Want to read something that goes from adorable to tragic to horrifying, then back to unbearably cute in a matter of sentences? ドッグカフェワンノアール by Syo Ishida ( 石田祥) might be for you.
Set in Kyoto, the tale follows the story of a young woman named Rin Morigawa (森川凛), a part-time worker at a Dog Cafe. Rin’s life is pretty typical; she shares an apartment with a roommate to make ends meet and goes to work. Oh, and she can see and talk to ghosts.
More on that later.
One day while going to work, she sees a box with four puppies in it. It’s too late for all but one of them, a little girl with a heart-shaped mark on her forehead. Rin rescues this pup, named Silvie, and from there her adventures begin.
Some of her adventures are run of the mill–friends dealing with dog allergies, people at the cafe hitting on her–but others are much more supernatural. Many of her customers at the Dog Cafe end up bringing in their histories, including ghosts of loved ones. These ghosts, upon realizing Rin can see them, lead her to clues to solve the mysteries behind their own deaths. Some take longer than others. From a young boy who was terrified of being alone, to a kind worker who worried about the cafe he worked in, Rin deals with several situations with the help of Silvie (who can also sense ghosts), Sasao, her boss, and a local policeman named Maki (真木) who tries very hard to help out while not giving away what a huge crush he has on the oblivious Rin.
Rin is a fun character to follow; she’s stubborn once she sets her mind on something (like keeping her new pet dog), and despite being terrified in some cases she pushes through to solve the mysteries she’s dragged into. And she is wonderfully oblivious to people attempting to flirt with her, which makes you cringe and laugh.
This is the first book in a series. Despite some sad themes, there are plenty of charming moments. More importantly, whatever happens in book 1, Silvie the dog is safe. As a dog-lover, I don’t like books or movies that show them getting hurt or killed; I’d like to reassure you that in this book, at least, Silvie always ends up fine.
This book is in all Japanese, but it doesn’t use a lot of technical terms nor are the plots overly complicated, so it’s a great opportunity to practice reading everyday vocabulary. Furigana is not often used, unless it’s to help you with the reading of a character’s name, so make sure you’ve got a dictionary handy if kanji is not your strong suit.
Have you read anything good lately?
Stefanie, What?! 