Milkyway Hitchhiking, Vol. 1 (Milkyway Hitchhiking, #1) (2025)

"I wonder why humans tell me I'm theirs instead of telling me they're happy being with me...?" Beautifully illustrated short stories about the relationships between cats and humans. What's not to love?!

This is such a beautiful, beautiful book. The art is stunning, and the story is filled with slice-of-life vignettes. Even though the stories aren’t all the same quality-wise, the art alone is worth checking this manwha series out.

4.5/5 Stars

Oh my gosh, this was so wonderful! Such a sweet, compelling collection of stories. Milkyway is a funny and endearing character. I can't wait to read volume 2!

All the stars for the art and only the art! This collection of short stories mostly revolves around cats with a superiority complex that I assume is supposed to come off more amusing, but really just annoyed the hell out of me in the end.

An adorable and heartwarming manhwa with gorgeous art and a (charming) smartass lead, Milkway Hithhiking takes several journeys together and puts them all in one compelling package. From cities to fantasy kingdoms, Milkyway sees it all, and she has fun doing it. This is perfect for readers who need a palate cleanser or something cute for a gloomy day. There are a few moments Sirial wrote I wasn't expecting.

3.5 stars✨

the stories sometimes leave something to be desired, but I still very much enjoyed them and the beautiful art

What seemed a light hearted graphic novel about a time traveling cat ended up a deeply moving work for me. Visually, it's stunning, and the stories range from sweet to bittersweet.

Especially the third story. That one has to be my favorite, and it moved me to tears.

As a life long cat owner, I HIGHLY recommend this for my fellow feline fans, as well as those graphic novel readers who enjoy episodic story telling.

The only downside of this graphic novel is that transitions to flashbacks were not well defined, but it didn't take me more than a panel to catch up and understand.

It's very refreshing to find a graphic novel like this - I'm surprised it's not more popular!

The art is what initially attracted me to this book, and I was not disappointed. The art is beautifully drawn, I adore the way the cat's look. The colors are bright and soft, it's just beautiful. The stories are short and cute, but lack substance. It was certainly a fun quick read, but I probably won't pick it up again.

So, so gorgeous. Full colour throughout.

Most chapters are stand alone tales, bound by the mystical journey of Milky Way. Always beautiful, sometimes cute and sometimes heartbreaking.

A must for a cat lover or anyone looking for some really different and special.

3/5*
Milkyway Hitchhiking Vol. 1 by Sirial
A peculiar cat, that has the milkyway design on it's back, travels across the world and through different universes, observing the lives of others around it. As it travels we see many different types of emotions from love to fear to laughter, and to tears.

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I happened upon this graphic novel when visiting this Japanese book store in New York. That being said,this book was in their English section of the store (if only I knew how to read/speak Japanese!). The cover is what instantly attracted me. It's beautiful I believe it was created by the author and I believe it's all or mostly in water color. The cover is gorgeous! Also, it's all about a cat travelling, so put beautiful art and cats together, I'm going to buy that book.

Unfortunately, I didn't buy the book until after coming back from New York because 1. It is a bit heavy, 2. It was a bit spendy ($30) and 3. I just had no room in my backpack to bring it back home. So instead, I ended up purchasing the book on Amazon for .... $7.00!!!

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Without further ado, here is my review on this book.

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Content: This graphic novel is several stories combined into one book. It's definitely cute in appearance when glancing at the pictures, however, the stories really lack substance. Surprisingly, I did end up reading this book all the way through because it's quick, but I was very much confused throughout. The main reason for the confusion was because the transitions between the slides if you will is very choppy. They are not smooth in any way and therefore comes a lot of confusion as to what is going on. It's one of those you have to read it for yourself to see what I mean.

However, once I finished reading each episode, if I think about it long and hard, I still get the overall message that I think is trying to be conveyed. To me, I think there are some common themes that a typical cat can go through in life. For example, some of the themes that I think pertained to this book were: wanting to be human, wanting to be loved by their master, the abuse that pets go through, how strangers take them in, how pets help humans feel less lonely or more confident, etc..

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Artwork: The artwork is just beautiful! Truly gorgeous! I remember opening up one of the pages as I was reading and it literally took my breath away! If you're looking for just a book to be eye candy, then this one is definitely it!

