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Penguin & House #1
Penguin & House, Vol. 1
NESTING
Pen the Penguin lives with his most favorite keeper in the world: Hayakawa the Human. But Pen’s no ordinary penguin… He’s a neat penguin! A proper penguin! A doting penguin! Pen loves to daydream of Hayakawa’s smile as he flips pancakes and folds the laundry with his teeny-tiny flippers. If only his beloved Hayakawa would notice! It’s too bad Pen’s human keeper is a hopelessly lazy university student, but with a little nap and some helpful friends, Pen is ready to tackle the day!
Pen the Penguin lives with his most favorite keeper in the world: Hayakawa the Human. But Pen’s no ordinary penguin… He’s a neat penguin! A proper penguin! A doting penguin! Pen loves to daydream of Hayakawa’s smile as he flips pancakes and folds the laundry with his teeny-tiny flippers. If only his beloved Hayakawa would notice! It’s too bad Pen’s human keeper is a hopelessly lazy university student, but with a little nap and some helpful friends, Pen is ready to tackle the day!
176 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2022
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462 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews
July 1, 2022
Pen is a penguin and he lives with his owner, Hayakawa. Hayakawa is a bit of a doofus, and Pen is a bit of a genius, especially at cooking. So we get a bit of a Wallace and Gromit thing going on here, and it's very cute.
There isn't a lot more to say - I like the art, the stories are light and funny. Just a nice warm bath of a manga.
(Thanks to Kodansha for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley)
June 8, 2022
This was SO cute!!
I originally was going to try and pick this up for my husband, but after reading I don't think he would enjoy Pen-chan's cuteness as much as I did when reading! LOL!
Pen-chan is ADORABLE! The "Owner's Friend" was so relatable because I was hesitant that I could actually like the penguin, but within those first two chapters I was done for! Sooooo cute!
Though while Pen-chan was super cute, ahhhh his owner! He is so careless and while I know that is part of the humor (and it did make me laugh almost every chapter LOL), I still was like NOOOOOO! All the work Pen-chan just did is ruined! *laugh cries*
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! I am unsure if I would buy this physically, but I am definitely going to see if my library has volume two because this is the perfect light read to make one smile!
*(I received a digital copy from the publisher. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
I originally was going to try and pick this up for my husband, but after reading I don't think he would enjoy Pen-chan's cuteness as much as I did when reading! LOL!
Pen-chan is ADORABLE! The "Owner's Friend" was so relatable because I was hesitant that I could actually like the penguin, but within those first two chapters I was done for! Sooooo cute!
Though while Pen-chan was super cute, ahhhh his owner! He is so careless and while I know that is part of the humor (and it did make me laugh almost every chapter LOL), I still was like NOOOOOO! All the work Pen-chan just did is ruined! *laugh cries*
Overall, this was a really enjoyable read! I am unsure if I would buy this physically, but I am definitely going to see if my library has volume two because this is the perfect light read to make one smile!
*(I received a digital copy from the publisher. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
May 29, 2022
My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
I think I am too sensitive a reader at times, because I felt SO BAD for the poor penguin, being stuck with such a thoughtless, careless owner. Honestly, to me, I saw the penguin as being one half of a relationship where they did nothing but give and the other did nothing but take and didn't realize how horrible the taker was to the giver. It was such a toxic relationship.
Also, the penguin roasted a chicken for it's owner and friends for dinner.
A penguin, a bird, bought the slaughtered body of another bird, and roasted it, to be eaten, by it's owner, owner's friends and maybe it partook of the roasted bird too?!?
This manga disturbed me on multiple levels, but I think I read this one wrong.
2, I didn't hate it and Pen was incredibly cute, stars.
I think I am too sensitive a reader at times, because I felt SO BAD for the poor penguin, being stuck with such a thoughtless, careless owner. Honestly, to me, I saw the penguin as being one half of a relationship where they did nothing but give and the other did nothing but take and didn't realize how horrible the taker was to the giver. It was such a toxic relationship.
Also, the penguin roasted a chicken for it's owner and friends for dinner.
A penguin, a bird, bought the slaughtered body of another bird, and roasted it, to be eaten, by it's owner, owner's friends and maybe it partook of the roasted bird too?!?
This manga disturbed me on multiple levels, but I think I read this one wrong.
2, I didn't hate it and Pen was incredibly cute, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2024
This poor fucking penguin dude
August 16, 2024
pen-chan deserves the world
May 23, 2022
I'm typically not a fan of slice of life manga like this that don't have an overarching plot and instead just have short stories of daily life, however, I'm starting to see the appeal of cute ones like this.
