Suguri Miyauchi, an 18-year-old who has an almost supernatural connection with dogs, and her loyal mutt, Lupin, leave the lonely countryside and head to the city to start a new life.  Suguri lands her first job at a branch of the “Woofles” pet store chain, where her rapport with quirky dogs and their quirkier owners makes up for her lack of retail experience.

In Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, Vol. 8, Lupin gets lost – very lost.  It starts when Suguri comes to believe that she is spoiling Lupin, so she goes from being lenient to ignoring his pleas for more food and attention.  Then, he gets lost during a rainstorm, and Suguri blames herself – thinking Lupin ran away.  Suguri is devastated, and her friends rally around her and launch a citywide and Net wide search.  Lupin, however, is farther away than Suguri can imagine, and it’ll take some luck and her pluckiness to reunite with her best pal.

Meanwhile, the manager of “Woofles,” Teppei Iida gets a visit from his mother, Yumiko, and she’s looking to buy a dog to fill the void of loneliness in her life.  Will Teppei survive the visit?

THE LOWDOWN:  Inubaka is a dog lover’s manga, but anyone who has any good feelings for dogs will go crazy for this delightfully entertaining manga.  The lost Lupin storyline will have you tearing through the pages of this volume to see how this story is resolved.  Manga-ka Yukiya Sakuragi tells these fantastic stories that just pull you inside this book, making you own with the characters and invest in this scenario.  Plus, Sakuragi and her staff are superb artists, layering sumptuous quilts of texture over her pencils.  Sakuragi can draw a dog’s face that will pull your heartstrings until you bark.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers who want their manga to envelope their imaginations the way comfort food warms the body will find it with Inubaka.

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