星守る犬

HOSHI MAMORU INU

Slice of Life

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
1
RELEASE
January 20, 2009
CHAPTERS
4

DESCRIPTION

A little girl picks up a puppy abandoned in a cardboard box and takes it home. As the years pass, the father of the family forms a strong bond with the dog as his wife and daughter drift away from him. Faced with a divorce, he puts a few cardboard boxes and the dog in his car and drives south to see the sea.

CAST

Happy
Otou-san

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO HOSHI MAMORU INU

MANGA Slice of LifeZoku Hoshi Mamoru Inu

REVIEWS

TheHammer
100/100
"Todos Mientras Vivamos Somos Perros Enamorados de Las Estrellas."
Hoshu Mamoru Ino es sobre un Perro de nombre Happy que es adoptado por una niña y termina bajo los cuidados de su padre. Y una segunda línea argumental donde un trabajador social investigará sobre aquel señor a quien Happy conocía como "Papá".

A simple vista, pareciera ser una historia sobre un perro, pero deteniéndose a reflexionar, uno cae en la cuenta que trata más bien de los sentires del Ser Humano. Son esos momentos en que nos encontramos hablando con nuestro amigo para decirle nuestras preocupaciones mientras la vida sigue sucediendo.

Abarca diferentes emociones como los Sueños, los Arrepentimientos, el Rencor, la Malicia, la Soledad, la Dejadez, entre otros. A través de los ojos del Perrito, veremos cómo es que las Vidas Humanas se relacionan por momentos, así como las circunstancias que hacen separarlos.

Hay momentos donde conocemos la Malicia del Ser Humano o su falta de Responsabilidad, en algunos casos, vemos que es justificado, pero en otras conocemos que es por su manera de ser. En algunas ocasiones, "Papá" llega a manifestar su arrepentimiento por todas las acciones que pudieron haber alejado a las personas que él quería, pero mediante la narrativa de Murakami, entendemos que a veces no sólo se trata de las acciones que realizamos sino del aprender a comprender y saber perdonar.
_Tomado este punto, se señala en algunas ocasiones que no sabemos qué es por lo que está pasando cada persona, entonces ninguno de nosotros está en posición de juzgar las acciones de los demás._
Yoshio es un buen padre y una buena persona, un hombre algo torpe pero serio y convencional, algo indolente dicho sea de paso al que le cuesta mucho adaptarse a la evolución de la familia y la sociedad y por ello ve como su vida cambia muy deprisa y los años pasan casi sin darse cuenta dentro de la rutina (aunque para Happy el paso de los años era más notable al envejecer siete años por cada año humano). Personas como Yoshio nos podemos encontrar en nuestro día a día, que viven cumpliendo con su deber y respetando las reglas de convivencia, a fin de cuentas. El animal llamado Happy, por su parte, es un perro fiel, que siente un afecto sincero por su dueño, sin cálculos ni pretensiones. No me atrevo a decir si es un Akiba Inu, un Shiba Inu o un Akita, pero sí a que fue recogido de una caja abandonada por Miku-chan, la hija de Yoshio, y es un perro cuya vida es feliz.
__Es un perro que valora cualquier cambio o situación, incluso le da alegría. Ahora será la única compañía que ayude a su dueño a ver la luz al final del túnel en un viaje hacia lo desconocido. Juntos emprenderán un viaje en el que cambiarán de ciudad y tendrán que adaptarse a las circunstancias que les rodean, pero sin perder un atisbo de humanidad, ya sea dándolo todo por un ser querido o ayudando a aquellos que lo necesitan sin pensar en nada más. Un viaje que les enseñará que la vida tiene dos caras, una amable y tierna y otra dolorosa y triste. Se dice que las personas se sinceran delante de sus perros y que imagen del perro que observa las estrellas como si quisiera alcanzarlas es una metáfora de quienes anhelan lo imposible…__
Uno de los aspectos más agradables durante la lectura es el hecho de que, aparte de los personajes humanos, los propios perros que aparecen se convierten en narradores, pues con su consciencia nos van contando lo que ellos van viviendo, los sentimientos que experimentan con sus dueños con cosas tan habituales como dar un paseo, viajar en coche, comer una rica comida o incluso pensar que los están dejando abandonados. Y es que ‘El Perro Guardian de las Estrellas’ es por encima de todo una obra de sentimientos, muy emotiva y cercana, donde se nos demuestra que la naturaleza humana puede jugar malas pasadas, donde la vida puede cambiar de un día para otro, pero donde unos seres entrañables pueden tener más concepto y valor de la amistad y la lealtad.

El guion por su parte ya habréis podido deducir que es triste, pero de una tristeza que se mezcla con la melancolía y la alegría que «sufren» sus personajes, tanto humanos como animales. Las historias se entrelazan a la perfección dentro de una estructura compleja que nos lleva a rememorar y a conocer que fue de otros personajes o la relación que guardan entre sí, como si de una historia coral se tratase. Dentro de todo, la crudeza puede tener su lado menos duro y aquí es donde entra en escena la relación que se establece entre los personajes y sus mascotas, perros en todos los casos, donde estos últimos cobran protagonismo con sus propios diálogos, pensamientos e inquietudes, demostrando que pueden llegar a ser más humanos que las propias personas, que pueden ayudarnos a superar cualquier situación que se nos presente. En definitiva, no puedo más que recomendaros este manga, uno de los mejores que he leído últimamente y que ocupa un lugar destacado dentro de mi biblioteca. Si os gustan los animales, queréis leer una obra adulta y disfrutar de unos personajes con mucha profundidad.