In Penguin & House, we are following a university student named Hayakawa, and his pet penguin, Pen. Pen stays home a lot while Hayakawa is assumingly at class and keeps up with maintaining the home and running errands. A lot of his time is spent cooking for Hayakawa since this is what he most enjoys doing it seems. Pen does so much for his owner and honestly, Hayakawa does not even deserve him!! Pen is too good for the world and Hayakawa is so nonchalant and clumsy that he will oftentimes ruin Pen's acts of services and good deeds for him, which made me kind of hate him. Ha! Not really but ugh I felt so bad when Pen's hard work was ruined! Bless him!
This manga had me grinning the entire time reading it though! I think it is perfectly sweet and funny and would be perfect for breaking up your reading of other stories without having to get heavily invested in something else. That's personally what I find to be the biggest perk of manga like this but it's also simply something good for brightening your day if you're feeling a bit down.
So pick it up if you can! I promise you're going to love Pen because it's impossible not to. I'm already holding out hope for the release of Pen plushies or other merchandise. A little figurine? A keychain? Come on Kodansha.
Thanks to Netgallery and Kodansha Comics for an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
In Penguin & House, we are following a university student named Hayakawa, and his pet penguin, Pen. Pen stays home a lot while Hayakawa is assumingly at class and keeps up with maintaining the home and running errands. A lot of his time is spent cooking for Hayakawa since this is what he most enjoys doing it seems. Pen does so much for his owner and honestly, Hayakawa does not even deserve him!! Pen is too good for the world and Hayakawa is so nonchalant and clumsy that he will oftentimes ruin Pen's acts of services and good deeds for him, which made me kind of hate him. Ha! Not really but ugh I felt so bad when Pen's hard work was ruined! Bless him!
This manga had me grinning the entire time reading it though! I think it is perfectly sweet and funny and would be perfect for breaking up your reading of other stories without having to get heavily invested in something else. That's personally what I find to be the biggest perk of manga like this but it's also simply something good for brightening your day if you're feeling a bit down.
So pick it up if you can! I promise you're going to love Pen because it's impossible not to. I'm already holding out hope for the release of Pen plushies or other merchandise. A little figurine? A keychain? Come on Kodansha.
Thanks to Netgallery and Kodansha Comics for an ARC copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
April 12, 2022
Reminded me of Tacky the Penguin kids book series, but only if he was a pet that wanted senpai to notice him. The freaking cutest thing ever.
May 6, 2022
First, my gratitude to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this series!
What an adorable and funny quick read! Pen-chan is the ultimate pet anyone would die to own; he does the cooking, he does the laundry, and he does the cleaning! It's very idealistic but it never fails to crack me up. I love how light the premise is. But it kind of breaks my heart that his owner Hayakawa is taking his loyalty for granted!! Hayakawa got to grow up, the dude sure is so absorbed with himself! You got to pet the pet, you know. I identify myself with the friend, Seto, though. I just adore the cutie fluffball penguin so much!! Overall, I enjoyed this series, and it wouldn't hurt to see another volume of this cute pet series!
What an adorable and funny quick read! Pen-chan is the ultimate pet anyone would die to own; he does the cooking, he does the laundry, and he does the cleaning! It's very idealistic but it never fails to crack me up. I love how light the premise is. But it kind of breaks my heart that his owner Hayakawa is taking his loyalty for granted!! Hayakawa got to grow up, the dude sure is so absorbed with himself! You got to pet the pet, you know. I identify myself with the friend, Seto, though. I just adore the cutie fluffball penguin so much!! Overall, I enjoyed this series, and it wouldn't hurt to see another volume of this cute pet series!
February 28, 2025
Let’s get one thing straight, Hayakawa gets on my nerves. And still I loved this! I knew it would be slice of life with no plot and it was such a nice easy read. It was funny and cute and I liked all the side characters introduced. I really just love Pen, favorite character by far.
Would recommend if you just want a quick easy read. It gives me that fun lighthearted feeling I would get when reading Yotsuba, one of my favorite series of all time. Doesn’t have the subtle complexities like Yotsuba but still easy to love.
Would recommend if you just want a quick easy read. It gives me that fun lighthearted feeling I would get when reading Yotsuba, one of my favorite series of all time. Doesn’t have the subtle complexities like Yotsuba but still easy to love.
May 2, 2022
I need a pet penguin STAT!
