Inubaka Volume 5

Rating T+ Genre manga Publisher VIZ Media External Links Official Inubaka Website

As a male with only a moderate interest in dogs (moderate, as in, I haven't owned one for several years but remember the dog-days fondly), I couldn't imagine there would be much in Inubaka for me. It's not for me. Who is it for? As I've implied, probably for the fairer sex, or those who love dogs. However, that is not to say I found no redeeming qualities in Inubaka -- it has a fairly solid translation and finds time to work (however briefly) with some important issues.

Suguri has moved to the big city with her dog, Lupin, to find a job. She ends up working for a pet store, which is ideal for her, because she is a natural with dogs. She makes dogs have, and I'm quoting, "happy pee." Volume 5 opens with a small confrontation between Suguri and Mika, a Jr. High student who is, we quickly learn, a cutter -- she cuts her own wrists with what appears to be a box cutter. This is an example of the important issues I alluded to.

However, this brings me to my first complaint with the storyline: While the story does, occasionally, choose to deal with serious issues, it usually resolves them far too quickly. I guess maybe the point is to get back to the dogs and the loving thereof, but I would have liked to see Mika's story developed more fully in this volume. Perhaps it will be someday, but as she barely appears in this volume, I wonder if I would still care?

The main focus of the volume is Suguri's attempts to retrain a dog for an upcoming agility competition. This is played out in a pretty typical fashion -- she struggles, she overcomes. We learn a little about her main competition, a man who is famous in the dog world because of his skill with the animals. We see his past and we understand what drives him. But again, we're not given much, and what we're given is over too soon.

It seems like the focus is on the dogs, even in the artwork. The dogs are drawn very nicely. The people don't get the same treatment. Though there is nothing horrible about the designs, they are stereotypical manga-esque drawings.

I'm going to say that Inubaka surprised me. I kept reading, and it wasn't solely out of necessity. I would just say that I mostly recommend it to its target audience -- and you already know who you are.