An intriguing look at life after loss and dealing with grief. The characters are all well-developed and you can feel the love and loss throughout. Both Chimaki and Nichiko are mourning losses in different ways. I love the way that the heavier topics are presented but don’t bog the reader down in sadness. This is my first read by this author and I will be looking for more.

hands-down my favorite work of ozaki’s. this manga, originally a two-volume work, now combined into one volume, touches on a lot of incredibly heavy topics and discusses them in an incredibly human way by being perfectly imperfect. every character is given their due and given the chance to shape themselves into three-dimensional human beings. it was such a refreshing read.

i was down bad for nichiko and chimaki. at the heart of this manga is the budding romance between them: a twenty-three year old hurt puppy of a man and a thirty-four year old woman with more than her fair share of emotional baggage. i loved them and the journey ozaki took us all on. i think this is a great work for seasoned manga fans, as well as one for those who may be new to the format. i’d absolutely recommend it to everyone who it looking for a compelling read.

An absolutely beautiful one shot about growing up, standing on your own, finding yourself and most importantly; love.

Following multiple POVs on a tiny island we see many relationships blossoming and evolving. Nichiko returns to her family home after the death of her father. Leaving her life in Tokyo and returning to the haunting emptiness of her past and make an unlikely friend who may very well change the course and outlook of her life.

This was absolutely beautiful and had me crying!

Beautiful artwork, as always! It's an interesting yet very honestly human story about people who are flawed finding love. The softness of the art style really helps smooth life's edges so we can view even a flawed humans with a warm, hometown romanticism.

I love a heartbreaking tale with a hopeful ending and "Dogs and Punching Bags" definitely delivered that! With its beautiful art style, "Dogs and Punching Bags" approaches a heavy subject by introducing us to a "golden retriever" like character who is always eager to help and loyal like a dog. Cute romance.

Kaori Ozaki has a talent for tackling complicated emotions and nuanced situations. Every character in this work is flawed and going through a loss of some sort, be it, death of a family member, divorce, guilt, or unrequited love, giving the work a certain somberness to it, but there are plenty of lighter moments as well, such as two characters getting together and it's framed as one party excitedly discovering the new land mass that is their partner's body. The characters will make or break the story for you. I found the whole cast interesting, so that made it easy to keep going. Another theme I liked was how it tackled aging, specifically with our leading lady. Various characters called her past her prime in her thirties, but she looked at it as she's still got over half her life left and there is still growing to do. If what I've said sounds interesting, then give this a read!

The story didn't seem to go anywhere. Just a lot of happenings and after a while becomes boring. It can use a more defined purpose. What is the actual intent of the story?

First up a big thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this one, sadly I didn't click with this book at all.

I loved the art (it was so pretty). I loved Nichiko (and I am very curious about her past and why she moved back (we get a hint). I loved that she returned to the island and really picked things up from farming to boxing to living her best life. I loved the island and the community feel. There were several other characters I really liked.
But Chimaki. What the heck is wrong with him? I was shocked that he was 24. He acts for most of the time more like anywhere between 3 and 10 year old. His manners are odd. He behaviour is weird. Then there was a moment he could just fluently tell them all about his travels (and apparently he travelled a lot and was volunteering for all sorts of things) or had some clear thoughts. It just didn't click with me and didn't work, in fact, I just got very annoyed that he was around. Add to that the fact our MC treats him like a puppy? And even lets him do paw and all that. Even sniffs him and thinks he smells like a dog who has been in the sun. Sorry, but no thank you. That is not my thing, great if that is yours, but I am not into puppy play and such.

I gave up at page 109. I just couldn't anymore.

DNF @ 30%

This book had a beautiful art style but the plotting and characters felt underbaked. The plot jumped all over the place making me feel like I had whiplash and the most of the characterization is told not shown. I just honestly was dreading reading more and decided to put it down as I was constantly confused and not having a good time.

I have been wanting to get into comics and art, and this was an amazing place to start! Dogs and punching bags by kaori ozaki kept me on my toes.

While I found this manga to be decent, I do feel like it tried to tackle a lot for the length of the book. Choosing to explore the back stories of Nichiko and Chiamaki, and how they go together makes sense, but adding in Atsumu's issues with his family maybe complicates it a little too much. I did enjoy the character growth experienced by Nichiko and Chiamaki, they both found ways to work through/come to terms with their trauma, and open up to each other. I did think Nichiko's story focused a little too much on the men in her life, I wish she was allowed to have conversations with the other women side characters without it only being about men.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this and found the art to be really nice. I would recommend this to a friend who needed a quick read.

