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is a Japanese
manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by . It is about Sumire, a young professional woman who takes in a younger man as a pet, and her attempts to keep her coworkers and conventionally perfect boyfriend from finding out about her pet. It also deals with the romantic attraction between Sumire and her pet. It was serialized by
Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
and was released in 14 volumes between 2000 and 2005, with an additional side-story volume being released in 2002. The volumes, barring the side-story volume, were published in English and German by Tokyopop, in French by Kurokawa and in Italian by Star Comics. The manga was adapted to a TV
drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
series that aired in Japan on TBS in 2003, and a South Korean
film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...
in 2011. The manga is adapted to a second, reboot, TV drama series aired on Fuji TV in 2017 with a new cast.


Plot

, a
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
at a major newspaper, is a career woman in a society that does not handle successful women well. Sumire suffers from depression and
anxiety Anxiety is an emotion characterised by an unpleasant state of inner wikt:turmoil, turmoil and includes feelings of dread over Anticipation, anticipated events. Anxiety is different from fear in that fear is defined as the emotional response ...
. She also has hobbies that are very un-feminine, such as
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...
, being a fan of
pro wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
,
K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993 by karateka Kazuyoshi Ishii. Originally under the ownership of the Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG), K-1 was considered to be the largest Kickboxing organization in the worl ...
, and
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
. After her fiancé leaves her for his
mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...
and Sumire is demoted at work, she stumbles across a young injured homeless man in a box outside her
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
. She takes him in and becomes attached to him. As a joke, she says she wants to keep him as a pet. To her surprise, the young man agrees. She names him , after her beloved dog from childhood. Sumire provides room and board, and Momo provides unconditional love and loyalty. Sumire says there is no sex in their relationship, and she will only sleep with men who have the "three highs": higher pay, higher education and higher height (i.e. taller than her 170 cm.) Despite this, there is definite
sexual tension Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two individuals interact and one or both feel sexual attraction, but the consummation is postponed or never happens. A common scenario is where the two individuals function in proximity, such ...
in their relationship. Sumire later learns that Momo's real name is , and that he is a dance
prodigy Prodigy, Prodigies or The Prodigy may refer to: * Child prodigy, a child who produces meaningful output to the level of an adult expert performer ** Chess prodigy, a child who can beat experienced adult players at chess Arts, entertainment, and m ...
who studied classical
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
but was too short to take the lead roles. He switched to
modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...
, and lived a semi-homeless life before meeting Sumire. When it is revealed that he and Sumire know one another, Momo passes himself off as Sumire's second cousin. Complications arise when Sumire is reunited with the man with whom she was infatuated during her time at
Tokyo University The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...
, . Hasumi meets all of Sumire's requirements. However, Sumire cannot quite open up to Hasumi- senpai, or give up her attachment to Momo. For example, Sumire lets Momo call her by her personal name, while she struggles to let Hasumi call her "Iwaya" instead of "Iwaya-san." Takeshi (a.k.a. Momo) starts to have feelings for Sumire as well and they began to have feelings that go way beyond those of a pet and its Master. When Hasumi meets Momo, he recognizes Momo's face but cannot put a name to him. When Hasumi does some research on Iwaya-san's so-called cousin, he discovers that Takeshi was a child ballet prodigy and becomes friends with him. Takeshi, of course, has to keep the fact that he is also "Momo" to himself, even when Hasumi repeatedly brings up the topic of Sumire's pet in their conversations. Although, at times he changes personalities; something is up with Momo!


Development

Originally, Momo was meant to have a much more animal-like personality, and Ogawa considers him one of her easiest characters to draw, describing his character type as being one of her 'stock characters'.


Media


Manga

The chapters of ''Tramps Like Us'' were written and illustrated by
Yayoi Ogawa The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence of ...
. The series first appeared as a single chapter work, named ''Pet'', that appeared in the June 2000 issue of ''Kiss Carnival'', where it ran for four chapters. It was then transferred to ''
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
'' later in 2000 where it ran until 2005. It was renamed to ''Kimi wa Pet'' after the fifth chapter. The 82 chapters, called "Rules", were collected and published in 14 bound volumes by
Kodansha is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha publishes manga magazines which include ''Nakayoshi'', ''Morning (magazine), Morning'', ''Afternoon (magazine), Afternoon'', ''Evening (magazine), Eveni ...
between December 2000 and December 2005. An additional volume called was released in October 2002. In early 2004, "Supplement: Kimiwa Pet" was included as a free
extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
with ''Kiss''. A special edition of the eleventh volume was offered which included a toy shaped like Momo. In 2009, the manga was re-released in a nine-volume edition under the title .
Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licens ...
licensed the series for English-language release in North America and gave the series its English name of ''Tramps Like Us''. It released the first volume in August 2004 and the final volume in February 2008. As of August 31, 2009, the English editions are
out of print An out-of-print (OOP) or out-of-commerce item or work is something that is no longer being published. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media, sound recordings, and video recordings. An out-of-print book is a book that is ...
. The series was published as ''Tramps Like Us - Kimi Wa Pet'' by
Tokyopop Germany Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
between November 2004 and February 2007. It was published as ''Kimi Wa Pet - Au pied, chéri!'' in French by Kurokawa between September 2005 and November 2007. It was published in Italian by
Star Comics Star Comics was an imprint of Marvel Comics that began in 1984 and featured titles that were aimed at child readers and were often adaptations of children's television series, animated series or toys. The last comic published under the imprint ...
between July 2004 and September 2006 as ''Sei Il Mio Cucciolo!''.


