Free Collars Kingdom

(Volume 2)

by
Takuya Fujima

Del Rey, May 2007, 232 pp.
ISBN: 978-0-345-49266-1

Genre: Comics
Subgenre: Manga
Reviewed: 12/19/2007

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Manga Page

Synopsis

Scottie is happy because her master buys her a lot of neat outfits. Even though she still has a master, she spends a lot of time with the Free Collars cats. Rako "Rat" has put together a little car made out of recycled parts.

One of Siam's minions catnaps Scottie and takes off in Rat's car. So, some of the other cats hop into a real car, made for humans, and chase after them. After rescuing Scottie, it appears that she may like Cyan.

A manga artist is coming to Ikebukuro and Siam really wants to meet her. she disguises herself, but the Free Collar cats recognize her. Later, Cyan and Scottie are picked up by a human boy, taken to his home, and named Twitchy and Floppy. He wants to keep them as his pets and be their new master. Luckily, they are soon rescued by Coon, Char, Rat, and Amesho.

After they return home, they are hungry and head to a sushi restaurant that is close for the night. There, they run into Kline and Maurits, two of Siam's bodyguards who claim the sushi shop for Siam. A large battle entails for all of the free fish. Soon, they all end up at the beach surfing and enjoying the sun when who else shows up, Siam. And trouble is sure to follow.

Free Collars Kingdom: Volume 2 is a manga book written and drawn by Takuya Fujima. This book was translated and adapted by William Flanagan and Lettered by North Market Street Graphics. This book contains the following Cat Tales (chapters):

Cat Tale 6: Cat-Ear Report

Free Collars Side Story 1: Cat-Ear Jobs

Cat Tale 7: Ikebukuro Driven

Cat Tale 8: Siamese Cat Boogie

Cat Tale 9: Nice, Guy

Cat Tale 10: Round & Round, Fate Goes Around

Free Collars Side Story 2: An Injection for a Certain Special Someone

There is also some special extras in the following sections: Author's Note, Honorifics Explained, Cultural Notes, Bonus Manga: Free Collars Love Theater, Translation Notes, and a Preview of Volume 3, although the preview is in Japanese. The book reads from right to left and back to front, just like a book from Japan. This manga book is intended for readers ages 16 and up.

Review

I liked how serious the first books was and found that Free Collars Kingdom: Volume 2 seemed to be a lot of random stories all thrown together that didn't follow a consistent storyline. I wanted to know more about the battle between East and West Ikebukuro that started building in the first book. This is only touched upon in the last chapter. The entire first book lead up to the conflict, and I felt that this book should have had more than one chapter about this subject.

This book was kind of a let-down for me. The artwork by Takuya Fujima is excellent, but the translation and adaptation to English by William Flanagan leaves you feeling frustrated. The dialog just doesn't flow like it should. I know about this because I once had to adapt a Japanese game called Shining Force II, for the SEGA Genesis, to English, and it took a lot of work to make it sound American. So, maybe Mr. Flanagan should take a little more time to get it right.

The deviation away from the main storyline and the adaptation of the dialog made Free Collars Kingdom: Volume 2 not turn out so well for me. Maybe things will turn around in Free Collars Kingdom: Volume 3. I can only hope so because the concept of the series is really cool.

I rated this book a 6½ out of 10.