Dogs and Punching Bags is slice of life and seinen. I really enjoy Ozaki's series, since she knows how to make short stories that are full of life and emotion. The original Japanese version is two books long as this is an omnibus containing both of those. It's a good call, since the book feels whole now on a totally different level. Nichiko is a 34-year-old woman, who returns from Tokyo to her home island after learning that the man she loves is married, but didn't tell her. She tries to find herself again and meets this Chimaki named guy, ten years her junior. He's got a past, but that doesn't prevent them of for starting to have feelings for each other. I really enjoyed the age gap and how the woman is older. Especially the ending is wonderful and the picture of everyone at the back shows something great.

The art is wonderful as it always is in Ozaki's manga. The atmosphere is even hollow and sad mostly, but there's that amazing glimmer of hope. The realism is something you can actually touch. I really enjoy stories like this a lot - well-constructed, emotional and relatable. I highly recommend. This is surely a manga for adults in a good way.

Dogs and Punching Bags—it must definitely be a metaphor for hopes and challenges. The is inspiring, nevertheless.

I’ve been meaning to read Dogs and Punching Bags and when I found out it’s available as an ARC, I didn’t miss a beat and grabbed my chance to get an official copy. At first I thought it was quite long and realized it’s a 2-in-1 volume.

I’ve read a Kaori Ozaki manga before and I just realized she does include bits and pieces of frowned-upon and controversial issues across her works (e.i. the huge age gap between the hero and heroine, adultery).

This one though felt like a ghibli movie but only for older teens/adults as an audience. The setting is refreshing, the back stories are interesting. The story may have heavy notes at times, but it manages to bring back laughter and smiles on the face.

My gratitude to everyone-generous Kodansha Comics and publisher for providing me an advanced copy of this series in exchange for an honest review.

Dogs and Punching Bags by Kaori Ozaki is a charming, easy-to-read manga that tells the story of a woman who moves to a small island and falls in love with a younger man.
The story and art are undeniably cute, but beneath its surface, this manga struggles to explore its themes with the nuance they deserve. Issues like death, aging, suicide, and loneliness are present but feel underdeveloped, leaving the reader with a sense of unease. Never exploring them, the story feels incomplete or lacking in depth. The manga might have benefited from a lighter approach, allowing it to better capture the escapism the protagonist craves. With a softer tone, it could have been more touching, perhaps even more effectively, without feeling burdened by darkness.

This story is deeply emotional and packed with layers of trauma. Both the male and female protagonists carry heavy burdens of pain, loss, and heartbreak, including themes of infidelity and death. As the narrative unfolds, we witness their struggles and growth as they work through their pasts and find solace in each other.

What makes this story even more compelling is the growth of the side characters, who also experience meaningful development. It’s a heartwarming tale of two people navigating their struggles and discovering connection in the midst of their challenging daily lives.

The art complements the story beautifully, capturing the emotions and depth of the characters with great care. It’s a touching, heartfelt read that stays with you long after the final page.

while the story has its good moments - beautiful art, people going through life, learning, growing, maturing - the weird ones made it harder for me to like the book. there was so much promise and strength in the opening lines that dwindled into nothing. the manga's portrayal of womanhood and depression is severely lacking - not to mention, dangerous.

the manga revolves around men. this becomes an even bigger problem when the message of the story borders on “men will save you from depression”. there is nothing wrong with love saving someone’s life, but to do so without any study of the suicidal character’s inner thoughts is extremely dangerous. the story would have worked better if her struggle with mental health was shown during her relationship with the man too, otherwise, it is like saying he came into her life and everything was fixed. did a man loving her really erase all her self-hatred and anger towards capitalism? how did moving affect this? where is her depression after she moves? suicide is not a solo factor, depression has a wide range of symptoms, where are they? if suicide is presented alone, then it is there for its own sake, a romantic concept and not an illness.

we see Chimaki struggle with his trauma, try to live, doubt himself. he and her ex have actions/stories outside of Nichiko but she does not get the same treatment.

her interactions with all the other female characters are about men. she never gets a moment to herself and is always thinking either about Chimaki or her ex. she interacts with Himari as a stand-by to Chimaki. while Momo appropriately moves on from her crush, her growth feels incomplete without a moment with Nichiko outside of rivalry, especially since Chimaki tries to bond with her outside of boy advice.

the story suffers from telling and not enough showing. we are told Nichiko is trying hard to live her life but are never shown her doing ordinary things - chores, grappling with doubts about leaving her job, how it feels to move back to your hometown.

the blurb is fitting though, it is simply a story about a woman meeting a man. the suicidal ideation and life struggles were props, 100% in case of Nichiko, varied in case of Chimaki.

i still appreciate the story. it is obvious that a lot of thought went into it, but the majority of it missed the mark for me.

