Wizdoms no Kemono-tachi

tl;dr -- Nagabe-sensei has turned me into a furry against my will and I'm kind of liking it. Yikes!

Story - 10/10
The premise is interesting but not anything mind-blowingly original. Yet, when is anything ever truly "original"? What makes a story good or bad, beyond its contents, is the execution. Even when you see something coming, Nagabe makes the journey of reading his story delightful with his tasteful writing and excellent world building. The fantastical backdrop is set up in a way that feels natural and exciting to discover. The pacing for each one-shot is done wonderfully—my desire for more stems from my love of Nagabe's work, rather than his inability to wrap up a short story. And unlike many one-shot anthologies, the quality of each chapter is equally well-done (although personal taste will naturally dictate which chapters you find more interesting).

Art - 10/10
Nagabe toes the line between art that is beautiful yet minimalistic. His style is unique among mangaka and goes perfectly with his stories.

Character - 10/10
For a bunch of one-shots, the main characters in each one are surprisingly endearing, realistic, and well fleshed out. Of course there's room for more development, but I'm not judging a one-shot by the same standards I would hold a full-length manga to. There's no space to learn about each characters personal history, but what space does exist is used masterfully to portray each character as they are. And really, how wonderfully human they are!

Enjoyment - 10/10
I mean, what did you think I'd say?

Overall - 10/10
A very quick and heart-warming read that still carries through on its promise of creativity and fantasy. I'm very happy that it has an official english translation, as I look forward to buying it and supporting the mangaka. If I had a genie who could grant me three wishes, I would spend them all on making each one-shot in this collection a full-blown series. What I wouldn't do to experience this all over again!