Maria's emotional turmoil really drew me into the story. It is difficult to turn a page and not feel her pain. Richard was harder for me to connect with yet he did gain some of my admiration towards the end. Overall an easy and quick read that will entertain while entangling one's heart and mind. 3.5 stars

Milkyway Hitchhiking is composed of 11 short stories and one bit that I suppose could be called an interlude. Milkyway, a cat named for the gorgeous star-like pattern on her back, is the only thing most of the stories have in common.

I picked this volume up primarily because I loved the cover. Luckily, this is one of those cases where the artwork on the cover gives you a good idea of what to expect in the volume as a whole. All the artwork is in color, except for one story that purposely starts out in shades of gray. Sirial's style has a dreamlike quality to it, and I found myself repeatedly thinking that a Sirial-illustrated picture book would be an absolutely wonderful thing.

The artwork definitely did not disappoint, but what about the stories? That's where things got a bit more “meh.” I did enjoy them, but at one point I put the volume down and didn't pick it up again for months – in fact, I waited so long that I decided to just start over from the beginning when I picked it up again.

A big part of the problem, I think, was that there wasn't much there to grab my attention and keep it from one story to the next. Just as I started to get to know one character, Milkyway moved on, and even Milkyway herself wasn't that intriguing. I got the feeling that Sirial couldn't really decide what to do with her and how far to go. For example, in the very first story, Milkyway demonstrated magical abilities by changing a cat into a human for a few hours, so that he could give the human who saved him and took him in a gift. There were also signs that Milkyway had lived for hundreds (or even thousands?) of years. In many of the stories, however, she seemed like an ordinary, non-magical cat who just happened to be hanging around a different human or two.

I'd say that I really enjoyed the stories in about half the volume and felt so-so about or slightly disliked the stories in the other half. The stories I liked the least tended to be ones that felt somewhat pointless, such as the second story, in which Milkyway traveled with the Star Traveler. The artwork was beautiful, no doubt, but the story didn't grab me at all. Same with the story (which I don't think had enough to it to qualify as a story) about Milkyway's first owner/traveling partner, a shepherd. Then there was the story about the robotic cat, which started out fabulously (I loved the cat's creepy-cute attempt to imitate a real cat's cuteness) and then stumbled into an ending that was a weird mix of tragic and happy. It felt like Sirial couldn't quite bear to commit to a tragic ending, but had already gone too far to bring it back to something happier.

I absolutely loved the story about the 15-year-old shoemaker and 15-year-old gisaeng, even though I knew intellectually that their budding romance probably wouldn't turn out well. Although the interlude was a bit odd, set in a sort of alternate universe convenience store featuring all the characters from the previous stories, I liked that it gave the shoemaker and the gisaeng the kind of life that would allow them to go on an adorable first date.

There were quite a few cute stories: the awkward, shy boy who Milkyway taught to play cello (one of those things you just have to accept, and try not to think about too hard); the two broke guys who ended up trapped because they couldn't bear to step out the door over a sleeping Milkyway, in case they accidentally woke her up; and the cat who desperately wanted to give his human a gift but had no clue what sorts of things humans like (hint: dead bugs don't make good gifts). I liked that Sirial didn't go 100% for the “cats are standoffish” stereotype.

The story that seemed to fit the volume the least was the one about the cruel king, the awesome lady knight, and the white “animal” the king sent the knight to find. It had the least connection to Milkyway, and it was the closest Sirial came to writing something truly dark, with people dying and getting body parts lopped off. And even then, Sirial kept coming back to those characters and trying to write them a happier alternate life.

I'm still debating whether to buy the second volume or just check it out from the library.

Additional Comments:

I can't believe I almost forgot to mention this. For those sensitive about cat deaths: one story includes a cat that dies as a result of being hit by a car. It comes back as a ghost in order to try to comfort the person who attempted to help it.

Rating Note:

If I could rate the artwork and the stories separately, I'd give the stories either 3 or 3.5 stars and the artwork 5 stars (or 4.75, since the artwork was a bit confusing in one story and since I mistook the sheep in another story for cattle). My compromise was 4 stars.

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

First story: Nyanko is resting due to events in the previous volume, so Natsume tries to deal with a weird yokai rock that keeps possessing people around him on his own. He doesn't want to ruin the cultural festival, which he's really looking forward to. Second story: Tanuma gets possessed by a yokai looking for shards of a mirror that could help her sick friend. For once, Tanuma gets to experience some of what Natsume goes through. Third story: A flashback to Natsume's childhood, when he tried to deal with a yokai feeding off his loneliness (or fear? My notes could be better). This was also the first time he met Toko and Shigeru. Fourth story: From Chobi's POV. Natsume helps a yokai remove a rock that fell on top of a bird's nest.

This is the first volume to include something that I don't remember seeing in the anime (Chobi's story).

I loved how the second story turned the tables a bit. Natsume learned how much it hurt to be avoided, even for his own protection, and Tanuma got a glimpse of what Natsume's life is like.

I also enjoyed getting to see Natsume's friends worrying about him at the cultural festival. It's nice to see that his ordinary, have-no-clue-he-can-see-yokai friends care about him and try to watch out for him. It's too bad that Natsume's first home, after his parents died, wasn't with the Fujiwaras.

And speaking of the Fujiwaras, the story in which Natsume first met them was one of my favorites in the anime. I was happy to be able to read it in the manga. It was so sad that, when he first met Toko, a part of him wondered if she was really a yokai, since no humans had ever shown signs of wanting him to live with them. And Toko! She was so adorable and awkward. I really do love the Fujiwaras. A part of me hopes that a future volume shows how Toko and Shigeru first met and became a couple.

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

First story: Natsume investigates incidents of yokai getting their blood drained. He thinks the head of the Matoba exorcist clan is behind it – a theory supported by Nyanko and Natori's wariness towards him. Second story: Natsume and a bunch of yokai play shadow-tag. Third story: Unrelated to Natsume's Book of Friends. It's about a kid who gains amazing athletic abilities by drinking juice. He's secretly in love with a female friend of his, who he realizes loves someone else.

It's nice to finally meet the head of the Matoba clan, a character I enjoyed in the anime. However, this was very different from the usual Natsume's Book of Friends volume. I think Midorikawa does better with bittersweet short stories.

The second story is utterly and completely fluff. Nice fluff, with everyone playing tag with Natsume, who never got to do it with other human kids, but still fluff.

The third story, the one-shot, was an utter mess. Poor storytelling, plus a lack of focus. We have over-the-top  stuff like the boy who gets amazing physical abilities from drinking ordinary juice, of all things, a lackluster romance, and a thief. Midorikawa has definitely improved since she wrote this.

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

First story: Natsume meets a boy who seems to be like him – he can see and is being chased by yokai. He's also maybe being bullied. Second story: The little fox yokai decides to visit Natsume because he's feeling lonely. Third story: Hinoe tells the story of how she met Reiko. Fourth story: A one-shot completely unrelated to Natsume's Book of Friends. A student falls in love with the teacher for whom she often acts as an assistant. He chose his career over his girlfriend, and the student therefore does her best to hide her feelings, not wanting to mess things up for him.

I think this volume includes the first story in this series that might be called “lengthy,” although it somehow doesn't feel any longer than any of the other stories. This is also the first volume in which Natsume starts thinking about his future and the possibility that he might one day become a parent.

It was nice to see more of Reiko, although Hinoe's story was disappointingly skimpy. And the fox yokai was adorable.

The one-shot was...blah. Okay, for a teacher-student semi-romance, but blah.

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