Member Reviews

I would like to thank Netgallery and the publisher for sending me an Arc of this books in exchange for an honest review. This is a manga with lots of little stories within it. All the stories are pretty cute and are about his pet penguin, however I did find the owner character very annoying. I did like the other characters in this book.

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I would like to request an application for our own Pen. Please!!

Pen-Taro is the most adorable manga penguin, and his kindness, helpfulness and culinary skills make him even more lovable.

Pen cooks steak dinner… his owner goes to bed. Pen cleans their home… the owner comes in and makes a mess. Pen takes baking lessons and makes a professional level cake…. His owner eats the decorations. Well, you get the story going on here. While Pen's owner doesn’t seem to appreciate all the Pen does, Pen still shows unconditional love for his owner.

I read this manga/graphic novel with my 8-year-old, he read this book instead of watching television (mic drop here!!). We are both excited for Volume 2.

WISH LIST for Volume 2: 1) We want to see the next adventure of Pen in color!! 2) Pen’s owner shows Pen some love and gratitude in return, 3) an application for a Pen of our own 😊

Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Kodansha.

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This was simple, fun and cute collection of comic episodes.

The comic follows the daily life of Pen, a remarkable little penguin who lives with his owner, Hayakawa. Hayakawa is lazy, unappreciative, and messy, and seems completely oblivious to how brilliant his little roommate is.

Pen performs a variety of amazing feats in an effort to care for and please his owner, often without acknowledgement, but always with hilarious results! He does find adoration in Hayakawa's friends and the wider community though.

The art is simple and fitting for this Japanese humour. This is definitely one for foodies as well. However for me, I found Hayakawa more annoying than funny. I also didn't feel this was varied and interesting enough to sit and read all in one go at lunch time. I would be more inclined to read a little bit here and there going forward.

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NOTICE ME SENPAI

This manga is the absolute cutest thing I’ve ever read!

It’s essentially a slice of life about an adorable penguin named Pen who lives with his owner Hayakawa. He’s not an ordinary penguin by any means, he cooks,cleans,runs errands and is just an absolute angel. Too bad his owner is oblivious to pretty much everything he does or he just ends up ruining all Pens efforts!

If this were an anime I’d watch it on repeat all day,it’s just so cute! I love the characters in this and the humor is great. I wish Pen was mine so I could hug him and give him all the love in the world! 🐧 💕

I hope there’s more to this story because I will devour it all!

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I wanted to love this more than I actually did.
The concept is fun, and the short episodic storytelling style makes for a quick, easy read.
The art feels a bit messy to me, and the style less cute than expected from the cover and from others' feedback. That's perfectly fine and isn't meant as a criticism - merely an observation.
While the humor may work well for some, I ended up more irritated than amused. The idea of a character working so hard only to be casually dismissed by the one they're doing it for rubs me the wrong way. I want to adopt Pen and give him a home of love and appreciation for all his effort!
My favorite part of this volume is the comedy of Pen's expressionless little face.

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It was actually very cute and lighthearted! Just what I needed at the moment. Pen deserves way better than his owner but the way Pen reacted to everything was funny, and I liked Hayakawa's friends reaction over Pen lol

It's a collection of a few little stories and it's the best thing to do, as a full story would have been weird to me. The stories were cute and funny, and you really fly through this manga as it's a really fast read! It's a really good manga for kids but also teenagers and adults who likes lighthearted and short readings.

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This was a cute, sweet little story about a try hard penguin who does his best for his roommate. Cute penguin? Check! Clueless roommate? Check! Shenanigans to follow! It's a breezy read that's just pleasant and silly!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Kodansha, and Akiho Ieda for the opportunity to read this manga in exchange for an honest review.

A super cute set of vignettes about Pen, a penguin who cooks, cleans, and all around takes care of his human, Hayakawa. Though his owner doesn't seem to notice much or appreciate what Pen does, his friend Seto finds the penguin to be the cutes, smarted thing ever and tries to make sure Pen's efforts are known. Hayakawa's other friend, Ota, likes a friendly competition, especially when baking. He admires Pen's intelligence. Others do as well.

This is a cutely drawn and funny story, great for a quick light-hearted read.

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Usually I'm not a fan of Japanese humor in manga, but Penguin & House actually works! I'd say the reason is that this series doesn't try to be cute or too absurd. Pen is a penguin living together with Hayakawa, who's a human. Supposedly the penguin is a pet, but he also likes to cook, clean and whatnot. Mostly the penguin just takes care of the idiot human he lives with and who doesn't understand how great the penguin is. That's were the humor stems from. I love it when Pen feels like a failure, when he just lies on the bed. It's hilarious! Hayakawa is annoying like no other and a lazy bum basically, so you end up feeling so sorry for Pen (and it's funny too). This is slice of life manga, so everyday occurrences with Pen trying just too hard (the poor thing).

The art looks simple and crude even, but it works. This is that kind of humor manga. I don't know how long a series can this become, but Penguin & House feels refreshing even if it's not out of this world. This is seinen, so the thing actually entertains me at last. Finally a humor series even for me!

