Member Reviews

The overall story to this was just bizarre. I get that it wanted to be goofy, but the humor really didn't land for me. The plot moves a bit too fast, but also just doesn't have anything particularly interesting to say. There was a complete lack of character development as well. I just don't know what the point of this story was.

Was this review helpful?

Nios and Castio were so cute, and I really want to see more of them, hopefully there will be another volume! ANd our main characters, Volks and O'Feuille, were so entertaining and i would also love to see their relationship develping into something more deeper than already it is!

Was this review helpful?

This one was not for me. I could not get on with the dialogue style used in it. The Dialogue felt very basic and slightly cheesy. It was a struggle for me even to get through the first part of the manga. I ended up DNF'ing part into the second part. I just could not force myself to continue on. The story was not bad, I do think this will find it's audience but that audience is not me.

Was this review helpful?

Such an interesting story but I would've loved more background info about all the characters. We got a bit but not enough in my opinion. The cat curse was so cute. I just love seeing cats in mangas, they're always so adorably drawn, and here it was just like that!

I wanted more love between the obvious couples but maybe we'll get more in the future? I would definitely read more about these characters.

Was this review helpful?

I found the artwork absolutely lovely! That kept me engaged in reading, even though I ended up confused following the storyline. I started out okay but about a third of the way through it kinda lost me. Still... cute fluffy manga kitties!

Was this review helpful?

I didn’t enjoy this one. The plot was a Little confusing and the characters were strange.
The art style was nice though.

Was this review helpful?

A fluffy mystery full of magic and cats, follow wizard O'Feuille and Prince Volks as they investigate sudden disappearances in the royal capital.

First of all, I would like to thank NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for providing me with a copy to review. Please note that this in no way affects my opinions.

There is only so much detail I can go into when reviewing a manga, but I did think that this was an okay read. The artwork is stunning as per usual, and I did think that there were a lot of interesting elements interwoven into the world.

There were mentions of Yggdrasil (from Norse Mythology) and different kinds of magic such as occult and fetishes. I appreciate that it is clear that some level of research was done. I also liked the historical setting as I assume that this takes place in an alternate medieval setting based on the addition of dukes and kings.

The plot is nothing particularly exciting, but it does have cats, which is a major bonus. If you like magical cats and don't mind a standard plot, try this out.

Was this review helpful?

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is actually more fantasy than boys' love, which is interesting actually. Still, cats are overrated. In this mythical land people disappear and it seems that there are more cats due to it. Pretty boy King Castio starts to investigate this together with a wizard and his servant only to find out that there's truly a culprit who wants everyone to turn into cats and a mysterious mask is the one to do it. I didn't really understand the whole cat scenario and it didn't help that we keep seeing cat butts and one of the characters jiggling the cat's balls. The whole thing would've needed more pages to work out better and there was no need for the boys' love either. The plot was interesting though, same as the setting. Thus the potential was there.

The art works out nicely, it's nothing miraculous, but OK. One book just isn't enough for a story like this and that's sad, since I would've liked to know more about the characters and the world. Fantasy as a genre is hard like that especially since this isn't isekai, but a sword and magic kind of fantasy. Still, refreshing as a boys' love manga.

Was this review helpful?

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is a cute and funny manga full of epic fantasy feels and fascinating characters. There's interesting relationship dynamics, such as half-elf wizard O'Feuille and his apprentice Volks, who's also a prince to a kingdom ruled by his twin King Castio. Volks is absolutely taken by O'Feuille and many hilarious moments ensue when Volks tries to charm him or declares his loyalty while O'Feuille tries to play it cool. King Castio also has a royal retainer, Nios, with whom he has been close ever since childhood.

However, there are quite few things left unresolved, including the possibly romantic relationships between O'Feuille and Volks, and Castio and Nios. This is a BL manga, but it feels like its trying to appeal to wider audience by withholding relationship development. It would be much better if the relationships were clearly acknowledged on page instead of heavily hinted at, because now the story feels unfinished. It is still enjoyable and fun, but does not manage to fulfil it potential.

Was this review helpful?

First of all, thank netgalley for providing me with a copy of the treasure of the king and the cat, that said, I clarify that despite the fact that a copy was provided, my review will be 100% honest.

This manga tells us about two brothers who have had to be separated, one is raised next to a sorcerer elf O'feuille, the little one that he raises is Prince Volks, who ends up acquiring a quite peculiar personality. On the other hand, the other brother, Prince Castio, grows up in the castle, acquiring the role of ruler and counting on the support of Nios. One day in the kingdom of Castio people begin to disappear so the king goes out to investigate and ends up being turned into a cat, so he must receive the support of his brother and the sorcerer.