July 24, 2022
Masterpiece actually
March 12, 2023
This was ridiculous and I loved every minute of it 😂😂😂
May 21, 2022
Adorable
May 3, 2022
Apparently this is a genre of manga that I don't really get. I had this problem with the Tanuki series I read a few months ago.
Why does no one question these extraordinary animals just going about, doing their things?
Also, Pen is too pure for Hayakawa. He deserves better.
Still, the art and Pen are adorable, so I do prefer it over the Tanuki series, even though Hayakawa needs to be smacked regularly.
Why does no one question these extraordinary animals just going about, doing their things?
Also, Pen is too pure for Hayakawa. He deserves better.
Still, the art and Pen are adorable, so I do prefer it over the Tanuki series, even though Hayakawa needs to be smacked regularly.
September 3, 2025
I got an ARC of this book.
It was cute, I guess. There wasn't any real plot. There was no character development. There wasn't much that happened. Instead it was the owner kinda being a jerk to his pet penguin. The penguin was far more advanced than a typical penguin.
I liked the penguin, but there wasn't anything else for me to really latch onto. I think I would have liked it better if the penguin would have had more adventures on his own instead of serving his person. It just felt like an attempt to be something like The Way of the House Husband, but with a penguin. It never got funny enough or cute enough to really stand on its own though.
It was cute, I guess. There wasn't any real plot. There was no character development. There wasn't much that happened. Instead it was the owner kinda being a jerk to his pet penguin. The penguin was far more advanced than a typical penguin.
I liked the penguin, but there wasn't anything else for me to really latch onto. I think I would have liked it better if the penguin would have had more adventures on his own instead of serving his person. It just felt like an attempt to be something like The Way of the House Husband, but with a penguin. It never got funny enough or cute enough to really stand on its own though.
April 8, 2022
Very similar to Wonder Cat Kyuu-Chan but I love penguins and slice-of-life manga too much to care!
June 19, 2022
3/5 stars
I received an ARC of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is one of those books that I could easily see someone else enjoying even though it wasn't really for me.
This is a simple, slice of life story. Pen is a very tidy penguin and he's responsible for most of the household chores. His human owner is lazy, so Pen takes care of his owner more than his owner takes care of him.
Basically, each chapter is a short story in the daily life of Pen. You meet the owner's human friends and watch Pen's attempts to please his owner. Unfortunately, his owner often accidentally ruins Pen's attempts to make him happy or just doesn't appreciate them.
While I think Pen is adorable and the story overall is cute, I had a hard time enjoying it when almost every chapter ends in Pen's efforts going to waste. I know this is supposed to be funny, but this kind of humor doesn't appeal to me. I just end up feeling sorry for Pen. The owner's friends seemed to appreciate Pen much more than he himself did.
I'm not going to be continuing this series, but I would still recommend this to people who like this kind of humor. Once again, I could easily see this being an adorable and humorous book for other people.
Content: clean
I received an ARC of this book, and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is one of those books that I could easily see someone else enjoying even though it wasn't really for me.
This is a simple, slice of life story. Pen is a very tidy penguin and he's responsible for most of the household chores. His human owner is lazy, so Pen takes care of his owner more than his owner takes care of him.
Basically, each chapter is a short story in the daily life of Pen. You meet the owner's human friends and watch Pen's attempts to please his owner. Unfortunately, his owner often accidentally ruins Pen's attempts to make him happy or just doesn't appreciate them.
While I think Pen is adorable and the story overall is cute, I had a hard time enjoying it when almost every chapter ends in Pen's efforts going to waste. I know this is supposed to be funny, but this kind of humor doesn't appeal to me. I just end up feeling sorry for Pen. The owner's friends seemed to appreciate Pen much more than he himself did.
I'm not going to be continuing this series, but I would still recommend this to people who like this kind of humor. Once again, I could easily see this being an adorable and humorous book for other people.
Content: clean
Read
May 21, 2022I love Pen-chan! Penguin & House volume 1 introduces us to Pen the Penguin and Hayakawa the Human. Hayakawa is a university student who lives with his pet, Pen. What’s impressive is that Pen is so amazing at household chores! He cleans, cooks, and looks out for Hayakawa. He’s such a neat and kind Penguin!
