Manga
Neko Ramen Volume 2
By Chris Zimmerman
October 15, 2010 - 15:52

Tokyopop
Writer(s): Kenji Sonishi
Penciller(s): Kenji Sonishi
ISBN: 978-1-4278-1780-8
$10.99 US



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Cat chef extraordinaire Taisho and his sole customer Tanaka return for another healthy helping of ramen and laughs and this time around, Taisho has decided to adopt a few new business strategies in an attempt to gain his shop notoriety. In fact there isn’t a gimmick he won’t try if it means better business.

Written and drawn by Kenji Sonishi, Neko Ramen is the Japanese equivalent to Garfield in a sense. The series follows the pattern of a four paneled gag comic much like what readers would find in a newspaper and stars a wise cracking cat associated with food and a hapless human. Coincidence? Maybe, but it works none the less.

Volume 2 stays in line with what came before it in the previous volume and therein lies the series main weakness. Like most comedy series, Neko Ramen has fallen victim to redundancy and while some of the jokes are liable to catch readers off-guard, the majority of the volume has a “been there, done that” feeling.

Fortunately, volume 2 takes time to introduce Taisho’s family which offers a nice shift from the norm. Sadly though, there just isn’t enough of a healthy balance of old and new to recommend this volume. While volume 1 was genuinely hilarious, volume 2 lags and can only be considered mildly passable.
Rating: 6/10

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