While it's nice of Psycho Pandas to have picked up this project, their translation has a lot of problems which result in the dialogues not making much sense (no idea how a line like "My hands are larger than yours. I'm taller as well." could possibly get turned into "My hands are larger than yours. Even from the back.") or changing the whole point of the conversation (such as what was supposed to be "No matter what it is, if you keep it by your side for a long time, you'll start to grow attached to it. Don't you ever think about turning him into your kind?" somehow becoming "No matter what it is, if you push it aside for a long time, feelings of love will start to build up. Don't you ever think about your companions?"). It's really a pity. The Japanese in this is actually rather simple, so if you know a bit of the language, you might want to go for the raws instead.

Chapter 1-4 is the story about Phil and Ed with Phil as a child. Chapter 5&6 deals with the relationship between Ed and Phil once Phil grows up and Ed worrying about Phil possibly leaving him since he's no longer a child...and consequently is also when the smut picks up. Woo younger semes. Chapter 7 is a cute little flashback to when Phil was still a child.

As for the story... It's very simple, but more happens through the pictures than with the text, especially in chapter 5 and 6 where there are slow progressive images of them growing more intimate with one another, yet the text is fairly minimal. In fact, the story could have worked just as well if Ed wasn't a vampire. Hell, a serial killer or whatever would have worked just fine with very minor adjustments, so don't expect that to be a key aspect to the storyline either. It more so deals with Ed coming to terms with his fears and emotions that he'd long since forgotten.

As for rating it a 10...I'm still not sure if that's because I love how easy it is to translate and edit, or because I actually like it that much. The art is gorgeous, and while the lack of tones makes it seem simplistic, each drawing is ornately detailed as well, which is why I say so much of the story happens through the art rather than the text.

... Last updated on February 28th, 2009, 7:45pm

I really wish there was a bit more to the ending. I really like the idea of the story and would have given it a higher rating except some parts of the story just seemed to miss their mark. A lot of the angst and emotion just didn't come across very well.

This series features some unique and interesting art, but the story leaves a little to be desired. Comments before my own have mentioned that the story feels disconnected, or shallow, and their comments hit the nail on the head.
Justifiably, it was the goal of the mangaka to create the disconnected feeling of the story to portray the same feeling felt by the protagonists, Ed and Phil. Ed is a vampire who has long since forgotten to express emotion and Phil is an abandoned child; just as disconnected from the world as the vampire who found him.

To create a story centred around disconnected emotion, all facets of the manga have to work together. What's lacking in this story is the mangaka's ability to create atmosphere through her art. That's not to say that it's unattractive. It just fails to create the atmosphere of the busy streets, the empty night, the vampire's thirst for blood, the change from expressionless to a face full of emotion... There are many instances where this series relies on the art to keep the story flowing, and unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its promise.

In the end, Sute Neko no Ie is still absorbing and enjoyable. I've given it a rating of 7.5 out of 10 because it has promised something and delivered it in a sub-par way. After practice and more experience, I think that Inoue Nawo will definitely be a mangaka to watch for the future.

Inoue Nawo's talent lies in quiet, understated shounen-ai stories with realistic characters. Here, she attempts to marry those qualities with a pseudo-Victorian vampire story. It doesn't quite work.

Although I love the quiet atmosphere Inoue builds, quiet understatement doesn't suit a historical vampire story, a genre associated with camp and melodrama. The setting is so little developed that it becomes forgettable. If Inoue managed to lend some depth to her story, something that makes you think, this could easily be an amazing piece. But she never does. The story ends with a disappointing sex-as-resolution, and it remains only slightly better than the rest of the sludge out there.

It's sweet, and a bit sad...
Feels a bit mechanic. The characters' feelings don't come across as well as you'd like them to, despite the good art.

The first 4 chapters were nice, but it seems to be the end of this story? If so, the end was... ok, I guess...
The pacing is kind of strange. It feels rushed, while at the same time it feels slow, because of the lacking emotion.

Edit:
Well, chapter 5 indeed compensated a bit for the lack of emotion. It's a really nice drama.
Quite sad, and that what makes it so appealing to me. (and the art of course).
So my rating jumps up. :3

Edit 2:
It felt a bit incomplete, but no matter... Still very sweet, and melancholic all through.
I liked it.

... Last updated on September 5th, 2009, 10:32am

Hmm, I liked it, mainly because of the art, wich is very clean and well done. Story had potential, until last chapter...


The extra was very sweet!

... Last updated on April 30th, 2011, 9:49pm

I really like the vague, victorian gothic setting of this piece. It's a good backdrop for a vampire story, and all the empty spaces really give a feeling of a forgotten, bygone era and lend to the loneliness of the characters.

Unfortunately, the poor translation really strips the emotion from this piece. It looks like the emotion was very subtle, but it comes across very poorly in the scanlation. The sentences are odd and stilted. It would be great if someone could re-do the translation, but who knows if that will happen.

This manga reminds me a bit of Yuuutsa na Asa, but a much simpler and less political story, and with vampires instead. A nice, quiet read.

I like it! I love older vampire ukes with a great story! It started nicely though I'm not that satisfied with its ending. Since it was a bit shorter, I think it missed some parts. It really would have been a lot better if this was a bit longer. But it was really nice. I don't mind slow romance, but at least the development must be done well...

... Last updated on October 28th, 2016, 5:50am

When I read this, all I could feel is the simplicity of the art, the dialogues, the meaning of the words, the action and the atmosphere of the story doesn't seem to be harsh and it's really gentle and heart-warming. Of course, you can't expect much from such stories but at least, it's enjoyable. :>