In Akane Torikai’s Wandering Cat’s Cage, it is the near future. Only a few women are still able to menstruate, and even fewer men will be born to them. Reproduction is limited to medical intervention controlled from on high, and the structures and lives of the past hold no weight: they are only hinted at through the remaining scraps of a world that no longer exists. Life can be good, though, if you fall in line, and the women of The City live bright, happy, tightly controlled lives. But complete obedience isn’t for everyone. For the women across the river, who live in a rundown shantytown, viewing the opulence of the city from afar each night, life is different. It is humble, and often dangerous, but it is free. It is here that Sanada, a young acupuncturist, lives with the mysterious Reiho, the only male she’s ever met, and who sells himself to the rich women who sneak across the river for something they’ve never experienced …The two form a small “family,” taking in other young women ousted from the city. But a real, living, breathing male might be too precious to leave to the shabby streets. When Reiho is kidnapped at gunpoint and taken to the breeding program in the city, Sanada must join with the other outcasts to try and rescue him, and learn the difficult truths of love, self-actualization, society, community, safety, and the future itself. Master manga-ka Akane Torikai (Sensei’s Pious Lie) has produced a stunning work of relational SF through a gender-bent looking glass. Torikai pulls no punches examining the deeply messy subjects of our day — sexuality, gender dynamics, romantic love, familial trauma, freedom, and control, through immaculately realized settings and character-rich, emotive body language. Produced in partnership with MSX: Mangasplaining Extra.
