At the beginning of the volume, FukuFuku's owner (whose name is never mentioned) is sitting with her adult cat, FukuFuku, and looking through old pictures of FukuFuku as a kitten. After those first couple pages, the entire series basically becomes a flashback to FukuFuku's kitten days: adjusting to her new home, dealing with her first bath, napping with her owner, learning to use a scratching post, meeting other cats, etc.

I've read and adored Kanata's Chi's Sweet Home. FukuFuku: Kitten Tales was very similar in a lot of ways. The most noticeable differences: Chi's Sweet Home was in color while FukuFuku: Kitten Tales featured black and white artwork, and Chi's owners were a married couple and their young song while FukuFuku's owner was an older woman who lived alone. Also, Chi's thoughts and dialogue were translated for readers, whereas FukuFuku just meowed and purred. I don't think the two series crossover at all, but it wouldn't surprise me to learn I was wrong.

I don't have a lot to say about this volume that I haven't already said about Chi's Sweet Home. It was very warm, sweet, and comforting, and I particularly liked the chapters devoted to FukuFuku and her owner sleeping together. FukuFuku napping inside the jack-o'-lantern was nice too. The one part that was a bit off was FukuFuku's Alice in Wonderland-inspired dream.

I plan to read more of this, although it's not the instant favorite that Chi's Sweet Home was. While I liked that readers had to rely entirely on FukuFuku's facial expressions, body language, and situation to figure out what she was thinking and feeling, this series felt a little less lively and fun than Chi's Sweet Home. Maybe it was because this volume was almost entirely focused on FukuFuku and her owner? If her owner has any family or friends, we haven't seen them yet, and FukuFuku has only briefly met a few other animals - one black and white cat made a repeat appearance, but not enough of one to get a feel for its personality.

And speaking of personality, I'd say FukuFuku was possibly a little more standoffish than Chi (it took her a bit to learn to enjoy being petted, for example), but otherwise she came across as very similar to Chi. I hope the differences in her personality start to stand out more as the series progresses.

All in all, so far I prefer Chi's Sweet Home, but FukuFuku: Kitten Tales is very nice and hits a lot of the same "warm fuzzies" emotional notes. Looks like I have another cat manga to work my way through.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

The Yamadas are going to France, and they have a difficult decision to make: should they notify Chi's original owner that they have her, or should they just continue on as they have been?

I probably wouldn't have minded if this series had gone on to be as massive as Skip Beat! or Naruto, so I was a little sad to have reached this final volume. My expectations were also maybe a bit too high. In the end, I felt this volume was a little too rushed and pushed some of its emotional buttons a bit too hard.

I cried during the bit with Chi's mom. Thank goodness Kanata didn't kill her off, but

I still love Chi, I'm glad she got to meet her mother and siblings, and I'm glad

, but I prefer the earlier volumes in the series that were just about a cute kitten doing cute things while her first-time cat owners watch.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

Mrs. Yamada and Yohei briefly leave for a trip to Hokkaido, causing Chi to wonder if they've been taken away to a new home. They do come back, but Chi can't stop thinking about the whole “other home” thing. She keeps almost remembering her other home. Then she

I can't believe this series will be over in only one more volume. I'll miss Chi and her adorable antics.

That said, this wasn't one of the better volumes in the series. There was a bit more anthropomorphizing than I'd have liked. Also, the increase in potential heartbreak made me long for the earlier volumes, when it was all just about the Yamadas learning to live with a cat and Chi running around doing kitten things. When I read this series, I'm looking for happy and uncomplicated fluff, darn it. Instead, I got a mama cat who's been missing her baby and looking for her all this time and the Yamadas contemplating moving to an entirely different country.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

The suspense is killing me. What's going to happen when Chi meets her mom? And are the Yamadas really going to do nothing about the “lost cat” poster? It's a tough situation, because they've come to see Chi as another member of their family, but Chi's former owner clearly misses her. Crossing my fingers that Kanata does something like “the former owner is glad that Chi's okay and is fine with her staying with the Yamadas, and he/she and the Yamadas arrange for Chi and her family to meet and play together every once in a while.”

One thing I'm wondering: how long have the Yamadas had Chi? Chi's siblings look very little compared to their mother, but I know the series has been going on long enough for Yohei to have a birthday. Is Chi ever going to grow up, or is this one of those series where the characters stay the exact same age forever?

I was thrilled when the Yamadas took Cocchi in, but the way that played out was, unfortunately, how it often plays out with strays in real life. Cocchi was too used to life outside. It's possible he might stop by the Yamadas for food in the future, though. I hope so.

I liked this volume, for the most part, but I wasn't really a fan of the bit where Chi noticed that she's different from the Yamadas and was upset about that revelation. Kanata is usually pretty good about making very cat-like cats, and that part felt a little too human to me.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)

This series continues to be very cute and enjoyable. I'm glad that Mr. Yamada has finally started worrying about Chi being an outdoor cat, but it looks like it's going to be difficult, if not impossible, for her to get used to indoor-only life. Chi's reaction to walking on a leash was about the same as that of one of my parents' cats – utter confusion, plus mad wriggling to try to get free.

Part of me is looking forward to further encounters with Chi's cat family, and part of me is worried that Chi might end up parted from the Yamadas. I'm sure Kanata will figure out a happy ending for everyone.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)