Inubaka
Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs

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This is my first review, so be gentle. Anyway, from the moment I picked up the first volume of this manga, it peaked my interest. I didn't buy it at first, but at my friend's prompting, I opened it, read a little bit... and quickly made my way to the cash register.

Let me just say, the first thing that caught my eye was the fact that it was, not surprisingly, about dogs. Which, is actually... not something I see in a manga every day.

Story:

I won't say much, but the story is very interesting, because there is a hint of a... well, supernatural-ness. Just ... a gentle power/ability given to the protagonist. It's very slight, of course, and doesn't go very deep, but drops easy-to-understand hints that something interesting is undoubtedly going to happen.

Since the story is about dogs, it sounds like it could be a cheesy read... but in the first volume I came near tears at a certain chapter, because of a dog. I can relate to the story, and the characters... but that's another section...

Art:

Usually when pets are introduced in other manga, they look very stylized and, well, not very interesting. But the fur, the eyes, the posture of the canines all look very professional and very very cute. Owning a few pups myself, I felt that the creator really captured the spirit and energy and real puppies.

Also, the characters... wow.. they're just beautiful. From their faces to their clothing, they look terrific.

BUT, what stands out the most for me? The backgrounds. Some artists lack on the background art, and that's very disappointing at times. Because, backgrounds add a certain element and realism to a comic. So, Sakuragi does backgrounds. Very clean, very detailed, and very interesting.

Characters:

They're not CRAZY about dogs. Meaning, not unrealistically obsessed. The main character has other interests, like clothes and things of the sort, she just happens to really love dogs... and has a strange ability to make them... well, you'll find out later.

The males are believable. The females are believable. It's not super-over the top. Except... for when Suguri holds dog-poop. That's a little strange, but, well, could be far weirder.

Enjoyment/Overall:

It's funny, has wonderful artwork, a touching but not overly deep storyline, and... it's about doggies! But even if you're not crazy about dogs, you might enjoy this manga anyway

when I added this manga to my list, I was shocked to see how few other members had read this title. now, on the surface, this looks like just a dog-lovers' story, but it's way more than that. I don't own a dog, but this is, by far, the best manga I have ever read!
the only other book series like this is "all creatures great and small", a very fine story by an English vet about his experiences with animals in War-time England.
what makes a good story a great story, manga or otherwise, is when an author persuades you to love a character ... whole-heartedly, and when you feel a range of emotions: joy, anger, sadness; all of it. this is that story.
another big plus here is the incredible drawing-skill. I mean, it's one thing for the manga-ka to draw moe and/or human figures, but this lady draws dogs like I've never seen.
well, guess I got carried away, but I meant what I said. give it a try.

The only thing I really enjoyed about this manga was the artwork. Originally, I picked it up because it was about dogs and usually you don't come across manga's or animes revolving around animals too much. Not only was I disappointed but very irritated with all of the misinformation in this manga.

Actually, to be honest, the misinformation is what completely killed this series for me. I am an adamant dog lover and I have owned dogs all of my life. At one point I wanted to be a Vet and now I look forward to adopting a senior dog in the future in order to ... help with the pet over-population. With all of those in mind, I was infuriated with Teppei. The author was clearly trying to make him out to be the noble, wise character but fell short horrifically.

To begin with... a pet shop? REALLY?! You can't aspire to help bring happiness to dogs with a pet shop. Pet shops typically get their cute little puppies from puppy mills. Even with Teppei personally choosing his high quality pups he is still a hypocrite in the worst aspect. If he is going to preach a dream of saving dogs then I would've liked to have seen him more willing to go to animal shelters and select THOSE dogs to put into his pet shop. Not breed out more dogs and help the pet overpopulation crisis. While that was an incredibly annoying aspect to the manga this latest chapter sealed the coffin.

Teppei constantly putting down Lupin for being a mutt. In fact, EVERYONE putting down Lupin for being a mutt. Now, I am inclined to agree that having puppies just to have puppies is never a good idea, but having puppies just to put them up for sale in your pet shop sounds like a puppy mill to me. You breed for a good dog. The only thing Noa had going for her was that she was a purebred, but in terms of overall performance Lupin proved himself to be far more valuable. I don't think the author thought out her argument against mutts that well. The worse being that she promotes Designer breeds as if they aren't just glorified mutts themselves. XDD OH, and just to add this tidbit in... Purebred Dogs wind up in animal shelters just as easily as mutts do.

So if you can't get past all of the ridiculous stereotypes and falsehoods the series is a time killer. Not anything earth moving, but it won't bore you to tears either. I just wish the author had done some actual research and came out of her dream bubble before writing this story. She could've spread a good message.