First things first, this manga is cutely drawn. Pen is so endearing. I can’t say the same for Hayakawa. I feel like the mangaka is trying to draw out the humor from Pen’s suffering every time Hayakawa is being indifferent or obtuse. It doesn’t make me laugh, and it just makes me frustrated on Pen’s behalf. Even Hayakawa’s friends think he treats Pen unfairly. In some chapters, we can see that he loves Pen, and he’s just inherently nonchalant about a lot of stuff. That still doesn’t make up for the fact that he’s an idiot most of the time. I’m still going to continue reading the future volumes, though. For Pen-chan! And I’m really hoping Hayakawa has some character development.
3.5 stars
Thank you once again, NetGalley and Kodansha, for the eARC.
First things first, this manga is cutely drawn. Pen is so endearing. I can’t say the same for Hayakawa. I feel like the mangaka is trying to draw out the humor from Pen’s suffering every time Hayakawa is being indifferent or obtuse. It doesn’t make me laugh, and it just makes me frustrated on Pen’s behalf. Even Hayakawa’s friends think he treats Pen unfairly. In some chapters, we can see that he loves Pen, and he’s just inherently nonchalant about a lot of stuff. That still doesn’t make up for the fact that he’s an idiot most of the time. I’m still going to continue reading the future volumes, though. For Pen-chan! And I’m really hoping Hayakawa has some character development.
3.5 stars
Thank you once again, NetGalley and Kodansha, for the eARC.
May 24, 2022
Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this manga to review!
This is a cute, sweet, light-hearted slice-of-life manga following the exploits of a butler penguin and his master. The artwork is humourous and expressive. The characters are fun and interesting. The plot, we have no plot.
Well, in actual fact there may be a plot buried in there somewhere but it seems we are just following around a penguin who wants to do his best and look after the human who keeps him. Of course, this is obviously unrealistic but the penguin does resemble a wife/ mother character in that they are cooking, cleaning, and generally looking after what appears to be a lazy and inept human unworthy of such amazing feats. And that's kinda it.
It follows many other manga of this type; domestic with an element of the fantasy which makes it fun but ultimately: fluff. This is the kind of manga to read when you want to feel nothing but a vague sense of calm and wellbeing. So it certainly has its place in the world.
This is a cute, sweet, light-hearted slice-of-life manga following the exploits of a butler penguin and his master. The artwork is humourous and expressive. The characters are fun and interesting. The plot, we have no plot.
Well, in actual fact there may be a plot buried in there somewhere but it seems we are just following around a penguin who wants to do his best and look after the human who keeps him. Of course, this is obviously unrealistic but the penguin does resemble a wife/ mother character in that they are cooking, cleaning, and generally looking after what appears to be a lazy and inept human unworthy of such amazing feats. And that's kinda it.
It follows many other manga of this type; domestic with an element of the fantasy which makes it fun but ultimately: fluff. This is the kind of manga to read when you want to feel nothing but a vague sense of calm and wellbeing. So it certainly has its place in the world.
Read
December 24, 2024Very cute and silly slice of life, but no plot. I feel like I’m the lazy university student and Darian is my penguin that cooks me good meals and does the cleaning lmao
Okay, this is kind of cheating as being the book I read this year, but I don’t think I’ll finish Bloodlines in time and I got this as a gift a while ago so may as well.
Okay, this is kind of cheating as being the book I read this year, but I don’t think I’ll finish Bloodlines in time and I got this as a gift a while ago so may as well.
June 14, 2022
OMG after Sue and Tai-chan could another manga about animal pet win my heart? YES!! This was so funny penguin is so adorable and the adventures are short and funny and refreshing. also almost no one questions penguin who can cooks clean etc XD adorable design and MCs
July 5, 2022
I don't read very much manga, so when I do I'm often a little thrown by the different stylistic conventions etc. But I picked this up because it looked sooo cute. And it was, in fact, sooo cute. I am furious at the penguin's owner for taking the penguin's labor for granted though. RISE UP, PENGUIN.
December 16, 2022
Hilarious stories about Pen-chan (the penguin) doing nice things for his owner, who is totally oblivious. The whole volume references winter holidays and weather, so it felt like a seasonally appropriate read.
June 27, 2022
Very sweet and cute!
July 13, 2022
penguin takes care of man
January 14, 2023
This was so cute. Pen is a good penguin boy.
January 17, 2023
Very cute read and funny. The illustrations are cute.
June 28, 2023
Super cute all ages manga with an incredible penguin who can do it all it seems, love the first volume!
August 20, 2023
I wish the penuin was more chibi kawaii... but the stories are cute and fun. Poor Pen.
October 26, 2023
Super cute, cosy & relaxing book :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 231 reviews