As Dogs and Punching Bags begins, 34-year-old Nichiko returns to the tiny island where she grew up. Her estranged alcoholic father doesn’t have long left to live and, for reasons that become clear later, she wants to be there. But there’s more to her escape from Tokyo than family commitments—things she would prefer not to talk about with her gregarious neighbors.

One of those neighbors is Chimaki, a cheerful young man in his twenties. He’s friendly, eager to help, and almost puppy-like in his devotion. In fact, he reminds Nichiko of her childhood dog, Hachimaki—right down to a similar mark on their faces. Whether Chimaki really is Hachmaki reincarnated notwithstanding, the two find companionship as they attempt to put their respective pasts behind them.



The Secrets

Under the main romance of Dogs and Punching Bags is a pair of unfortunate secrets weighing down our two leads. As Nichiko’s birthday approaches, she continues to get letters from someone in her life whom she left behind. She’s still on the fence about whether to let this person back in, but news travels fast in a small town. So even though she’s playing things close to the chest, news of her activities back in Tokyo do come back to haunt her.

And speaking of being haunted, Chimaki has ghosts of his own. An innocent mistake from his childhood has cast a pall over his family and left many in town questioning whether he’s a safe person. That one childish mistake explains much of his kindness, as he attempts to pay off his “debt.”



Why It Works

On its surface, Dogs and Punching Bags is a simple love story. But Nichiko and Chimaki’s many problems—both childhood and more current—color how they interact with each other. Only when they’ve both come to terms with what haunts them can they be honest about their feelings for each other. Woven through their story is a secondary teen romance, much simpler and more innocent by comparison.

It’s a story that wraps up nicely in eleven chapters. The characters on this little island are alive with hopes, dreams, and fears. Even the most background of characters are unique and recognizable. Combined with lovely artwork and passionate storytelling, this is a love story you’ll want for keeps on your manga shelf.

I really enjoyed this. It's a sweet manga about self-discovery and self-sacrifice, and how to view the life that's right in front of you instead of trying to search elsewhere for it. I found the pacing to be a little fast, and maybe it's because I enjoyed the characters so much, but I would've loved to see their relationship develop more; but this is a problem I have with a lot of romance, so maybe it's just me. In any case, I recommend for anyone looking for a simple slice-of-life manga about falling in love in a quiet way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for the e-arc!

Dogs and Punching Bags is Kaori Ozaki's newest English release, and it did not disappoint. This story follows Nichiko as she returns to her hometown for her father's last days. While there, she meets Chimaki, a young eccentric with a puppy-like enthusiasm for life. This stirs up memories and feelings in Nichiko that she had long forgotten. Kaori Ozaki has slowly become an auto-read author for me. Each story they write seems to hit home with the discussions of emotion, love, and sadness. This story did have some moments that made me annoyed but the overall message was done well. I would recommend checking this out if you have read from this author previously.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a proof in exchange for an honest review.
Dogs and Punching Bags was a unique and thought-provoking read. It’s rare to come across a manga featuring a woman in her 30s as the protagonist, and I found that aspect particularly refreshing. I really hope publishers will bring more stories that showcase women at various stages of life.
This manga was delicate, sad, and, at its core, hopeful. It tackled complex subjects like death, trauma, and the desire to live (or the lack of it). The story had a raw emotional depth that lingered long after I finished reading.
That said, I feel this story would have been even more impactful as a multi-volume series. There were so many concepts and themes I wished the mangaka could have explored in greater depth, and at times, the single-volume format felt a bit restrictive for the complexity of the narrative.
Overall, Dogs and Punching Bags is a meaningful manga that stands out for its maturity and emotional impact. While I wanted more time with the story and its characters, it’s still a powerful one-volume read.