In the first couple chapters of Cat + Gamer, an extremely relatable experience occurs — finding time to engage in a hobby. Riko buys an anticipated game but as an adult, she can only play it so many hours of the day. In order to give said game the attention it deserves, she plots out an advanced gaming schedule. She adjusts some basic things (sleep, having instant food instead) while factoring in daily life, work, and then gaming time. It’s something that totally made me think about my own work-life balance.
The only difference is Riko has a cat she needs to care for, and it cares not for her schedule!
This volume of Cat + Gamer doesn’t have too much drama or anything work-related compared to the first two volumes. It’s all about Riko and Musubi continuing their escapades, which means Riko trying to find time to game while continuing to care for her cat, while Musubi generally causes adorable chaos — see when Riko does her best to game, sleep at appropriate time, but all of that falls apart when Musubi acts like a menace all around the room at night. Planning is good, but there are things that you can’t control, like telling a cat to sleep at your convenience! And for most adults out there, finding time to do hobbies will always be tough, so the first couple chapters were not only funny, but also something that’s very relatable.
There’s still chapters where Riko games and Musubi of course causes trouble. Don’t be that cat that tries to tightrope walk a flat screen TV — and be one that messes up the group chat by inputting salacious sentences by accident. In maybe some other series that would be where a character defends themselves to the chat, but instead this only makes Riko think about letting Musubi join her in her gaming. The bond between cat and working gamer continues to grow, and seeing that is pretty great.
One other standout of this series so far is still making sure it throws in as many famous gaming spoofs as possible and making sure Riko gets the full experience with them. So naturally we have the Dragon Quest stand-in, but why don’t we throw Minecraft in this now? Let’s just say it doesn’t go like you think, because she made an attempt to play it with a fever. But when she wakes up, she can’t remember actually building the house in the game? What in the world happened? Why did Musubi show up in her game too? Lots of questions, but the only answer is this cat is just being a cat.
The bonus diaries do give Musubi’s perspective, but it’s all fun and games (until it wants to kill a bear — a toy one of course), so the main chapters give us the development of cat owner Riko and Musubi adjusting to life in a new home. What more things will she — and by extension the readers — learn about caring for cats while she attempts to game? Certainly looking forward to finding out.