Tramps Like Us

    (Tokyopop, 2004-2008)
™ and © 2000 Yayoi Ogawa
Reads right to left; black and white series.

Sumire leads the ideal professional woman’s life: she’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s a Harvard grad with a fiancé she loves, and she’s the rising star in international reporting at a top news journal in Tokyo. But everything in Sumire’s world comes crashing to a halt when her cheating boyfriend dumps her for his mistress, and she gets demoted from work amidst snickers from jealous coworkers and so–called friends. Dejected, lonely, and without a shoulder to cry on, Sumire returns home to find a homeless teenager sleeping in a box outside her apartment. Taking pity on the hapless boy, Sumire takes him in… and they strike a bargain. She’ll take care of him completely: give him a space to sleep, food to eat, and toys to play with, and in exchange, he will be the company and comfort that she lacks. In other words… he’ll be her pet.

The unusual premise, as ripe for abuse as it seems, actually shapes into a charming dramedy about learning trust and intimacy, and resists the kinky, awkward sexual innuendos that the title implies. Momo (the boy, renamed after Sumire’s first dog) really does seem to take his job as a pet seriously, though he behaves more like a conniving cat than his namesake dog. But when a new man threatens Momo’s position in Sumire’s life, will Momo be able to convince the independent Sumire that she needs Momo more than she thinks?

Primarily geared at the Peach Girl crowd, fans of romantic conflict titles like Hot Gimmick will also find Tramps Like Us an enjoyable read. And Yayoi Ogawa’s drugged-out, wide–eyed character designs are reminiscent of sex–drama titles like Happy Mania.

¯ Shiaw-Ling Lai
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