Neko to Shoujo - RubiconHearts

Title: &nbsp;Neko to Shoujo
タイトル: &nbsp;猫と少女
Pages: &nbsp;16 (including covers)
Release date: &nbsp;05/04/2010

Reading Time: 3 minutes

For Comitia 92, RubiconHearts released their second publication, titled Neko to Shoujo. It features a collection of girls and cats illustrations by Take, Tsunekawa Niwasuke, Ame, and Yuu. It doesn’t have the famous illustrators of the first collection Kyoto, Spring. But it does maintain the high standards the circle set for themselves during Comiket 77.

This 16 page doujinshi is A3-size, and full color. The cover art work is by Take, who brought to life the characters of Katanagatari and Zaregoto. The cover design is on the front and back covers, and even a little on inside back cover.

The inside art work is also lovely, starting with an illustration by Ame. She drew girl and cat in a lively setting. Tsunekawa Niwasuke’s art work adjoins the page, with a cat comforting a crying girl.

Tsunekawa Niwasuke’s other work in the book is a visual comic. It’s kind of interesting to note that Tsunekawa Niwasuke is a boy’s love artist. Her usual works depict very androgynous guys, so it’s nice to see her do something different.

Ame and Yuu have 4 pages each, both of which are spreads. Ame’s pages are part illustration and part visual comic, with both aspects beautifully illustrated. Yuu’s pages are like a colored manga, but at this size, it just has a different feel to it. It makes you really look at each panel more closely.

Though I didn’t like this as much as Kyoto, Spring, the illustrations are impressive. It’s the first work I’ve seen from Take outside of commercial works. With Neko to Shoujo, there isn’t a “production team” behind every illustration, unlike with the first release. Excited to see their Comiket 78 release, the A3 poster-sized preview below came with this doujinshi as an extra.