A review by mixuchi
The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Overall, this was a worth-it read despite some of my grievances. I can proudly recommend this for those who are looking for cozy reads and those who like cats and maybe some tears. I found 3 out of the 7 stories felt either tedious or just an ok read. The first and the last two stories really touched my heart and made me tear up. All the cats were very loveable and it felt like they had discerning personalities. Now for the ones I did not like.  i really do not like how the author recycled The Travelling Cat Chronicles for the last two stories despite liking them. I felt that I'd known Hachi before and my suspicions were confirmed when it got to the next story where it was Satoru and Nana traveling around. It felt a bit scummy even if the stories here in particular were not told in the author's previous story. I also really loved that book and have not finished it so I feel a bit cheated. Was the author not able to come up with other stories? I have been waiting for this author's other novels and this felt a bit of a letdown. I think that for her next story she should venture outside of cat stories. For this book, I kinda felt that it would have worked better if the stories were all intertwined like the last two. That is all, I still find this story cute for the and still made me emotional that I still feel the remnants of the last two stories while writing this.
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