I am not exaggerating when I say this is the best manga I've read in a while. I came into this not expecting anything. With a title like, "Dogs and Punching Bags", I mean ... you don't get much from that. It could go either way honestly. But, oh my gosh this book is so beautiful. I'm saying this after crying for like five minutes straight. I did the type of crying that makes you feel like you got the flu or something.

Where do I even start? This book is about love. All types of love. It's about loneliness, regrets, and forgiveness. You just got to read it. Please experience this book for yourself.

Chimaki's life really touched me. His story is so sad but he's such a funny, innocent, sweet, and beautiful character. See ... now I am crying again! There are some parts that sort of touch on the unseen/spiritual side that just grabbed my heart and squeezed the life out of it (in a good way).

The final chapter is so freaking good. With manga you already have an image put before you but somehow Kaori Ozaki managed to make her writing stand out a bit more during an intimate scene between Chimaki & Nichiko. Like, I obviously need to check out her previous works because if her other books are anything like this! Whew. Okay, I'm done. This review is long enough. "Dogs and Punching Bags" gets all the stars.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc!

The illustrations are stunning. I could really feel the emotions coming alive on the pages. Both main characters have compelling stories. Even though they are very different I could relate with both of them and felt for their struggles.

This was one of those stories that you know you are going to like/love from the very first pages.

The first week of the new year hasn't been great reading-wise. I've picked up and put down five books, probably reading around 1,000 pages this week but not finishing a single book (I did manage a short story in there). When I saw this manga on NetGalley as a read now option, I decided to give it a shot because I needed a break from prose.

So, thank you NetGalley, Kaori Ozaki, and Kodansha Comics for a copy of this eARC in exchange for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

We're following the stories of two people as they battle their pasts and find where they belong. I almost believe you should go into this as blindly as you can because you'll be just as shocked as I was throughout. There's a lot of childhood trauma, death, and talk of dying (so tread lightly).

I'm also glad that the dog aspect was light. I was nervous about just how spiritual we were going to get, but I'm glad that it was alluded.

In general, I though the characters were well fleshed-out and their backstories were captivating. The entire town was well set and the side characters were well-explored. I really enjoyed this manga and I think that it would make a terrific anime.

I truly had the best time while reading this and I kept a "journal" throughout with spoiler thoughts, which I'll copy and paste below if you're interested in following along as you read.

READ WITH ME

30%
<spoiler> This is such a weird manga, but I can't stop reading it. Basically, we're following a woman who moved back to this very small island to "watch her dad die" since he was awful to her and pushed her entire family way (not just from himself, but from each other--she hasn't seen her mom or brother since they left). She's tending to the garden at the house she grew up in, finding that she's lonely and missing her childhood dog she grew up with.

That part actually made me teary-eyed. She had to leave her drunk and abusive father, which also meant leaving her childhood dog behind with him. She realizes that he probably waited for her and died alone and neglected. Like. Fuck.

In addition to her story, we're also following a twenty year old who is infatuated with her. He works at the only convenience store on this island and we see that he's very caring. He's a nurturing human, giving bits and pieces of himself to anyone who needs it, even a dying mouse (he tries to ferry it to the mainland). We also meet his overprotective mother and his little sister, as well as a coworker that is crazy-jealous of the main character because it's obvious these two are falling for each other.

The punching bag comes into play because she's angry and has a lot pent up bullshit to deal with. Punching it out seems a lot easier than going to therapy, I suppose.

The weird part about this manga is that the MMC is often compared to her childhood dog. If it turns out that he is her childhood dog reincarnated... I don't know, that's weird. There's quite a large age difference between these two: she's almost 35 and he's in his early twenties. It's possible that's where this is going.

There was a full on comparison between herself, himself, and her childhood dog (which I actually kind of liked). Like her pet, they both don't understand the world around them fully and how it operates. They feel like outsiders.</spoiler>

42%
<spoiler> That was heartbreaking. He was a kid when that happened. He obviously thought his brother could fly (from a previous scene), so he pushed his little brother off a cliff and into the sea. His brother didn't make it, so now he's "making it up to God," by being the best possible person he can be for other people. The FMC found out and she sent him home to walk in the rain. Like... T.T

OMG AND THEN we find out what actually happened. His mom decided to read them all The Little Matchgirl (depressing as fuck) and described heaven as this wonderful place you go when you die. You'll sprout wings and fly up there. When you die. The boys were playing and his younger brother asked him to give him a push to "take a trip to heaven." The knots that formed in my stomach.</spoiler>

48%
<spoiler> The scene where his little (TWIN) brother is gripping the back of his shirt and telling him to live. Like. FUCK! T.T </spoiler>

66%
<spoiler> So much happened. FMC apparently had a full ass relationship with a married man and got played hard. He told her that he couldn't take a trip with him and she decided to take one of her own. She crossed paths with him at the airport and saw his whole family with him. She kept the ring he proposed with her with (alongside a promise to leave his wife) as a reminder of the anger she harbored for him. She cut her hair and moved back home to deal with her father when she met MMC.

