Pupposites Attract Volume 1 Review

We’re lucky enough to have been treated to many manga revolving around cats and cat lovers over the years, but what about our canine friends? The market is certainly not empty of those, but it’s certainly not as prevalent. Still, here to add an attractive new romance series is Kodansha with their latest dog-focused title: Pupposites Attract. Will it prove to be a dog lover’s dream? Let’s find out!

Our story follows Kiyotaka and his Pomeranian Monjuro who run into a lady called Chiharu and her Rottweiler Tsubu while on a walk one day. Despite appearances, Tsubu is quite a shy scaredy cat meanwhile Monjuro is outgoing and extremely energetic. Their owners too, differ greatly in personality. Kiyotaka works as a fireman but wonders how Chiharu can control such a big dog like Tsubu, while the teacher Chiharu struggles to control her strength in day-to-day life and couldn’t imagine ever having a dog as small and fragile as Monjuro.

Still, the two continue to run into one another while walking their dogs in the neighbourhood so it’s not long before they become friends. Monjuro in particular is always excited to play with Tsubu and seeks him out whenever possible. As Kiyotaka and Chiharu spend more time together, it’s clear that romantic feelings are blossoming between the two despite how different they (and their dogs) are in personality.

Pupposites Attract is the first work from mangaka Hono Natsuna to make it to the English market (they have two others in Japanese prior to this) and as their debut here it’s a strong one. Despite not having had a dog before the series started (we’re told in the afterword they’ve welcomed one into the family since!), this is a work that presents itself as being well researched.

Rottweilers for example often have a bad reputation due to their size (among other factors) but here we’re gently shown that no two dogs are the same and their temperaments can differ wildly. Just like people, they’re individuals with their own personalities. The creator clearly understands that and is working to address those reputations without being too on the nose about it.

This is reflected in how Tsubu and Monjuro have been raised, too. Chiharu’s father works as a dog trainer and Tsubu was initially raised to work with the police or search-and-rescue until it became increasingly apparent that his nature wasn’t suited to it and Chiharu later took him in. Kiyotaka, meanwhile, had no prior experience raising or working with dogs, so Monjuro has moulded him into exactly the kind of owner she wants. She’s spoiled rotten, which isn’t a bad thing, but she won’t always listen to Kiyotaka unless she’s getting her own way.

While the art on the whole is very cute, the two dogs aren’t drawn overly cutesy or chibi with Natsuna instead opting for a realistic depiction of the two breeds. This works out well since it not only helps with demonstrating the difference in size between the two but sells this as a more realistic look at two people and their beloved canine companions.

My only concern here really is that there isn’t a lot of depth once you look past the central concept of two people and their dogs. More time is spent with Kiyotaka and Chiharu on their own with their pets than together, and even when they’re together, the focus is on the two animals. This is fine for a single-volume work or a slice of life where you don’t have to get them together and could simply sow the seeds of a cute romance, but for a series that’s four volumes and ongoing (at the time of writing), I’m not convinced this has the substance to remain interesting that long.

This is not particularly helped by the fact that Kiyotaka doesn’t have much of a personality beyond his love for Monjuro, while Chiharu fared better in that regard due to us getting to see how she came to own Tsubu. Still, right now that is a relatively minor concern and I think Volume 2 will be the make-or-break moment in terms of its longevity and ability to hold readers interests.

As mentioned Pupposites Attract Volume 1 comes to the West thanks to Kodansha and has been translated by Matt Treyvaud with lettering by Sara Linsley. The release reads well and comes with several pages of translation notes at the end, which come in handy to explain some references and the origin of both dog names. There’s a colour page at the beginning but this only depicts the logo and the table of contents, so it’s not adding a lot, unfortunately.

Volume 2 of the series is scheduled for an English release in early October, while #3-4 aren’t currently in the schedule which suggests a more lengthy gap before we get more. Given this is a fairly cute series rather than with an ongoing story of note, we’re at least not at risk of being stuck on a cliffhanger (I hope!).

Overall, Pupposites Attract Volume 1 is an attractive offering to dog lovers looking for a new romantic comedy. While I worry about its ability to sustain itself for multiple volumes, it’s hard to deny the value of having a series where the mangaka is so well-researched on dogs and putting the effort into depicting the things that matter about living with them. Is it perfect? No. But it is charming and that’s enough for now.

A free preview can be read on Kodansha’s website.

Our review copy from Kodansha was supplied by Diamond Book Distributors UK.