Dear reader, I have reached that point in my manga reading where I’ve finished one beloved series while also waiting for the latest English-language volumes of other series to be released. So I went to Google and searched for other series similar to ones I’m reading now, to tide me over! That is how I found the three manga series I’ll be talking about today.

Of course, if you’ve been reading my blog posts for any length of time you’ll know that I love cats! So what better to write about than cat-themed manga? Name a better duo, I’ll wait!

Catnaps, Catnaps Everywhere! by Pandania

Return to the adorable world of PANDANIA in the newest cat comic. A box, a sunbeam, or a comfy lap: there’s plenty of places to find a napping cat!

Necchi is a big, long cat who enjoys napping, lazing around, and finding new ways to get attention from his human. Stretched out in a sunbeam or curled up in a box, Necchi is never picky about where he lounges! This sweet boy never scratches or knocks things over if he’s displeased–he simply extends a paw in refusal. And he always knows when his human needs cuddling.

Enjoy the daily life of Necchi and his human from the master of cat manga, PANDANIA!

Dear reader, I feel like I wasn’t fair to this manga series the first time I read it. I kept expecting it to be like one of my most favorite manga series, Nights With a Cat, where both the cat and humans are very expressive and very realistic both in looks and in actions. While Necchi the cat is realistically drawn and behaves like a normal cat, his human is not realistic in appearance. My main problem could just be I didn’t like the art style of Catnaps. I think it kept me from fully immersing in the story.

But that aside, I still enjoyed reading this volume! The dynamic between Necchi and his human was fun to read. Necchi got into things he shouldn’t, behaved in ways that his human found bizarre, and made him worry as well! The seemingly trivial things he worried over where Necchi was concerned made him very relatable. Which one of us that has pets hasn’t fretted over the smallest thing?

Also, having grown up with a 20+ lb. cat I found Necchi’s big size relatable as well! Every time I see “normal-sized cats” I’m always shocked how small they seem! What do you mean your cat isn’t the size of a small dog? How strange!

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I have always found myself drawn to history. My interest ranges from more recent history all the way back to ancient histories of Egypt, Greece, and beyond. One of my favorite genres to read is historical fiction, usually I find myself with more questions at the end of a historical fiction book than I had prior to starting. Some stories really just stand out to me more than others. When that happens to me, I go searching for either books, documentaries, or movies about the actual event, or the actual person I have just finished reading about.

I find myself frequently visiting the WWII era. My journey started like most, learning in school of Anne Frank, and although I was young when the movie Schlinder’s List, I remember watching it. So much from that time period is hard to fathom, that I believe, that is what keeps bringing me back to it. Whether it be through books, movies, or documentaries if something that I have not read or seen comes to my attention, I usually dive right in.

I found that happening a lot in the past year. I feel like when the big box office shines light on this era, it brings attention back to a pivotal point in our history. With big office movies like Nuremberg and Truth & Treason hitting the screens last fall and available for streaming or DVD this past winter, I have spent the good part of this year in that era specifically on one story.

The story that stuck with me the most this past year has been Truth & Treason.

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