She realizes that she overreacted and should've heard MMC out, but still ended up leaving. The married man texted her saying that he'd like to see her on her birthday, that he left his wife. She goes to Tokyo to meet him, calling him a liar--that she knew that he never left his wife. And he sneers at her and says something like: and you still came; you get me better than they do. Blah blah.

In walks MMC and they get into an altercation (very entertaining). FMC takes him by the hand and they leave together. Super cute. </spoiler>

67%
<spoiler> OMG. He saved her pickle bed. T.T (she broke it out of anger, even though it was the last thing she had of her mom's)</spoiler>

100%
<spoiler>How fucking cute. I actually really love that the cheating bastard gets a small redemption arc and learns something from this experience. I did find their sex scene to be a little weird, but I think it worked for them. And the last shot where she has a baby bump??? Like. How adorable. </spoiler>

Nichiko is a thirty something who is soul searching back at her small island hometown.
The island has a few interesting locals and soon after Nichiko’s arrival, everyone’s lives changes. Especially, Nichiko’s and her love interest’s.
There were some bizarre and maybe unnecessary moments, body shaming but also a comment condemning it. The male gaze and other patriarchal weirdness do not take away from the story, no matter what. The back stories of the two main characters were authentic and relatable. Overall, a life-affirming and cute story and flows really well.

Dogs and Punching Bags follows Nichiko's return to the island she grew up on. Here she meets the younger Chimaki, whose kindness allows Nichiko to glimpse a more hopeful future.

“Why are you so passionate about helping people? I've got to. Otherwise, I can't make up for the rest of my life...”

One of the best parts of this manga is the beautiful art style. Ozaki is immensely talented, and deftly demonstrates her 30 years of experience in the industry. Her art style pairs perfectly with the tragic, but ultimately hopeful tale she weaves in Dogs and Punchings Bags.

The character journey of both main characters takes center stage in this story. Ozaki invites us to reflect on the reasons of why and how we live our lives. This is complemented by distinct and memorable side characters with their own satisfying storylines.

While I enjoyed this manga overall I did find the pacing a tad fast. This story could have done with a few extra chapters, maybe an extra volume, to especially explore life after the conclusion to the story. I would have also liked to see a bit more than the glimpses we got into Nichiko's past. This manga went a long way with the philisophical points it tried to make, but fell short at various points to really drive home some of its messages. Giving the story some more space to breathe would probably remedy this.

“There are so many beautiful things in this world. The more I see, the more I want to drink them in, and the more I want to live.”

Overall there is a lot to enjoy in Dogs and Punching Bags. I would recommend this manga to people who enjoy reflections on life and love complemented by a beautiful art style. It is a quintessential Japanese tale in parts reminiscent of Your Name, Fruits Basket, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, and I Sold My Life for Then Thousand Yen per Year.

TW include, but are not limited to: suicidal ideation, child death, manslaughter, animal death

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha for this ARC!

I really, really loved this one - a self contained one-shot volume about a woman who returns to her childhood home because her estranged father is dying.

Very much about finding the place you belong and recognising the worth of what’s in front of you. Being able to persevere through hard times and not bully yourself. Ozaki deals with heavy source material with deft. Some fantastic female characters here as well.

Very much showcases that manga can be a medium for mature and complicated narratives.

thank you to the publisher for an arc!

i need this animated STAT — the last fifty pages had my heart in my throat and tears pouring down my face. dogs and punching bags is a story of love and loss, family, and finding a place of belonging. the art was absolutely beautiful and my heart broke for our mmc chimaki and his depressing backstory, but i loved his tenacity for life and desire to help anyone/anything 💗

This story was such an oddball but in the best way. It's very hard to explain, but this story is about finding a place where you finally feel at home. Both of the main protagonists have traveled the world trying to find something, but only manage to find it when they return to the island where they grew up. The main characters are pretty realistic, and it makes you root for them. The path the plot takes is pretty windy, like a backwoods mountain road. There are moments when you wonder where it's going, but it always manages to hook you back in. But it's a very charming story about how we all have people who truly love us and there IS somewhere in the world that we belong in.. Sidebar, there is one [spice] scene in this story, but it's completely plot-relevant and makes complete sense to be in there. This story also has a crazy balance of tragic and comedic, morose and light-hearted. The art, of course, was gorgeous. I love this author's art style, which is part of the reason I jumped to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

There were definitely some weird parts, but I do appreciate how Ozaki broaches heavy subjects while maintaining a very personable kind of levity. I like that Atsumu wasn’t irrevocably awful, though I think he deserved worse than he got. And I didn’t really get the whole dog part of the story (like, why was that relevant?) but both of our main characters were endearing and deeper than I originally guessed (which is something I’ve definitely come to expect from Ozaki main characters)