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Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
File:Junji Ito’s Cat Diary Yon & Mu.jpg
The cover of Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, featuring, clockwise from left, Yon, A-ko, Mu, and J-kun.
伊藤潤二の猫日記 よん&むー
(Itō Junji no Neko Nikki Yon & Mū)
GenreSemi-autobiography, Comedy[1]
Manga
Written byJunji Ito
Published byKodansha
English publisher
MagazineMonthly Magazine Z
DemographicSeinen
Published13 March 2009

Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Japanese: 伊藤潤二の猫日記 よん&むー, Hepburn: Itō Junji no Neko Nikki Yon & Mū) is a single-volume Japanese semi-autobiographical comedy manga by horror author Junji Ito.

Plot

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The story follows J-kun (J君) (based on Junji Ito) and his fiancée/wife A-ko (A子) (based on Ito’s wife, Ayako Ishiguro) as they adopt first the friendly, long-haired Norwegian Forest cat Mu (むー, ) and then Yon (よん), a cat with an ominous skull marking on its back. Over time, J-kun, who considers himself a dog person, starts to warm up to the two cats.

Chapters

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  • "Mu Appears" (むー登場, Mū Tōjō)
  • "Yon Attacks" (よん襲来, Yon Shūrai)
  • "Battle of the Cat Wand!!" (激闘!! 猫じゃらし, Gekitō!! Neko Jarashi)
  • "The Events of One Late Night" (ある夜の出来事, Aru Yoru no Dekigoto)
  • "Yon is a Weird Cat" (よんはやっぱり変な猫, Yon wa Yappari Hen'na Neko)
  • "Yon's Great Escape" (よん大脱走, Yon ō Dassō)
  • "King Yon" (王者よん, Ōja Yon)
  • "Mu's Castration" (むー去勢, Mū Kyosei)
  • "Unidentified Creature" (未確認生物, Mikakunin Seibutsu)
  • "Tread not on Poop, Snot, or Cat" (ウンコ踏まず 鼻水踏まず 猫踏まず)

Background and conception

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The series was written during an eight-year break Ito took from writing horror manga; his last published horror work was Shin Yami no Koe Kaidan in 2006, and his next would be Fragments of Horror in 2014.[2][3] Ito has described the period as an "empty" time where he worked on "illustrations and manga about cats or about society".[2][4]

Publication

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Ito serialized the manga in Kodansha's now-defunct seinen manga magazine Monthly Magazine Z between the January 2008 and February 2009 issues.[5][6] Kodansha published the chapters as a single volume on 13 March 2009 (ISBN 978-4-06-337664-7).[5]

Kodansha Comics USA announced their license to the manga at their Anime Boston panel on 4 April 2015,[1] and published it on 27 October 2015 (ISBN 978-1-63236-197-4).[7]

Reception

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The book reached fourth place on the New York Times Manga Best Sellers list.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Kodansha Adds Ninja Slayer Kills, Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, 3 Persona/SMT Manga". Anime News Network. 4 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  2. ^ a b Ito, Junji (16 June 2015). "Afterword". Fragments of Horror. Viz Media. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-4215-8079-1. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  3. ^ "Viz Media Adds Junji Ito's Fragments of Horror Manga". Anime News Network. 3 December 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  4. ^ Ito, Junji (27 October 2015). "Question for You, J-Sensei!". Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu. Kodansha Comics USA. pp. 23–24, 45–46, 89–90, & 111. ISBN 978-4-06-337664-7. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  5. ^ a b 伊藤潤二の猫日記 よん&むー [Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu]. Kodansha (in Japanese). Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  6. ^ "Magazine Z, Comi Di Gi+ Manga Mags Ending in Japan". Anime News Network. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Best Sellers - Manga". The New York Times. 15 November 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
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