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Overall, for me I still think this wasworth the read. It's beautiful throughout aesthetically, it's about cats (which if you're a cat lover like I am ;)), and it does have some good themes though very much flawed. It's light and airy even though it does approach some harsh life moments. Would I buy this for $30 or $15? Definetly not, but would for the price that I did find this gem. I actually want to read the 2nd vol. but I'm waiting to see if I can find a cheaper price for that one as well. So if you love art and cats, I would still say this is an interesting one and why I decided to rank it so high. If I were just looking at story only, it definitely would be more of a 2*, but with everything and with this type of book, I ranked it a bit higher on the scale.

3.5 stars.
The art in this is absolutely stunning, and what drew me to it in the first place, almost every image utterly gorgeous and the titular Milkyway the cutest kitty though appears to be able to grant wishes in the first story and then it never shows up or gets mentioned again which was odd. The stories themselves are a slightly mixed bag, some really good and compelling, but others less so. The multipart story of the knight and the creature with white fur was my favourite, though really pretty dark. Also very much enjoyed the robot kitty and cello stories. The appearance of the Little Prince was super random and weird but also pretty funny. Overall a beautiful, odd little graphic novel that's worth a read.

Content warnings for animal abuse and animal death, also blood.

I picked this up on a whim from the library, without ever having heard of it anywhere else. The artwork is generally beautiful, and I love the use of colour and graphics. The artist is clearly very talented.

However, I mostly did not enjoy the actual plots. This book contains a series of 11 independent episodes, and there were a couple of them that I enjoyed, but in many of them I found it difficult to follow what was going on. Also, the character of Milkyway (the cat who is the main character in all these little episodes), was often rude or melodramatic - a more unlikeable character than I had expected. (Not sure if this was intended.)

There's a second volume of this but I don't think I will bother continuing with it, unless it's to flip through the pages to look at the artwork.

There's no denying that Sirial's feline frolic filled manga is beautiful. The illustration has a gentle, yet ethereal quality to it that makes each page a delight to look at. Sadly, that's about the sum total of the charms of this manga. It's very much a case of style over substance, the stories are a blend of too light, too confusing or just too unfulfilling. It shows great promise, but I think the weak writing lets it down, sadly.

I was so disappointed in this book. Perhaps I had too high of hopes. The art is beautiful (really truly beautiful), but despite that, I basically hate-read the entire thing. I kept waiting for it to get better, for a story to have a point, but it just never came. I mostly found the stories to be confusing, pointless, and honestly... just plain dumb. Some cute moments here and there, but I actively hated reading it and I'm so sad about that. I truly expected to adore this one...

Beautiful art and a variety of stories both happy and sad, some even downright dark. Milkyway has quite the personality and way with words, and her glimpses of people's lives and the ways of other cats are sweet and wistful.

Well, the art is very pretty and the stories are kind of cute, but without any substance. The first story involves a transformation that is then totally ignored in the second story. I was very confused.

My favorite stories were about Sarah and his Master and the King and his Knight.

Love the artwork! The tales are so cute.

I've wanted to read this for years because it looked gorgeous and it IS absolutely gorgeous but stories themselves are cute. Fine. Nothing amazing.

i liked some stories on there but some were not that interesting.

I bought this for pretty art. It has pretty art. 10/10

Art is cute, the storyline is a bit young and selfish.

I would have liked the stories to be a bit more connected but it was still interesting to read. The watercolor style art is absolutely stunning.

In Summary

Milkyway Hitchhiking is a collection of eleven stories that don’t have a terrible lot in common. However, all of the tales have a very high cute cat factor and plenty of observations about humans from the feline perspective. The book’s full-color illustrations have a whimsical charm, and if you’re a cat lover, you may want to pick it up solely for the pictures.

The Review

From the title, you might guess this manhwa is a sci-fi along the lines of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It is definitely not. Milkyway refers not to the stars, but a cat whose fur looks like the nighttime sky. As for hitchhiking, that’s what she calls her ability to move from one place and era to the next. Her adventures, however, are not told in a continuous, chronological arc. Rather, the manhwa contains several short standalone stories. Their settings range from a European boarding school to an ancient Korean village to a near future city. Some tales are tragic, some romantic, and some humorous. The only common thread is that Milkyway features in each story; even so, her part varies widely. She plays the lead in the comical “I Am the King of the World,” but is more narrator than actor in the Grimm fairytale-esque “The Knight of the Fallen Leaves” while she plays more of a supporting role in “The Black Cat’s Wish.”

