Tramps Like Us

"You're My Pet" redirects here. For the 2011 Korean film, see You're My Pet (film).
For other uses, see Tramps Like Us (disambiguation).
Tramps Like Us

Cover of Tramps Like Us first tankōbon as published by Tokyopop
きみはペット
(Kimi wa Pet)
Genre Comedy, Romance
Manga
Written by Yayoi Ogawa
Published by Kodansha
English publisher
Demographic Josei
Magazine Kiss
Original run 2000 – 2005
Volumes 14
Television drama
Network TBS
Original run April 9, 2003 – June 18, 2003
Episodes 10

Tramps Like Us (Japanese: きみはペット Hepburn: Kimi wa Petto, lit. "You're My Pet") is a Japanese josei manga series by Yayoi Ogawa. 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[1] from finding out about her pet. It also deals with the romantic attraction between Sumire and her pet.

It was serialised by Kodansha 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 series that aired in Japan on TBS in 2003, and a South Korean film in 2011.

Plot

Sumire Iwaya (巌谷 澄麗 Iwaya Sumire), a journalist at a major newspaper, is a career woman in a society that does not handle successful women well. Sumire suffers from depression and anxiety. She also has hobbies that are very un-feminine, such as smoking, being a fan of pro wrestling, K-1, and shōnen anime.

After her fiancé leaves her for his mistress and Sumire is demoted at work, she stumbles across a young injured homeless man in a box outside her condominium. 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 Momo (モモ), 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 in their relationship.

Sumire later learns that Momo's real name is Takeshi Gouda (合田 武志 Gōda Takeshi), and that he is a dance prodigy who studied classical ballet but was too short to take the lead roles. He switched to modern dance, 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, Shigehito Hasumi (蓮實 滋人 Hasumi Shigehito). 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'.[2]

Media

Manga

The chapters of Tramps Like Us were written and illustrated by Yayoi Ogawa. 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 later in 2000 where it ran until 2005. It was renamed to Kimi wa Pet after the fifth chapter.[2]

The 82 chapters, called "Rules", were collected and published in 14 bound volumes by Kodansha between December 2000 and December 2005.[3][4] An additional volume called Kimi Wa Pet The Best (きみはペット THE BEST) was released in October 2002.[5] In early 2004, "Supplement: Kimiwa Pet" was included as a free extra with Kiss. A special edition of the eleventh volume was offered which included a toy shaped like Momo.[2] Tokyopop 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.[6][7] As of August 31, 2009, the English editions are out of print.[8] The series was published as Tramps Like Us - Kimi Wa Pet by Tokyopop Germany between November 2004 and February 2007.[9][10] It was published as Kimi Wa Pet - Au pied, chéri! in French by Kurokawa between September 2005 and November 2007.[11][12] It was published in Italian by Star Comics between July 2004 and September 2006 as Sei Il Mio Cucciolo!.[13][14]

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 and Momo was played by Jun Matsumoto.

# Title Rating[15] Original air date[15]
1 "How to Housebreak a Young Man"
"Bishōnen no kaikata" (美少年の飼い方) 		11.6%April 16, 2003
2 "Benefit of a Pet"
"petto no kōnō" (ペットの効能) 		11.5%April 23, 2003
3 "Boyfriend vs Pet"
"kareshi VS petto (osu)" (彼氏VSペット(♂)) 		10.8%April 30, 2003
4 "Infectious Love"
"ren'ai kansenshō" (恋愛感染症) 		13.0%May 7, 2003
Momo returns and Sumire is relieved. Takeshi tells his father's employee that he is going to take the scholarship to Germany. The company therapist and the maid from the maid cafe go on a date, and see Sumire and Hasumi on their date. Although Hasumi can't tell, Sumire is very uncomfortable. Sumire and Hasumi go and take photo stickers. Fukushima calls Hasumi on his phone with a sob story. Momo gives Sumire his cold, and she forgets to bring some things into work - she calls Momo and he brings them, but a co-worker catches Momo giving her a kiss. Momo introduces himself as Takeshi, Sumire's younger brother who came home from France. Rumi confronts Takeshi about his relationship with Sumire and asks him to kiss her. Elsewhere, Hasumi tells Sumire that she seems to be trying too hard to please him. Fukushima butts in to their conversation and tells Hasumi that her ex-boyfriend is becoming really violent, so could she please stay at his place tonight? Sumire excuses herself. Takeshi kisses Rumi - she asks him to take her somewhere else, but he says he has to return home to Sumire. Rumi leaves him angrily and runs to Junpei. Takeshi's father's employee talks to Takeshi's father about Takeshi taking the scholarship. Sumire returns home to find Momo sleeping on the floor. She goes to bed and Momo asks her what's wrong with her boyfriend. Sumire tells him to leave her alone and he complies. Sumire phones him on his new mobile phone and asks him to record the number. The next day at work, Sumire is smoking in the ladies toilets and overhears the girls gossiping about what happened between her, Hasumi and Fukushima - Hasumi rebuffed Fukushima. Sumire goes to try to tell Hasumi she likes him, but ends up apologising instead, and she tells Hasumi she can take some time off work. Hasumi invites her over to his house that evening and shows her the photo sticker in his diary. That evening, she is still at work and the therapist catches her - he says they are alike, and that the company server has gone down, so she will have to work late. Hasumi prepares his flat for Sumire, but Fukushima turns up at the front door. Sumire phones Momo and tells him that she won't come home tonight, and then phones Hasumi's house, but Fukushima picks up. Hasumi phones Sumire but her phone is engaged. Momo leaves the house - he and Hasumi meet each other. 
5 "I'll Train You"
"shitsukete ageru" (しつけてあげる) 		10.3%May 14, 2003
6 "The Night I Was Bitten By My Pet Dog"
"kaiinu ni kamareta yoru" (飼い犬に噛まれた夜) 		11.9%May 21, 2003
7 "Let's Go Home"
"ouchi e kaerō" (おうちへかえろう) 		11.2%May 28, 2003
8 "Demise of the Moratorium"
"moratoriamu no shuuen" (モラトリアムの終焉) 		12.7%June 4, 2003
9 "On the Last Night"
"saigo no yoru ni" (最後の夜に) 		13.1%June 11, 2003
10 "Leaving the Garden of Eden"
"rakuen kara no tabidachi" (楽園からの旅立ち) 		12.9%June 18, 2003