2003 live-action drama

A live-action Japanese drama series of ten episodes aired on TBS between April and June 2003. The opening and closing theme was "Darling" by V6. Sumire was played by
Koyuki , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese model and actress best known for the drama '' Kimi wa Petto'' and the film ''The Last Samurai''. Career Actor career Koyuki appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 2001 film ''Pulse''. She rose to fame i ...
and Momo was played by
Jun Matsumoto is a Japanese singer, actor, radio host, and model. He is a member of the boy band Arashi, and is Arashi's concert producer as well as production advisor for other groups. He is best known to Japanese television drama audiences for his portraya ...
.


Film

The manga was adapted into a live-action
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
n film ''You're My Pet'' (너는팻), which was released in late 2011 and starred
Kim Ha-neul Kim Ha-neul (; born February 21, 1978) is a South Korean actress. After starting her career as a model, she rose to fame by starring in the films ''Ditto (2000 film), Ditto'' (2000), ''My Tutor Friend'' (2003), ''Too Beautiful to Lie'' (2004), ...
and
Jang Keun-suk Jang Keun-suk () is a South Korean singer and actor. He is best known for starring in the Korean television dramas '' Beethoven Virus'' (2008), '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), '' Marry Me, Mary!'' (2010), '' Love Rain'' (2012), ''Bel Ami'' (2013) ...
.


2017 live-action drama

A new adaptation aired from February 6, 2017, to March 26, 2017, on
Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...
. It stars
Noriko Iriyama (born 1 August 1985 in the former Urawa, Saitama) is a Japanese actress and model. She graduated from Kyoritsu Women's University in 2008. Filmography Film * '' Happy Flight'' (2008) * ''Kōfuku no Alibi'' (2016) * ''The Flower in the Sky'' ( ...
as Sumire and
Jun Shison is a Japanese actor. He was associated with Watanabe Entertainment's male acting troupe D2 (later merged into D-Boys) from 2011 to 2023 and made his acting debut in ''Musical: The Prince of Tennis''. Career Shison joined the D2 actor group ...
as Momo. The new adaptation runs for 16 episodes.


Reception

The manga won the 2003
Kodansha Manga Award is one of Japan's major manga awards. The event is sponsored by publisher Kodansha. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga in its third iteration since 1977. Categories The award was originally called the until 1968. In 1970, it was ...
for shōjo. ''Tramps Like Us'' has been described by ''Sequential Tart'' as "one of the best of these
josei manga , also known as and its abbreviation , is an editorial category of Japanese comics that emerged in the 1980s. In a strict sense, ''josei'' refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting ''shōjo'' manga, which is marke ...
titles currently available in English translation". Johanna Draper Carlson says that the theme of the series is "understanding what's really important about relationships". Sumire enjoys both her job and her romance with Hasumi, unlike depictions of female characters in the 1980s and 1990s. Women, and therefore, female characters, have begun to change their ideal of a husband, from the "three highs" (tall, high income, well-educated) to seeking a more "comfortable, cooperative, and compatible" sort of a man. Hasumi is said to represent the former, and Momo the latter kind of a man, making it significant that eventually, Sumire chooses Momo. Ed Chavez, reviewing the first volume, described Sumire's 'needy nature' as being easy to relate to, but found her frustratingly "emotionally weak and self-destructive" by the sixth volume, much preferring to see her 'kicking ass'. George Galuschak, writing for Kliatt found that 'certain aspects of Sumire and Momo's relationship creeped aluchackout', although he described the first volume overall as being a 'funny, entertaining read'. Jason Thompson has described ''Tramps Like Us'' as a classic of josei, noting its presentation of "a fairytale romance" makes it unlike '' Suppli'', which is more realistic in its depiction of work. As of 2016, the manga had 4.2 million copies in print in Japan.


References


External links

;Manga
EXTRA HEAVY SYRUP
(Yayoi Ogawa's official website) * ;Drama TV series
Official 2003 TV Website

IMDB for the 2003 TV series


{{Kodansha Manga Award - Shōjo 2000 manga 2003 Japanese television series debuts 2003 Japanese television series endings Japanese television dramas based on manga Josei manga Kodansha manga Romance anime and manga TBS Television (Japan) dramas Tokyopop titles Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōjo) 2017 Japanese television series debuts 2017 Japanese television series endings