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All I could think while reading this was how much I love Pen and I want one! Pen was really adorable, I wish Pen had been drawn a bit cuter if I am honest. I love and am amazed at how funny the manga is purely through the art and story without words. I can't wait for Volume 2 and to see more adventures with Pen (and hopefully his owner appreciates him more!)

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*Special thanks to Kodansha and NetGallery for the eARC of this manga*

TW: None

This is marketed as a mix between "Way of the Househusband" and "A Man and His Cat" and I have to say that's an apt description! Though A bit less emotional than aMaHC, it still shares similar achingly adorable imagery, and similar zaney 'everyday antics turned ridiculous' like WotHH.

Honestly, it's just whole-hearted and fluffy and cute and sweet and all the things we need in the world right now. Pen-chan has cured my depression, cleared my skin, resolved my childhood traumas and holds a most precious place in my heart.

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This manga has penguin in the title so I had to read it. I mean it is a synonym for cuteness right.
Here we follow Pen the penguin and Hayakawa the human who live together. It is a bit random of course, but that’s what we like. It is made of short stories mostly centred around Pen and what he does for Hayakawa. The humour in this manga is about Pen trying his best for Hayakawa, but him never noticing it or ruining it. And I know that this can work well for some people, I am thinking kids, but it doesn’t work that much for me because I just feel bad for Pen. So overall, Pen is really cute and the ending makes me want to read more, but I don’t like the humour.
I recommend to people who like this type of humour
3/5

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🌺ARC Review🌺
Penguin & House vol 1 by Akiho Ieda

Date finished: 7/5/2022
Publish date: 15 March 2022

Series: Penguin & House #1

4⭐
📱

Thank you to Netgalley for approving this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Everything about this one just sounded like an adorable and feel good manga. And honestly, it was. Sweet, adorable and feel good. I love Pen so much. He's just a cute little penguin who wants to do everything in his power to make his owner happy.
Pen's owner however, got a tad annoying. He just seems so oblivious to Pen, and many times so damn ungrateful.

Definitely interested in continuing with this series.

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The story of Pen the Penguin and his keeper (or owner, I guess?) Hayakawa. Can my lazy ass get a Pen-chan or Pentaro too? What a cute and fun read during reading slump!
I will read the next volume!
Thank you Netgalley and Kondansha for the e-ARC!

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This manga followed a penguin named Pen, who is the pet/friend to a human named Hayakawa. Pen is a neat and responsible penguin, and Hayakawa is a messy student,

This was a cute manga - Pen has a lot of personality, and I love how much emotion from him is able to me conveyed without words. Pen takes care of Hayakawa so well and does a lot for him, but poor Pen keeps getting in situations where his hard work isn’t as appreciated as it should be! I really enjoyed that two of Hayakawa’s friends were pretty major characters, and seeing their thoughts about Pen.

This was a quick fun read, and is good for anyone who enjoys a simple slice of life manga. There’s no big overarching plot, but it was fun to read about the small day to day adventures.

rating: 4/5 stars

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I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Penguin and House by Akiho Ieda is a sweet slice of life manga following a nurturing ‘house penguin’ and his pampered owner. Its really fun, cozy read with cute illustrations. The only downside is you may end up feeling sorry for the put upon little penguin despite how much he seems to enjoy caring for his roommate!

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Thank you Netgalley and Kodansha for an e-arc of this book.

At first I was a little confused, but after finishing the first chapter I could not stop laughing. This has been the funnest read of the year for me. You could say some of these were predictable, but they were not boring at all.

I truly had so much fun reading this and I have recommended it to a couple of people all ready for a fun quick read. I love Pen-chan and I want my very own penguin that can cook for me, please.

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First, my gratitude to Kodansha Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reading copy of this series!

What an adorable and funny quick read! Pen-chan is the ultimate pet anyone would die to own; he does the cooking, he does the laundry, and he does the cleaning! It's very idealistic but it never fails to crack me up. I love how light the premise is. But it kind of breaks my heart that his owner Hayakawa is taking his loyalty for granted!! Hayakawa got to grow up, the dude sure is so absorbed with himself! You got to pet the pet, you know. I identify myself with the friend, Seto, though. I just adore the cutie fluffball penguin so much!! Overall, I enjoyed this series, and it wouldn't hurt to see another volume of this cute pet series!

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Omg I'm torn about this. The penguin is adorable and so cute. But the owner is horrible. Zero redeeming factors that its hard to read callous insensitive action over and over again. Like its horrible to the point its not funny like its trying to be. Let the friend take the penguin.

The art is fine and perfectly shows the emotions. Its the story I can't get behind.

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This is an adorable slice-of-life manga that’s more a collection of scenes than an over-arching story. It’s easy to fall in love with this hard-working, adorable penguin, though I often found his clumsy owner frustrating in his lack of awareness! Still, this is a super cute read that is suitable for middle grade and up - perfect if you’re looking for something sweet, light and funny.

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