If there's a problem with American media as a whole these days, it's that there's a sort of irony poisoning. We swim in stories in a country that produces a huge chunk of them, which get influenced and reflected back on us through the rest of the world's media.

Or to put it more simply, most American protagonists are Han Solo. We are wretched with Han Solos, Starlords, Marlowes, Geralts, and other cynical heroes who almost seem like they've read the script for their own story in advance.

So I get why manga has gained so much ground in the last few years, because many manga protagonists are sincere as all hell.

A Man and His Cat is about as sincere a premise as you could imagine. It's about a really cool old man who wants an ugly cat. The ugly cat loves him. That's it, that's the set up. It's not a commentary on cat comics, or a satire of Japanese culture. It's about loving a pet. And it's a joy to read.

If there's one issue I'd take with the American localization, it's that they appeared to feel the need to make the cat's thought bubbles full of cat puns. They're not egregious puns by that standard, but they didn't exist in the unofficial translations I started out reading this in, so it was a bit jarring when I bought the official book.

This manga series is an absolute comfort food, and I hope it gets a dozen more books.