Cabe destacar que el dibujo de Takashi Murakami es muy bello con muchos detalles en sus viñetas. Tiene un bonito diseño de personajes, pues cada uno de ellos es único. A su vez, los escenarios que presenta son bellos y manifiestan algunos de los paisajes que son típicos de Japón.
Continue on AniList
Juliko25
70/100
A cute, sad manga about a man and his dog, but the sequel manga isn't worth it, IMHO.
(This review covers both the original manga and the sequel)

Stories about man's best friend have been around forever, and they always manage to resonate with mainstream audiences, especially pet owners. I mean, how can you not fall in love with stories about dogs? But there are just as many stories about people and man's best friend going through hardships, especially ones where the dog in question winds up dying in some capacity. Not many people like those stories for that reason, which is fine, but unlike most people who want to avoid stories like that, I deliberately seek them out. Because I'm a sap like that. Hell, one of my favorite series of all time is Dog of Flanders, which is pretty infamous for being extremely sad. This short manga, Hoshi Mamoru Inu, or Star Protector Dog, is one such story. The premise at first is pretty simple: A family adopts a dog that they name Happy, but soon the family falls apart, and Happy winds up bonding with the lonely patriarch of the family. When circumstances leave the man homeless, he takes Happy for a drive down south...but then the man winds up penniless and dies, with Happy following suit later on. The sequel manga follows up on this and tries to answer some lingering questions, along with showing other characters and their bonds with their canine friends as well.

As far as the art is concerned, it's pretty good. The backgrounds are all detailed, with a bit of rough sketchiness that makes it feel like a real lived-in world. I mean, just look at the covers for the manga. They pretty much speak for themselves. The characters don't necessarily get the same treatment, but I appreciate that Takashi Murakami still managed to make them look distinct and didn't try to go for the typical anime style. All the characters have their own designs that are a good mix of both cartoony and realistic, and yes, this includes the dogs. You won't find gigantic sparkly shoujo eyes here. The people here look like people you'd see on the street, and I commend Murakami for sticking to a more realistic, if rough and sketchy style.

The characters is where things start to get tricky. At first, we only learn about the man and his family. We never find out the patriarch's name, and the only person in said family that gets a name is the daughter, Miku, and she disappears not long after her introduction. The only character we follow is the old man, who does change across the course of the first volume. But he doesn't necessarily get fleshed out in any way, and the characters that appear in the second volume have only cursory connections to him at best, and not much else. The dogs get plenty of characterization through their thoughts, actions, and body language, but even they can't really carry the stories. The side characters get more focus in the sequel manga, but they're also not very interesting to follow, and even take away from what's supposed to be the main plot of that particular volume. Also, I find it utterly unbelievable that a pet shop would be totally okay with allowing a homeless boy to outright steal a dog right from under their noses. That would never happen in real life no matter how compassionate the pet store employees are.

But I think Star Protector Dog's biggest issue is that it doesn't try to answer a lot of its biggest lingering questions. The first volume is a pretty solid story on its own, albeit very sad and not for the faint of heart, but I think the sequel volume bogged it down by focusing on characters that really didn't add anything to the plot. I mean, I don't mind leaving some questions unanswered, especially since real life doesn't always give you neat and easy answers, but what's the point of establishing a mystery and advertising it as the plot to a sequel manga when you're not even going to do anything with it after a while? Eh, in the end, Star Protector Dog doesn't have much to offer other than feels and realistic but cartoony artwork. It's a shame because stuff like this is usually right up my alley. But hey, if other people get something out of it, then that's fine with me.
Continue on AniList
Benkei
75/100
Spoiler-free review of Stargazing Dog. The unchanging love of a dog.
════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Considerations ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ ● __This is a spoiler-free review.__ ● 70+ in my rating means average. ● I've got to know about this manga through the search section. I knew some people really like this work, so without reading the synopsis, I just started reading it. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Story ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ A little girl picks up a dog left in a cardboard box. As she brings the dog home, her father quickly grows fond of it, and the two develop a strong bond. We now spectate the lives of Dad and his dog through several difficulties. The story of Stargazing Dog is good. It is a very short story (4 chapters) that gives you the point of view of the unconditional love of a dog. If you're a dog person, this work will go right through your heart like Marley & Me. Although using pets in general to create drama is overused in the majority of media, I felt like this one still brought something more original to the table. It's more of a raw drama, with events that can be more linked to reality if compared to the usual "pet is hurt, I have to save him." ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Art Style ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The art style is simple yet good. As it is a dramatic manga, the way that the author conveys emotions with his art is good. Rather than using background fades and black panels to portrait dark thoughts. Things are more simple and innocent in the mind of a loving dog. Although there's nothing specifically remarkable when it comes to art, there's nothing that really diminishes either. Overall, character design, scene composition, and backgrounds are all well done. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ The Characters ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ There are a small number of characters in this work. Their dad, the dog, their family, and a few other supporting characters. They're not overdeveloped, and we just get to see enough development to make the story seem realistic. In such a short manga, there's not really a way to complain when it comes to that. As I always like to talk about the main characters, Dad was a good main character. He's full of flaws like any human, he's trying his best despite everything falling apart, and although he doesn't fit the "perfect main character" stereotype, he feels real. ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ Conclusion ════ ⋆★⋆ ════ If you're like me, you skip everything and read only the conclusion because you don't want to get spoiled with other themes. So I will try to be brief on this point: Read it. It is a nice dramatic experience for such a short work, which you can read in less than an hour. If you really like dogs, this work goes to another level, and as soon as you finish it, you're going to be looking for your dog to give him some love.
Continue on AniList