Although that is the premise of the manga, it actually starts with a random chapter where we are introduced to the two characters mentioned first. Something that happened to me while reading the story is that although I liked and loved the drawing, I felt that everything was very abrupt and that it really did not have an end. that I remain open for something else, however it is only a volume of about 220 pages approx.

The story promised a lot, but in my opinion it was not fully developed, I left everything unfinished and did not develop the relationship of the characters, it is supposed to be bl and no, I am not asking that the characters be having sex all the time, but I would not have complained if they had developed a little more in relationships, since everything remains as in the nebula.
for this reason for me it deserves a 3.5 out of 5 stars and that is that although it is a good story it could be better

Was this review helpful?

I honestly enjoyed the little prologue story more than the actual story? I just wanted to spend more time on Volks and O'Feuille and their relationship and history, and just the cute banter between them. They were really sweet and their relationship was my favorite thing in this story. I don't know that the whole thing with Castio and Nios and the cats really did much for me. The cat story was strange and hard to understand, and I needed more of Castio and Nios to really enjoy their relationship. I died over the little matter of Volks and Castio being twins! I needed more on that! I just really wish we could have spent more time getting to know the characters.

Was this review helpful?

Sorry but I did not enjoy this one, despite the fact that it has very beautiful art. The story dragged, and it was really confusing. There are some small hints of it evolving into a BL series but not much character development in that regard other than a few crude jokes (it's also really weird and a little creepy that one of the two couples had known each other since one of them was a little kid and the other one is basically immortal, or at least really, really old).

Was this review helpful?

Unfortunately this one fell really flat for me.
I loved the puns and at the start it held a lot of promise but there was a lot unanswered and rushed through and it's just left me all kinds of confused.

I think the relationships and history between the characters needs to be explained waaaay better, because at the moment one of them seems to be a kid? that was raised by a super old dude? and it's turned into something romantic? but again still unsure how old anyone in this manga is??? It just made me super uncomfortable.

Was this review helpful?

Simply Ask a Cat
The Treasure of the King and the Cat has potential and an interesting premise. Twin princes Volks and Castio each have a mini adventure helping those in need. Volks, with the help of his companion O’Feuille, help a young boy save his mother. They later join Castio in order to find the treasure of the cat king. Together, this story’s plot is a bit weak and hard to follow. Quite a bit of backstory missing, and it does not lead to a bigger plot. There are many enjoyable moments in this manga. Volks and O’Feuille have an endearing relationship, with a twinge of tragedy. Nios is also a kind friend to Castio. The relationships are light, and will probably be disappointing to those looking for yaoi. This is a fun short read, that has some lovely art.

Was this review helpful?

One of my soft spots is gentle fantasy, and in my opinion, manga is one of if not the best mediums for telling those kinds of stories! This charming story follows a few episodes taking place in the same soft fantasy world as a tsundere half-elf wizard named O'Feuille and his assistant-lover Volks solve problems in the kingdom where they live. The art style was perfect for this story, and I loved all of the characters and their relationships!

There are two main stories followed by a few cute side stories, the main two concerning a boy named Oliver and his cursed mother, and the next concerning people in the kingdom disappearing. The two seemed a bit disjointed, but when you think of the main characters being O'Feuille and Volks and not Oliver or the King, they connect much better.

I wish this was a series because I could read about Volks' shenanigans forever, and I would love to know more about the kingdom and the half-elves. Due to length and the story shift, some things from the first main story seemed to be unexplored, which is why this is more of a 4.5 rounded up. The humor was on point, the story was compelling, and all of the characters were fleshed out, with their own backstories.

Overall, this was an adorable read, and I would highly recommend it to others who love soft fantasy, mlm stories, and cats!

Was this review helpful?

4.5 stars.

First of all I want to thank NetGalley and Independent Publishers Group for allowing me to read this beautiful manga before it’s published.

I can be very honest and straight forward about this book. I freaking loved it! I love it so much that I am going to check the store next week to see if they have it. So I can reread it again very soon.

This story is cute, fun, magical and full of cats. Everything I love.

The story itself, is not that complicated or original. The concept of the main story is one we see very often. Were there is a boy who needs to save the kingdom by defeating the big bad. I like stories with this concept so I didn’t mind. I really enjoyed it.
Especially since this time people needed to be saved because they were turned into cats. HOW CUTE IS THAT?!
The book however, contains a couple of short stories besides the main one. You start of with a story about a boy who did not know he had magical powers and accidentally put a curse on his mom. Then at the end we have a few short stories of just one or two pages about Volks and O’Feuille our two hero’s. I really enjoyed these as well.

Because the story is not that complicated there was quiet a lot of room for us to get to know the main characters. And I fell in love with them. Volks was my absolute favourite, very blunt and funny. He really said everything that came to his mind, which causes a lot of funny scenes. I even started to like O’Feuille, who in the beginning felt a little weird, but in the end was just a silent guy with a big heart. Also the king and his guard were just funny and likeable characters.
I am a very character driven reader, so when I love the characters of a book I tend to like and enjoy it faster.