Milkyway doesn’t offer many particulars about herself. She wields magic and can “hitchhike” from one place/era to the next, but if there’s any particular impetus or mission behind her travels, she doesn’t divulge it. For the most part, she epitomizes the proud independence often associated with cats as she interacts with humankind. The personalities she encounters are varied and so is her treatment of them, ranging from super snobby to compassionate to perplexed.

Unlike many manhwa, this one is printed entirely in color. Palettes vary to match the tone of the stories, but all the illustrations, whether of cats, humans, or backgrounds, are gorgeous. Even when Sirial reverts to a super deformed style for the funny bits, the drawings maintain a high level of charm.

By the way, Milkyway Hitchhiking contains an eight-page segment titled “Milkyway Convenience Store” about the patrons of a convenience store. It’s placed in the center of the book but really feels like a bonus mini-manhwa. Other extras include four illustrations at the end of the book and footnotes explaining cultural terms.

For more manga and book reviews, drop by my blog Keeping It In Canon!

Over the last year or so I've been browsing the manga and graphic novel section of the book stores to find something my daughter would love. She loves reading Pokemon manga, and I wanted to find her some different books to add a bit of variety. I found this beautiful book, but it is rated for teens and up, so I couldn't get it for her. I was first attracted to the colors of the spine, that inch or so was so beautiful and stood out, and I loved the aesthetic of the cover.
I don't know why I never opened the book and perused the pages, but every time I was searching for a new book for my daughter, I'd pull out Milkyway Hitchhiking & stare at the cover.
I also don't know why I took so long to buy this book! I would look at it every time I went to the bookstore (which for my family was once a week/every other week-one of us is always in need of a new book!) but I never bought it. I finally caved a few weeks ago and it's been sitting in my to be read pile ever since.
I finally picked it up yesterday, and WOW!! The artwork alone made me want to weep. It's just such a beautiful book. More than that, along with the stunning illustration, the story is beautiful. It's sad, it's happy, it's deep, meaningful, dark, light, whimsical, loving....it's so much.
I love that the chapters are "episodes" of Milkyway's adventures. It flowed so well, and you really got the sense that Milkyway is an ancient creature who has seen so much.
I loved this book. I've read it 3 times I the last 2 days. I wish life was as beautiful as this book. I tried really hard last night to have my dreams be landscaped like this book.
I'm so glad there's a second volume, I can't wait to get to the bookstore and purchase it.

I was really intrigued by the synopsis, especially the opening lines: "There are as many people on Earth as there are stars in the sky. Milkyway--a peculiar cat with a pattern of the Milky Way splashed across her back..." I mean, come on-- how does that NOT lure you in???

...Or maybe that's just the cat-lover in me speaking.

The art and storytelling is gorgeous, and I love how each story and art style is different. Not to mention that this is a published in full color which just adds to the storytelling, and just make the pages come alive.

Overall, I am giving this a four stars out of five because I found some of the stories a bit confusing. However, I don't know if the stories themselves, something that was lost in translations, or just me.

One thing to look out for is the some of the stories can get pretty dark, especially in Vol.2, which is just something for people to keep in mind. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend 'Milkyway Hitchhiking,' I think it's an amazing read. Very compelling stories and art, and a great concept.

I used to read manga with fever in middle and highschool. Once I got into college, I began to focus more on novels, and American media. Recently, I missed the whimsical nature of manga, but didn't want to get bogged down in heavy, long plots. I just wanted something cute, and I think Milkyway Hitchhiking is perfect for that. The chapters are self contained and short, the stories are sweet, endearing, and the full color makes every page beautiful.

Plus, cats.

Firstly, the art is fantastic. If you're an art person who loves cats, then this is for you. Each panel is colorfully and painstakingly illustrated, so each page offers engagement to the reader.

It's a collection of random stories on the cat's adventures and they're all pretty different and vary by genre. So the storylines are everywhere and not very focused. But that kinda like a cat, ya know?

100% recommend

Ahh this book was everything! So charming, beautifully illustrated and the short stories were so heartwarming! I shall read the next one, when I can afford to buy the next one...