Free Collars Kingdom Vol. #1
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March 12, 2007
by: Adam Beck
The cat's out of the bag. These felines attempt to conquer the graphic novel industry!
Manga Description: Those Feisty Felines!
It’s hard to resist Cyan: He’s an adorable catboy whose cute ears and tail have made him a beloved pet. But then his family abandons him, leaving the innocent Cyan to fend for himself. Just when Cyan thinks he’s all alone in the world, he meets the Free Collars, a cool gang of stray cats who believe that no feline should allow a human to imprison his Wild Spirit. They invite Cyan to join them, and the reluctant house cat has to decide fast, because a rival gang of cats is threatening the Free Collars’ territory! Can Cyan learn to free his Wild Spirit – and help his new friends save their homes?
Includes special extras after the story!
Manga Review
Content: (This section may contain spoilers).
Have you ever wondered what it’d be like if you were a cat? What could you see, what could you do, what kind of life would you live. Well Free Collars Kingdom Volume #1 explores the possibility of being a cat, but shows off the visuals in a human-cat-like mixture. This is actually one of the weirdest manga I’ve read to date because I’m not too use to reading about something that takes place in the real world, but is presented by, possibly through the vision of, cats. The story of Free Collars Kingdom begins with the abandonment of the a cute cat - Cyan. Kokoro - a young boy, leaves his cat Cyan with the promise that they will be able to play together again after he gets better; but tragedy is just around the corner. Though heart-broken in regards to her actions, Kokoro's mom brings Cyan down to the garbage disposal room and abandons him. This is because she believes everytime she looks at Cyan; it only reminds her of her son. Unfortunately we are not told what happened to Kokoro; whether he is just sick or possibly faded away from this world. From here the story begins to develop. Cyan meets the other four lead-feline-characters - each with their own breed, special ability, and weapon. It’s pretty bizarre to see a cat with what looks like a miniature anchor on his back or an American cat with a scythe. Heck some characters even have guns! As silly as it may sound, the various weapons all give the manga a more action-oriented feel. And this volume does infact contain a fair amount of action.
The storyline in the first volume of Free Collars Kingdom is quite simplistic. Cats are fighting over territory and based on this volume, the only reason the cats, divided into two groups, are fighting is because the leader of one of the groups is an anime and manga otaku; and the territory they're fighting for is loaded with them. As weird as this scenario is, it adds a ton to the comedy and provides for many funny otaku jokes throughout the entire manga. In addition to the action and comedy, Free Collars Kingdom also has a bit of potential romance thanks to the inclusion of Scottie, a young female feline, introduced in the first chapter.
There is a fair bit of variety when it comes down to the cats in the first volume. The author does a good job explaining each breed of cats featured in the manga and bases their attitude strictly on that. The storyline is definitely interesting and puts a whole new perspective on cats. Most of the volume’s story is based off cat humor that will make you smirk, such as when they’re in the middle of a blood shedding battle; some of the characters don’t hesitate to crack a joke or two. For example, the main character Cyan has special attacks that are basically what humans do to cats to make them purr. It adds a whole new atmosphere when reading a fierce battle. The unique concept of Free Collars Kingdom makes me interested in what occurs next in the manga. On a side-note, I didn’t know cats could throw such rocking parties.
Two chapters out of the five that are included into the first volume actually are focused around events that realistically occur in our world. The fourth chapter puts the cats in an event where they must scavenger for food when trash is dumped and the fifth chapter shows what happens when a cat needs to cough up hairballs. While such chapters may not sound all that interesting, they are actually quite enjoyable. The first three chapters in the manga are more story driven than the last two, but the kast two chapters do provide for some intersting details regarding the background behind some of the characters. Each chapter in Free Collars Kingdom Vol. #1 provides for a new story with a refreshing experience. In addition, the first volume also does a good job of introducing and familiarizing readers with most of the lead felines in manga. I also want to mention this is a fairly long manga, relatively speaking . While most manga clocks in a around 175-200 pages of goodness, FCK Vol. #1 throws in a smoking 227 pages that includes the main storyline and a bunch of extras afterwards. I really enjoyed the first volume of Free Collar Kingdom. It provided it was a strange yet interesting experience. I'm disheartened the series is but only three volumes long.
Art: The artwork in Free Collars Kingdom ranges from very detailed to plain and empty. Character models generally look fabulous and are visibly the main attraction in the art style; but the detail presented in each scene looks to vary because you will see characters with a stronger or weaker sense of shadowing or reflection. Backgrounds aren’t anything special but they're not anything horrible either. The majority of environments have a fair bit of detail behind them with some interesting special effects that will definitely catch your eye. Generally speaking, however, I was fairly impressed with most of the volume’s artwork. The characters look detailed and clean; and there are quite a few scenes with extremely detailed surroundings, but it’s still a little bit off of “wowing” me. What stood out about Takuya Fujima's art though, is the scaling of characters within the world - giving the cat-boys and cat-girls more specific traits and features such as their height, as opposed to simply slapping on cat-ears and a tail to a human model.
Translation: While reading through the first volume of FCK, I was really intrigued to venture further because Del Rey did excellent job capturing the true feeling of manga. I didn’t notice any spelling or grammar errors and each conversation that I came upon, seemed very fluent. From the looks of it, mostly every sound effect is translated and well placed.
Being a Del Rey title, there are usually a hefty amount of extras after the story, and Free Collars Kingdom isn’t any different. While there isn’t a as large amount of extras as in Negima!, FCK Vol. #1 does include 8-pages of Translation Notes which explains some various phrases and provides some insight on the different breeds of cats.There's also a six-page preview of the next installment of the series. While there isn’t any additional artwork, we are treated to two – though technically four – of the weirdest short strips I’ve ever seen, under the title “Free Collars Love Theater.” There is also a little note from the creator explaining some situations during the course of the manga.
The Bottom Line: I enjoyed Free Collars Kingdom Volume #1. It was a refreshing read with some of the strangest events I’ve come across in manga. Though fictional, it also puts a whole new perspective on how I now look at cats. There is quite a bit of action and educational value to enjoy; but what makes the manga so enjoyable has to be the over the top cat humor which pokes fun at everything that cats do. Even though the artwork varies from great to mediocre, the manga is still a saucy read that could appeal to most people. The storyline looks promising but being only three volumes long, I’m concerned as to the depth of the series. Here's hoping the next Free Collars Kingdom volume is as enjoyable as this one.
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Content |
With an interesting storyline and cool characters; this action based manga is worth seeking. |
8.0 |
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Art |
The character artwork is the main focus and it shows. There are some scenes where environments and even characters look dry, but still it’s a great looking manga. |
8.0 |
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Translation |
Another strong translation job by Del Rey with sound effects and speech that fits each character well. The translations notes are a good addition but it would have been nice to see some more of the great artwork. |
8.0 |
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Verdict
While it’s far from a masterpiece, this is still a good addition to any action or comedy fan's collection. With its spunky humor, cool cats, and relaxing storyline, this is worth picking up.
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8.0
[not an average]
+ Actually a fair bit of action.
+ Artwork looks fabulous!
+ Cu-u-u-te Cats!
- World feels empty.
- Wished there was a few more extras.
- Only two more volumes till it's over?
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