Review: Tramps Like Us by Yayoi Ogawa

Wiki Summary

Tramps Like Us is a josei manga series by Yayoi Ogawa which was serialized between 2000 and 2005. It is about Sumire, a young professional woman who takes in a younger man as a pet, and attempts to keep her coworkers and conventionally-perfect boyfriend from finding out about it. It also deals with the romantic attraction between Sumire and her pet. It was adapted to a TV drama series that aired in Japan on TBS in 2003. The manga won the 2003 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.

First Impressions

A manga series about a business woman that takes in a homeless man, names him Momo after her childhood pet dog and then falls in love with him, all the while trying to maintain social mores within the context of morally-rigid Japanese culture? Awesome.

Tramps Like Us follows the life of a work oriented woman named Sumire Iwaya who is lovelorn due to her intimidating success in journalism, and her fierce temperament. In an act of serendipity, she encounters a young homeless man sleeping outside of her apartment building in a cardboard box on her walk home from work. Recently brokenhearted (her-lover-knocked-up-another-woman-brokenhearted), she allows him to live at her place on the condition that he serves as her pet. The young man readily agrees to this odd request, and suggests that she give him a name. She names him "Momo" after her beloved childhood dog.

This manga may not appeal to all readers; namely, to those stuck in a western mindset. While reading, it is important to keep in mind the varying cultural differences between Japan and the west. For instance, Sumire, like many Japanese women, does not wish to pursue a relationship with any man that cannot meet these three vital qualifications:

i)  The man must be the taller of the two
ii)  He must also be more educated than his partner
iii) The man must be the primary breadwinner

Nonetheless, as the series progresses she finds herself more and more attracted to Momo, who meets none of her conditions, and less drawn towards her new boyfriend who does meet these qualifications. This places a strain on her sanity as she wrestles with the social mores of Japan and her own feelings. In the meantime, she hides Momo from the world and guards him as her own little secret.

In future volumes I anticipate Yayoi Ogawa will explore a romantic involvement between Sumire and Momo, and focus on how they go about transforming their unusual relationship from pet and master to one of two romantically involved partners. There are fourteen volumes in this series, but please do not be dissuaded manga noobs; most manga volumes can be read in under an hour, due to the fact that they are fully illustrated and the text is usually kept to a minimum.

Sumire and her pet, Momo
The actual Japanese title--Kimi wa Petto--translates to You Are My Pet

Final Thoughts

This first volume was always perverse, full of humor (both clean and raunchy), and was (almost surprisingly) heartwarming. The bond between the ecclectic Momo and her master comes across as touching and genuine. It should also go without saying that if you have ever been intrigued by S&M relationships that this is a must read.

Tramps Like Us is classified as shōjo, which means that its target audience is women between the ages of 10 and 18. Having read the first volume however, I suspect that it may be a little more mature and racy than most ten year olds would be able to follow. Anyone over the age of sixteen will probably be fine with it and would most certainly get the intricacies and sexual innuendos that are rampant throughout.

I enjoyed this first volume immensely. It is nothing if not original, and comes highly recommended.