A Different Kind of Cat Love: Odette

Synopsis

In comparison to many shoujo works, this is not a tale of a sweet romance leading to a climatic confession nor is this a dramatic tale of star-crossed lovers. This is story that tells of the day to day life of a young woman and young man in a loving relationship. There is one catch however, while the female is a simply clumsy but cheerful character her boyfriend on the other hand is… a human/cat?

The Good

A good point which makes this series somewhat more unique in comparison to other series that tells of a couple’s story is on how the artist cleverly uses a concept of “show don’t tell”, especially when the male character doesn’t communicate in a conventional way. Though the art is not the most dynamic, the simplicity makes the expressiveness of the characters and their actions more prominent in certain scenes and shows that dialogue isn’t always needed to express a character.

The relationship between the main characters are also a delight to watch, a gentle balance between silly and sweet that makes a reader want to read more and learn more of their day to day activities. And it’s not only the leads who are enjoyable but the side characters a well when they make an appearance.

The Bad

Being a simple shoujo that focuses on the daily life of a couple in a relationship, one shouldn’t expect a high stakes plot from the series, even if it seems somewhat nonsensical with the cat factor. One of the main things that could be counted as a point against the series is the amount of characters in the series. While there is the best friend and brother of the female lead that could be counted; when compared to other shoujo works which include other friends and family, there seems to be little dynamic interactivity in the series. The art while doing well in expressing certain characters and scenes, could have been better in times of backgrounds and little details.

Conclusion

While the series may not make much sense on why one character is portrayed as an animal, it’s a good read to have if you’re looking for something simple and sweet with a little bit of silliness mixed in. There are too many shoujos that focus on the development of the romance rather than taking on how the characters would be as a couple and this is a series that shows that it doesn’t take familiar scenarios such as beach chapters or festivals to create an interesting romance. This series shows that even a strange but sweet couple having a walk together and having fun at the park can tug at a romantic’s senses.

Rating: 8/10