Film

The manga was adapted into a live-action South Korean film You're My Pet (너는팻), which was released in late 2011 and starred Kim Ha-neul and Jang Keun-suk.[16][17]

Reception

The manga won the 2003 Kodansha Manga Award for shōjo.[18] Tramps Like Us has been described by Sequential Tart as "one of the best of these josei manga titles currently available in English translation".[19] Johanna Draper Carlson says that the theme of the series is "understanding what's really important about relationships".[20] 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.[1] Ed Chavez, reviewing the first volume, described Sumire's 'needy nature' as being easy to relate to,[21] but found her frustratingly "emotionally weak and self-destructive" by the sixth volume, much preferring to see her 'kicking ass'.[22] George Galuschak, writing for Kliatt found that 'certain aspects of Sumire and Momo's relationship creeped [Galuchack] out', although he described the first volume overall as being a 'funny, entertaining read'.[23] 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.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 Saeki, Junko (2008). "Beyond the geisha stereotype - Changing images of 'new women' in Japanese popular culture". In Segers, Rien T. A new Japan for the twenty-first century: an inside overview of current fundamental changes and problems. Routledge contemporary Japan series. 21. Routledge. pp. 163–165. ISBN 978-0-415-45311-0.
  2. 1 2 3 Ogawa, Yayoi. "The History of Tramps Like Us - Complete Chronology of Tramps". Tramps Like Us. 14. ISBN 1-59816-876-2.
  3. ↑ きみはペット(1) (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  4. ↑ きみはペット(14) (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 13, 2009.
  5. ↑ きみはぺットＴＨＥ　ＢＥＳＴ (in Japanese). Kodansha. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  6. ↑ Ogawa, Yayoi (August 2004). Tramps Like Us. 1 (1 ed.). Tokyopop. ISBN 1-59532-139-X.
  7. ↑ Ogawa, Yayoi (February 2008). Tramps Like Us. 14 (1 ed.). Tokyopop. ISBN 1-59816-876-2.
  8. ↑ "TOKYOPOP Inc. Out of Print Titles Page 2". Tokyopop. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  9. ↑ "TOKYOPOP - Bücher: Manga: Tramps Like Us - Kimi Wa Pet" (in German). Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  10. ↑ "TOKYOPOP - Bücher: Manga: Tramps Like Us - Kimi Wa Pet" (in German). Archived from the original on 2007-03-06. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  11. ↑ "Kimi Wa Pet - T1" (in French). Kurokawa. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  12. ↑ "Kimi Wa Pet - T14" (in French). Kurokawa. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  13. ↑ "Acquista online i tuoi manga preferiti >> Edizioni Star Comics" (in Italian). Starcomics.com. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  14. ↑ "Acquista online i tuoi manga preferiti >> Edizioni Star Comics" (in Italian). Starcomics.com. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  15. 1 2 "Audience Rating TV > 視聴率 > 2003年04〜06月" (in Japanese). Artv.info. 2005-01-03. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  16. ↑ http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-06/kimi-wa-pet/tramps-like-us-manga-gets-korean-film
  17. ↑ http://www.jangkeunsuk.co.kr/profile/profile_movie.asp
  18. ↑ Joel Hahn. "Kodansha Manga Awards". Comic Book Awards Almanac. Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
  19. ↑ "Comics for Grown-Up Women, Part 1 (vol XI/iss 9/September 2008)". Sequential Tart. 2008-09-08. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  20. ↑ "*Tramps Like Us — Recommended Series » Manga Worth Reading". Comicsworthreading.com. 2005-12-13. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  21. ↑ "Tramps like Us (aka: Kimi wa Pet) Vol. #01". Mania.com. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  22. ↑ "Tramps like Us (aka: Kimi wa Pet) Vol. #06". Mania.com. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
  23. ↑ Galuschak, George (2004). "Ogawa, Yayoi. Tramps like us; vol. 1". Kliatt.
  24. ↑ "365 Days of Manga, Day 58: Suppli « Suvudu - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, Comics, and Games". Suvudu.com. 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2010-11-25.
Manga
Drama TV series
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