The world itself and the magical system just felt really magical and real. It has a medieval feeling to it, one we see quiet often in fantasy books. I felt that especially the magic was interesting and fun to see and learn about. Even though you do not get a lot of information about it. But because it is a manga, you see a lot of the world by the drawings.

The drawings of the manga are cute and I really liked them. I haven’t read a lot of manga’s and I still feel disappointed when I see that everything is black and white. Because I feel that if the drawings were in colour it would even feel more magical while reading it. But I know it’s a manga… So this is just me whining… sorry.

Everything combined for me was just the perfect magical read in between more heavier books. It’s a very quick and easy read, so if you are looking for something fun in between other books. I highly recommend this one.

I loved it and I am rooting for more stories about Volks and O’Feuille.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a fun, hilarious, queer story full of cats and characters who easily made me smile as I was reading.

This is about King Castio after he goes out to investigate people going missing in his city and something peculiar happens to him. We also follow his twin, Prince Volks, his loyal retainer Nios and the wizard O’Feuille.

The relationship between Volks and O’Feuilles was so funny but so heartwarming too. It’s obvious that they really care for each other in their own ways. Volks is way more outgoing and O’Feuille was shy and introverted, despite the fact that they needed the wizard’s magic to help them every time. Their relationship dynamic reminded me a lot of The Witcher and his Bard friend.

King Castio and Nios!!! The angst, the tension, the feelings they are too shy to admit out loud. I’m so sad we’re not getting more volumes because I’d love to see their relationship progress further! We got to see a bit of them growing up together, which was nice to see.

I loved that the issue and curse in this was that everyone got turned into cats. I love cats so this was just completely up my alley! This manga was a fun ride, even with some of its more awkwardly funny moments. The balls jokes... Funny but a bit cringe too.

Nonetheless, this was a blast and I’m happy to have another queer manga to recommend!!

4/5 ⭐️

Was this review helpful?

The premise of the book is pretty interesting. Had vibes of <i>Ancient Magus' Bride</i>, but more fluff and cats. Hate to say I wasn't a fan. The first two chapters really introduced an interesting story, but there was so much left unexplained that would have made this a really solid read: the world/country, what exactly the relationship was between some of the main characters (I don't mean romantic, more of what exactly their past history was), and the magic itself. Everything's thrown together very haphazardly and leaves you hanging for a while trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

Also wasn't a fan that literally the only two female characters in the story were villains, and one of them drawn in nearly every frame super sexually. Honestly made me pretty uncomfortable.

Also the amount of crude humor that was, A, poorly delivered, and, B, generic and dull, also made this a bit of a slog. I can take a joke every so often, but do we really need one on nearly every other page?

Character ages were a bit ambiguous, so there's also potentially some weird stuff going on with a potentially underage guy with a 60+ year old guy. If the younger dude is an adult, then it's fine, but it never really stated how old he was, and I just cannot ship a relationship when there is such an age difference, AND one of the characters is underage. Sorry, but that's not OK to me.

So yeah, if you want fluffy fantasy with a ton of cats, crude humor, and some dubious relationship stuff, then go right ahead. Really sad this one wasn't more well-written because it had a ton of potential.

Was this review helpful?

Rating: 3.5 stars

This manga is so weird and goofy, haha. It's got a strong epic fantasy element, but definitely doesn't take itself too seriously. The art is fun and cute. The comic is divided up into two storylines, the title story and another before it that seems to be completely unrelated aside from having the same pair of main characters.

I feel like this is in a weird place of having too much BL (boy love, or M/M romance) for the folks who don't like that kind of thing, but not enough of it for those that do. There's a bit of a romance subplot trying to happen between O'Feuille and Volks, and also between Castio and Nios, but there's not really any actual plot/storyline dedicated to developing those the romance/relationships - it's more little scraps of fan-service. It seems like by maybe trying to appeal to a broader audience they may have missed the mark with both, but that's just my take. The chemistry between both pairings is really great, and I'd have loved to see more space dedicated to fleshing that out more.

Was this review helpful?

This was such a cute manga mainly because of how FREAKING CUTE Volks is! He is such a precious little human whose light and joy must be protected for eternity. His affection for O’Feuille was such a joy to read and it was just so heartwarming and cute! Also Nio and Castio’s hidden love for each other was so precious and I really hope they end up getting together. All the cats in this story especially the ones near the end were so adorable and their personalities were so entertaining. There’s some sexual jokes and mild inappropriate bits but I think they worked well with the storyline and characters. I liked the main story and side stories but I got a bit confused with how the magic system worked and how charms and occult magic worked. Either way I got the gist of it well enough to understand the story. I really want more of the story though because I need more Volks!

Was this review helpful?