no face (Nopperabo), a cat who brings the cold (Yuki-Onna), and even a cat with a turtle shell (Kappa). I always appreciate when a story takes a certain lore or mythology and reimagines or remixes it.

Definitely recommend for readers who enjoy cat manga, stories about yokai, or (like me) both!

[Alisha Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute manga about cats modeled after Japanese yokai ghosts. I loved it! So cute and goofy. I love how each cat has a normal cat quirk made abnormal by their yokai status. I love the Japanese culture both at the front and center and the little references thrown in in the background as well! This was a fun way to experience a little bit of folklore from Japan, and I would def recommend this to others!

[Jenny Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute fluff read. I like this better than The Evil Secret Society Of Cats, though I coukd not tell you why. It's also a four panel series, in full color. The pages themself are multicolored as well, changing as the stories focus on a different cat. I also really like the designs of the Yokai Cats.

Check out my YouTube channel for bookish videos and monthly wrap ups!

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is cute but weird? Ghost cats, essentially, but specifically Japanese ghost cats.

I label it as "all ages" with the caveat that maybe children not familiar with Japanese ghosts might have some trouble "getting" it? Although, I also feel like children are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes, so maybe they'll be fine (look at Pokémon!).