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To be honest a synopsis of the plot isn’t all that necessary with this book, but I’ll try and lay out the basics for good measure. In the first book, Yoichi Taba was recruited to work for Kagura Security. This private security company employs five others, all women, and is engaged in an ongoing battle with a group of creatures known as the Phantom Cats. These villains are either cats that can take on the form of humans, or humans that can take on the forms of cats (I’m not really sure which). Apparently there are also good phantom cats, but I don’t even want to get into that. After surviving his first job, Taba is thinking of quitting the company.
This book begins with Taba being offered a new job with a government agency. He leaves the offer on the table and ends up getting involved with a major battle with a phantom cat, becoming entwined in his present job. Later, he is attacked at home and his apartment is blown up forcing him to begin living at the office. Events lead up to a big engagement between the Kagura Security agency, the Japanese Navy, and the Phantom Cats.
The other members of the company include: Yuka Kikushima, the spunky president of company. Takami Sakuragi, the teams butterfly-knife wielding muscle. Maki Umezaki, the gun-happy shooter. Eiko Rando, the tough accountant. And also, Yu Himehagi the chain-smoking driver. Together with Taba, this team is ready for anything the Phantom Cats can throw at them.
The art of this book is fairly relaxed and somewhat cartooney. I found it to be refreshing and humorous. The characters were drawn to look very young and cute. This humorous cartooney style was contrasted with the serious action and carnage that was constantly a part of the story.
Basically the formula of this book is lots of action spaced out with the quite times of hanging around the company’s bathhouse naked. Yeah, there’s plenty of nudity in this one, which makes me question the rating of 13+. Some parents may have a bit of a problem having their thirteen year-old looking at all these cute little girls hanging out in the nude, but I guess it’s fairly harmless and abstract. The overall plot is fairly cryptic, but I kind of like that. It provides a reason to keep reading and to think about what is happening behind the scenes.
This book is just plain fun. It’s a really quick read and I found it to be quite enjoyable. There may be a lot more to the storyline than is readily revealed, which probably makes this a worthwhile series to stick with. Hopefully if you read enough you can piece together the various flashbacks and random side-stories to develop an understanding of what is actually going on.
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