But…..
The cat forgot something. No-ah is not as strong as a cat….
Poor No-ah…
The victim of the cat’s walk in the rain
Before I start this review, I would like to dedicate this review to “Tiamat’s Disciple” from “Tiamat’s Manga Reviews” who sadly passed away last week due to a long battle with prostate cancer. My sympathy goes out to his family and I hope everyone can appreciate the hard work that he put into making his blog undoubtedly one of the best manga blogs you could ever hope for on the internet. That being said, since I am going into Medical Research next year hopefully, I cannot emphasize enough the risk of prostate cancer to males and the need for more fundraising to help find an effective treatment plan for it. For more information and access to his blog, please visit [here]. Anyway, his last review was of One Fine Day Volume 2, so I would like to share my review of Volume 1.
Take one fussy dog, a rain-loving cat and a little mouse with a big sweet tooth, mix in a sprinkle of sunshine and a dash of magic, and you’ve got a recipe for adventure! Whether they’re baking cookies, cleaning up, or helping out a friend, this trio always manages to stir up a healthy helping of mischief and fun. Tumbling straight from the tages of YEN PLUS, see how every day can be a fine day indeed.
Yes, it sounds like a perfect storyline for little children, and without a doubt it is perfect for children. Every chapter of the 13 within the book are all unique mini-stores, each having some adventure for the three of them to go on, whether it is making cookies, cleaning the house or playing detectives, but they are all set up to have both a comical and cutesy element in it which usually ends up with them causing more mischief and/or causing problems for their owner No-ah. Now this is definately common to most childrens manga or if I can say so, childrens weekday morning cartoons, but I don’t really get that impression. It is really hard to explain the storyline overall, but lets just summarise that there is quantity and quality, and whilst there wouldnt be any storyline awards to be won for this book, it left me satisfied at the end of the book. The only slight problem I felt was that in one or two chapters, I did find myself skipping over lines which ended up confusing me for the rest of the chapter, but that could be just me.
There are overall four main characters in the storyline:
Nanai
Male Black Puppy
I get the impression that he is the leader of the group, and overall is the most mature of the three. However, he is extremely clumsy at times and does get the urge to follow the other two in their mischief.
Guru
Male Creamy Cat
The main trouble maker of the group. Obsessed with the rain and the story makes use of it.
Pritz Rang
Female Mouse
Her species isnt actually mentioned at all in the manga it seems, so I am assuming she is a mouse due to the back of the book. Age hinted at being older than appearances. Has a thing for sweet things.
No-Ah
The owner of the three animals and some sort of wizard. Is often the victim to the animals pranks and distractions, however is very supportive of them.
There are also other characters added into each chapter to add variety to the interactions that the three animals have with each of them. The development of each character is added in small bits and pieces, often focusing on one characters development per chapter. It is kinda slow, but it is very effective. For example, one chapter, friends of No-ah (Mr and Mrs Raspberry) who seemed to be penguins came to visit which lead to them giving them a “Special Forces” punishment of cleaning the entire house and doing some sort of random exercise.
The artwork in this book can only be put down in two words… Overly Cute. I don’t think there is a single page that is not utilized to make the artwork even more cute. Looking at the character designs, the character designs of Nanai, Guru and Rang alternate between Human Form and Animal Form, similar to what they did in the anime Anyamaru Tantei Kiruminzuu, except without the random transformation scenes. However, I am not sure what ones the other humans see them as, unless they can actually physically see the changes the same as we do. Anyway, the human forms of the three animals are pretty cute, with Nanai sporting a more darker and gothic apparel, Guru sporting sailor-like clothes and Rang remaining in a mouse costume. No-ah on the other hand, being human, is just plain weird with hair that looks like bolts of lightning.
The manga does suffer from the white background which I am against personally, however there are a few backgrounds used here and there, often displaying the character and a prop or the characters and a segment of the background. As well, there is no clear indication where each panel starts and ends, therefore it can be said that each panel is one page, making it harder to cover the whole page with a background, thus making fragments a logical choice. Another little problem is that the book is read how you would normally read a book over here instead of the usual manga format. Whilst it is fine in itself, it is hard to go from reading manga the Japanese way to going back to reading it the english way.
There was not many extras within the volume, however there was:
- Coloured fold out page as a title page. Very cute.
- 4 “Another Day” segments separate from the main chapters (Mini-chapters basically).
- Lots of advertising of upcoming books
In my personal opinion, I am aware that this series is not for everyone, I shall openly and honestly say that now. But, it is, in my opinion, great for younger kids to pick up and read as well as anyone who can enjoy and appreciate a lighthearted story that does not have any violence in it. Personally, I really enjoyed the story and it was definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Overall Score
Storyline: 7
Character Development: 8
Artwork: 9
Extras: 6
Personal Opinion: 9
Total Score: 8.5
