Dolce, and His Master
Dolce and His Master (ドルチ ～ダイ・ハード・ザ・キャット～, Doruchi ~Dai Hādo Za Kyatto~, lit. "Dolce: Die Hard The Cat") is a short story included in the Under Execution Under Jailbreak tankōbon. The story was originally published in Allman magazine in 1996.
Summary
After five days of isolation on a yacht, a man and his cat are starving, trapped in the vast ocean and surrounded by sharks. Dolce, the cat, and Ayashi Masago, an First class architect and the body of a drowned woman. Masago repeatedly tries to use his radio without an answer. When cat and master meet each other, joy came first, but then Dolce found a candy and they started fighting. Playing dice, Dolce wins the candy but Masago refuses to admit defeat and tries to steal the prize. Dolce finally eats the candy and escapes from his altered master, who, after finding out the woman's body was eaten by sharks, wants to eat the cat instead. Masago eventually manages to catch the cat, but then hears him talking and Dolce forces himself inside Masago's mouth and into his throat, claiming that, if Masago wants to eat him, that's what he will get. Masago believes its just his mind playing tricks on him, but dies soon after. Moments later a rescue helicopter passes by and sees Dolce riding above birds, but thinks its just a illusion.
Comment
"When your page numbers are limited,the story is directed so that the characters and settings are also limited.This is a work that began from that sort of thinking.My editor at that time went as far to say :
I love cats so much. Their the hope of my heart in my daily life .
and my reply was :
But I bet you would eat them if you got lost on the Andes mountain.
My little teasing gave birth to this work."
Hirohiko Araki
Trivia
- The name of the manga is referencing Salvatore Adamo's hit, Dolce Paola. The second half of the title may be referencing the song's record label, His Master's Voice.
- Masago's death via forced-consumption of his cat is potentially a reference to the 1990 film Tales from the Darkside: The Movie
