An Introspective Look at "She and Her Cat"

I harbor a motherly love for my smol son...
but I sometimes wish I could totally marry my cat.
I imagine this is what he thinks of me.

'SUP, NERDS?!

Today I fell in love with She and Her Cat, a manga published by Vertical Inc. In case it wasn't clear enough as is, I am a crazy cat lady. I've always been a dog person, but I rescued the sweetest widdle kit-kat, Captain Hook, last fall. Since taking him, he revolutionized my life.

She and Her Cat

She and Her Cat is a pretty self-explanatory title in itself. Miyu takes in a cat, who she names Chobi, and the story is told from his perspective. Chobi describes the ups and downs Miyu experiences in her young adulthood. He ponders Miyu's life outside of their home based upon her moods and baggage she brings home.

Miyu takes care of and loves Chobi, who becomes her respite from the outside world. Although this story was first an animated-short by Makoto Shinkai, artist Tsubasa Yamaguchi delves further into Miyu's struggles than the short does. Miyu experiences conflict between work, her family life and friendships.

Capt. Hook, Tinkerbell and my
roomie/bestest friend await me.

How this relates

I see Miyu and Chobi as a fictional version of my life lately. I've been grasping at straws for validation and love when I have Capt. Hook already doing the job for me. Every day he greets me at the door and gives me puppy-dog kitty-cat eyes when I cave into my alarm clock and get ready for work.

Capt. Hook has been a little naughty lately, knowing that I'm frustrated with him and has been avoiding bedtime snuggles. After some recent emotional trials, he just knew what I needed and embraced me for the mess I am. He's been in-tune during a time of need.

Me and My Cat

My cat knows what's up. At least someone can understand me, in a world hazed with confusion and pressures. My cat is the only "person" I can feed every emotion and receive unconditional love, even on the bad days. Not only does he love me, but my friends and family do too--but it's difficult to share myself when humans can always talk back and criticize. Whatever. I'll do what I have to do to pave a happy and meaningful life, my cat carrying me through it all.

A particular page that struck me.

How much do you love your pets? I really hope you care for them as much as they care for you. They domesticated themselves into being your partner for a reason. Love your fur, feather and scaley babies every moment you can.

LATER, DWEEBS!

Loverly Liz

"After the Rain" gave me the feels

'SUP, NERDS?!

For the first time in forever, I watched an anime. Honestly, I would have never found After the Rain if it weren't for Vertical Inc. tweeting about acquiring the rights. The short synopsis caught my immediate interest and I sought the anime immediately and watched it within a 24 hour span.

Summary

The cover of vol.1

Our protagonist, Akira Tachibana, is a 17 year old who works at a small restaurant and falls in love with her middle-aged boss, Mr. Kondo. They like each other, but find it difficult to express their feelings in an appropriate manner. Akira crushes on Mr. Kondo but doesn't have a clue as to why she likes him so much. On the other hand, Mr. Kondo admires Akira's youth and reminisces about his high school and college years.

I Swear, It's Not Creepy

My first thoughts delving into After the Rain was either this show is going to be risque & disgusting or it's going to be super sweet--thankfully it is the latter.

Akira suffered a sports injury and was charmed by Mr. Kondo during her recovery phase. She applied to the restaurant solely because she liked him. Akira has a very stoic demeanor, often leading people to think she doesn't like them. The first time she tells Mr. Kondo she like-likes him, he takes it as a simple compliment, relieved his staff doesn't hate him.

Not. Creepy.

Akira continues to pursue Mr. Kondo, such as getting his phone number, texting him and going out on little dates. Mr. Kondo is divorced and takes care of his young son on occasion, his ex-wife having full custody. He enjoys Akira's friendship and company, but there is a lot more stirring in his mind.

It Goes Beyond Romance

My favorite aspect of After the Rain is that it ends up focusing more on the complexity of relationships and pursuing goals than the "romance" between Akira and Mr. Kondo. Most of the show is with Akira, exploring her feelings about her fall as a track star. She increasingly spends more time at the restaurant and blocks her friends from the team out of her life. Her best friend struggles to connect with Akira and wants to take their friendship beyond sports.

This never happened... but Akira wishes she can kiss Mr. Kondo.

Mr. Kondo's story line is much more interesting because there is a shroud of mystery behind him. The show slowly introduces his love of reading, but delves deeper into his passion for writing. It can be assumed that his failure as a writer broke his marriage. I really wished the show went more into his past relationship and the drama revolved around his writing, but I don't think there would have been an appropriate place to put it.

Mr. Kondo's story focuses more on his desire to publish and the dynamic between his friend and fellow writer, Chihiro Kujo. They met in college, but Kujo attained success as a best-selling author. Despite the fact he made a career of writing, Kujo envies Kondo for having the freedom to create anything he likes since Kujo is expected to continue to create mainstream pieces.

Feeling the Feels

I particularly like this anime because I was able to understand both Akira and Mr. Kondo. Her relationship with Mr. Kondo provides a fleeting distraction from the trials of her recovery, but I don't perceive any of her feelings being disingenuous. I think Akira provided Mr. Kondo some inspiration to seriously pursue his writing again, their time together proving to be healing for both parties.

There is a particular beauty and innocence to this relationship that resonates with me. Although the two are clearly not going to end up as a legitimate couple, it was exciting every step of the way through their friendship, discovering interesting bits about them. I find myself similarly now delving into the layers of another person, seeing both the good and not so good parts of them. I don't exactly know where I'm heading, but I see my excitement reflected similarly to Akira's.

Everything Else

Characters and story aside... I absolutely adore the art style. Akira appears to be a plain girl, but she is accented with so much detail. Her design reminds me of 80s anime, cute blushing and sparkles and all. Mr. Kondo is not an unattractive man, but he's also plain. However, his personality and animation make him incredibly cute.

This image just oozes with style.

From my understanding, the story doesn't take place in Tokyo... which is totally overdone in every anime/manga ever. The backgrounds and environments are unique, especially Akira's home and neighborhood.

Overall, I recommend this to fans of the romance genre. It's not entirely what I expected it to be and it ends on a high note. You can watch After the Rain in its entirety on Amazon Prime Video. I definitely will purchase the manga upon release.

LATER, DWEEBS!

Loverly Liz