Manga to Love - "Inubaka"

Inubaka is a very cute manga released by Viz Media. I found it at one of our local bookshops, bught the 2nd volume by mistake, and managed to get the 1st one some weeks later from Justmanga.

It tells the story of an adorable 18 year-old girl, Suguri, who decides to move from Saitama to Tokyo with her dog Lupin (a lovely mutt, probably with some Akita blood I would say). She expects to find a job and change her life in the big city and, once there, literally stumbles upon Teppei - a handsome pet shop owner - when Lupin tries to have a go at his she-dog, Noa, yet another super-cute dog, this time a pure breed black Labrador.

Teppei gets really annoyed at Lupin's advances and to compensate for that, the embarrassed Suguri offers to work at his pet shop. Reluctantly, he ends up by accepting her offer.

From then on, the book revolves around her new life at the shop, getting to meet new people and new puppies, and showing how the customers interact with the animals, how they choose their pets, how puppies are cared for, and so on. Also, she happens to have an outstanding talent for the job, and her love, dedication and understanding of dogs is something out of this world. At one stage, Teppei even wonders if she is not a dog herself!

It's a very funny and entertaining manga, different from most, because it shows how a pet shop is supposed to work, how breeders do their job and how attached to a puppy anyone can become. Very interesting and extremely well-drawn, the manga is rich in visual details and research.

I read volumes 1 and 2, and cannot wait for what comes next!