Inubaka (Crazy for Dogs) is by Yukiya Sakuragi, a comedy manga for dog lovers. There are currently 10 volumes released in the US. It’s about a girl named Suguri, 18 years old, and with no one but her mutt Lupin. She moves from a country area to Tokyo city, for a new life. Lupin accidentally “courts” another dog named Noa on a walk, when Teppei, her owner, is not watching. He was also trying to breed Noa for purebred puppies, but Lupin had already came in the picture. Suguri then works for Teppei at his pet store called the Woofles Pet Shop, where she experiences adventures with dogs and puppies of all types of breeds. Almost everyone loves her heart, and in each manga, more and more characters are introduced and get new puppies that change their life.
Suguri Miyauchi is basically the hero of the manga, who loves dogs although sometimes she’s a little of a klutz. Her mischievous Lupin is really her best friend, like the time when he ran away during a thunderstorm, she was very worried about him and cried. Luckily, they were safely back together. She was once kidnapped when she was little, causing her parents to become overprotected, although she was saved by a dog who is really Lupin’s grandfather. Puppies liked her so much, they had “happy pee” when she first walked in. She also works as a hostess at night, and starts having a crush on Teppei.
Lupin is a clever dog in his own ways, while on the other hand he is also very mischievous. A lot of times he helps Suguri, although many other times he would embarrass her. In one chapter, Lupin even fetched Suguri’s wallet for her.
Teppei is the main male character. Manager of the pet shop, he is strict but loves dogs. He used to always rescue stray dogs (and also people), and he is a professional with dogs. He owns his own purebred black Labrador Retriever named Noa.
There are many other characters such as Momoko Takeuchi, hired to groom dogs, who’s life was changed by Suguri. There is also Kentaro Osado, a musician who is friends with Teppei and works at Woofles. There is also Yamarin, a famous celebrity model in the manga who gets a Papillion named Lucky.
All in all, I think this is a wonderful manga for dog lovers, adults or kids. There are very few inappropriate things (like curse words) and is very heart warming. The illustrations are just really wonderful, especially the dogs, because they look very realistic. When I go to the library every week, I can’t resist not getting several volumes of it, even if I have already read this. I recommend this manga even to a non dog lover, because I think they’ll become a dog lover after reading two or three volumes of this manga. Anyways, it is a great manga for those who are looking for something that is funny with a little bit of romance.
