I love reading different Webtoons, so when a fan reached out to me about My New Friend is a Cat, I knew I had to read it. And I definitely was not disappointed!
Ken meets a boy named France when he shows up in his class one day. France is a loner who doesn’t talk to anyone, and the strangest thing about him is that he always wears a cat mask. Ken is known for making mixtapes for his classmates, and he just knows that a mixtape will help France to acclimate to his new environment. But how will he make a mixtape for someone who he knows nothing about and who barely talks? In order to make this mixtape, Ken must get to know France. Along the way, these two become friends, and the story begins.
Ken and France have one of the healthiest friendships I have seen in fiction recently. Both of them have their own secret struggles, but they manage to work through them by coming together. As they grapple with things difficult for anyone at any age, they use each other to start to rebuild themselves. Along the way they still have to deal with the struggles of growing up, and they help each other through that as well. I am excited to see how these two will grow and adapt as they get older in the comic. Right now they are both still in middle school, but the author says that the two will get older as the story goes on.
This story tackles many difficult issues, and most of those issues I can’t discuss as they will be spoilers. Just know that the author handles these issues within the story with such grace that it keeps me excited to read the next chapter. I never feel like the characters are in some sort of overexaggerated drama, but instead I feel like they are real kids working out their problems in a real yet peaceful way.
Another character I loved from this story was Gendy, Ken’s brother. He is the older brother who has taken care of Ken for years, and I can’t wait to learn more about what he has gone through in future episodes of the comic. He holds many of the secrets in this story, and not too many have been revealed yet. He always seems to know what Ken needs, even though he is only a very young adult himself.
I binged this entire webcomic in one night, and I know that anyone who reads it will enjoy it. It is so addictive, and it has been updated pretty consistently since 2017. I hope that you all give it a chance, as this story is a perfect feel-good read during quarantine.
I would recommend this webcomic to anyone looking for a story about friendship, change, and hope.
Read the color version of this webcomic here. (I personally love the color version!)
Read the black and white version of this webcomic here.
Overall Rating: 6 out of 6 paintbrushes.
