Neko to Watashi no Kinyoubi was a manga I decided not to read when it was publishing, and I finished it today. Just a few minutes ago. I have to say that I was really dissapointed with this manga (comparing it with other Tanemura's works) but my idea changed in the last chapters. I think that this will be a long review and I'll try to do it with minor spoilers.

The plot is simple and really awkward. A girl called Ai, 16, in love with Nekota, 11. I don't have any problems with the age gap, but Nekota is just 11... I mean, for me, he's really young and the plot was really hard to digest, including that Ai falls really fast for him. As something normal in school life/romance only shoujos, there are a lot of problems within the main characters, such as exlovers, problems with friends, parents...

The main problem I saw was that the plot was very simple. If you compare this work with other Arina Tanemura works, as I said before, you'll be really dissapointed. Arina is special not only because the way she draws, that may be very annoying for some people, but for the stories she made. She usually does stories with magic, main strong characters with a hard background who have to face a lot of difficulties. But Ai isn't like that. She's just a student, a normal student, who enjoys her love life with her cousin. Putting aside the fact that Nekota and Ai are relatives, their relationship seems "fine".

Ai. Ai was the main reason that made me feel dissapointed. But I changed my oppinion in ch65. She knows that. Arina knows that Ai isn't a strong character. Arina KNOWS that this story isn't strong as her other ones. And that's what makes Neko to Watashi no Kinyoubi special, that it's not like his other stories. Ai doesn't need strong power, she doesn't need magic. In her monologue, she said that she doesn't have magic or is a ninja, or a shojo manga main character along with other past works references, that she's just a normal person, and that is okay.

As a personal feeling, I think that Arina wanted to express that she's able to do normal things, normal stories about two lovers, without magic or tragic backgrounds (...Or not very tragic). And if she did this with that feeling, she did it well. It's true that Ai-Nekota relationship reminded me a lot of the Maron-Chiaki relationship (Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne), but of course both relationships are different.

Please, read Neko to Watashi no Kinyoubi with this feeling in mind. That it's okay if it's a normal, boring, love story. Because that is also special and gives it the same value as her other works.

Thank you for reading, do not give up this manga and please give it an opportunity!