A Best Seller in Japan: Stargazing Dog

Daddy is that main character in this remarkably simple, unassuming and yet very poignant little manga. He is down and out, his wife has left him, his daughter rebellious, he’s even been laid off. And so, suddenly even homeless, he decides to take off to wherever.

And it is this very element that makes this story so compelling. Dogs are indeed the most unquestioningly loyal of our pets. Daddy at least has his stargazing dog, one who looks to the heavens wistfully, innocent devotion his only key in life.

The story is craftily divided in two. The 1st part tells of Daddy’s journey as ‘narrated’ by the innocent Dog. The 2nd narrates the point of view of a social worker who must investigate what happened to him. He himself has vivid memories of his dog when he was young and how he took his devotion for granted, even found it somewhat pathetic after a while. As we see him working his way through Daddy’s story, his last recollection of his own dog on its last leg, playful and devoted to the last, haunts him. This is about innocence in front of a cruel world and the Dog is cathartic. For more information, go to www.nbmpub.com.