Nameneko Matakichi's Strongest Legend: Don't Mess With Me! Vol 1 - Chapter 1
A new student named Matakichi arrives at Tunakan Academy. Afterward, he befriends Chikuwa Idonaka and gets into a fight with Leo Shiroba and his posse.
I said that the translation for this manga would take a while, and it did. What was supposed to be a month-and-a-half's worth of progress turned into 4 months of struggling to read due to both time and personal issues. But now that things have slightly improved for me, I can translate Namenayo! at a more frequent rate.
This chapter of the manga acts as an introduction to the characters and their world.
The school, Tunakan Academy, helps tell us that this is supposed to be a school manga. And from the name and the characters themselves, we can also tell this is set in a world full of cats. So you can expect a lot of cat-based puns.
The main characters make up a perfect triangle of chemistry. Matakichi is the hero who becomes fast friends with Chikuwa, who idolizes him and wants to be just as brave. Leo grows to hate Matakichi and wants to beat him severely, while using Chikuwa as a bribe to coax him into fighting him. Despite this, Chikawa still manages to slip away and allow for Matakichi to defeat his now distracted opponents. This works to the manga's favor, as it leans into its themes of friendship and camaraderie.
The characters themselves are also pretty solid.
Matakichi is a cool protagonist. He has a serious disposition and is a tough fighter who takes on any opponent. But at the same time, he can be a little airheaded and very carefree. The most important part of Matakichi's character is that he's extremely loyal.
He cares for his motorcycle, Cheetah, but he cares more for his new friend, Chikuwa. He almost trashed Cheetah just so he could save Chikuwa, and says that a friend is worth more than a bike. Despite him being a delinquent, we rarely see Matakichi do anything bad. He's just a cool guy who stands up for his friends and rides as if he were the wind. This is metaphorically and literally shown in the first page of the chapter and the manga as a whole.
One last thing to note about Matakichi is that he says he doesn't have a family. I wonder what that could imply about Matakichi's background... I guess we'll have to keep reading to find out.
In terms of character, Chikuwa could be seen as a mirror of Matakichi. He is loyal to certain people, like his siblings, but he is incredibly timid and lacks the self-confidence to stand up to bullies like Leo. This also plays into his loyalty, as Leo's tactics make it so that Chikuwa will have to choose whether to betray Matakichi so he won't get relentlessly bullied by Leo or refuse to help Leo and face a lifetime of trouble. Combined with the manga's themes of friendship and camaraderie, this allows for Chikuwa's character arc to flow perfectly as he gains a friend in Matakichi, questions who means more to him, and rejects Leo so he can be with his real friend.
Chikuwa also proves to be a bit more smarter and logical than Matakichi. Aside from being a good student, he doesn't act as wildly as Matakichi or Leo and knows not to upset the wrong people. In a way, he acts as a middleman to Matakichi and the other characters. A normal guy in a world of madness that is Casio City.
Compared to Matakichi, Leo is a true delinquent. He starts fights with other students, disobeys his teacher, and gangs up on innocent people that he knows can't fight back. His aloof nature is only a front; he couldn't care less about someone unless they were useful for getting him something he desires. This makes him a perfect antagonist and gives both Matakichi and Chikuwa something that tests their morals and beliefs. This is especially true since Leo despises the bond between the two and wants to break it through any means necessary.
Out of everyone, Matakichi is the one Leo hates the most. He hates his attitude and how friendly he can be. He'll act as Matakichi's main rival for the rest of the manga and will compete against him until he finally comes out victorious.
All in all, this was a pretty good start to the manga. It perfectly introduces three of our main characters, contains a lot of action to keep the reader hooked, and has a very strong message about loyalty and standing up for those you care about. This chapter does everything a beginning chapter should do and helps set the manga's tone and theme. I just hope the quality continues with the following chapters.
