Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week.
read more
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 4 years old before posting.
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 7 years old before posting.
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 6 years old before posting.
You are welcome to look at the talkback but please consider that this article is over 5 years old before posting. Last reply was 6 years, 2 months ago.
Gia's List: 9 Bizarre Anime Cats from Another Universe
by Gia Manry,
You don't need to read an article on Hello Kittymotor oil or hear about a café featuring cats to play with in Akihabara to know that Japan is completely bonkers for felines. But rather than rush out a mediocre list of the "best," "coolest," or "cutest" cats in anime, this list is all about tapping into that craziness to bring you nine of the weirdest cats in anime and manga, from cat girls and talking cats to cat plushies to plain old bizarre cats.
As far as bizarre goes, Blair isn't all that wild— she's basically a cat that turns into a busty, flirtatious woman. But she manages to rank on our chart for two reasons: one, in addition to being a cat she's also a witch. And a pretty powerful one, too, as it turns out. And the second reason? She could have been a one-off throwaway character, but Soul Eater's Atsushi Ohkubo actually developed her into a regular character of significance, with real character development and association with the rest of the series' colorful cast.
Cross a cat with a bat, marry the result to Hello Kitty, and Nyanpire is more or less what you'd get: an adorable merchandise-ready cat with fangs, wings, and...a cross for a belly button, oddly enough. If that's not quirky enough with you, Nyanpire also keeps company with an angel cat, a kitty version of Japanese warlord Date Masamune (named, of course, Date Masamunya) and exactly one normal cat, a Siamese with a pink bow twice the size of her head. (Two seemingly normal bats also appear.) The show doesn't start until July, which is why Nyanpire only ranks #8...for now.
7. Yoruichi (Bleach)
It's not that Yoruichi is a hot humanoid female with phenomenal physical and spiritual powers who also turns into a cat that helps run the Bleach equivalent of a magical item shop. It's that in cat form, Yoruichi's voice goes from a babe's to a creepy old man's in no time flat. It weirds out the characters in the show, who all thought Yoruichi was a dude until she revealed her boobtastic form, and admit it: it threw you for a loop when you first heard it, too.
An adorable little black cat that just wants to ruin your life. Nothing personal, of course; he's just helping his protégé Shia learn the ropes of being a demon. The problem, of course, being that Shia is more inclined to make a visitor tea and cookies than trip them on the stairs. Nya also has a hate-hate relationship with Sasha, an angel who appears to coach on the series' heroine Misha— though to be fair, Sasha is incredibly annoying.
For the vast majority of Haruhi, Shamisen is a perfectly normal cat, unless you count that he's hefty despite originating as a stray. Kyon acquired him at the behest of Haruhi, who wanted to include the cat in her amateur film as the familiar of Yuki, who plays a witch. Then Haruhi inadvertently grants Shamisen the ability to speak. The baritone cat turns out to be quite a philosopher. (Also of note: he's a male calico, which is exceedingly rare, and Haruhi names him after an instrument traditionally strung with cat hide, true to her kind and caring self.)
Yeah, it's obvious, but look: Doraemon is one wacko cat...robot...thing. Apparently in the future, cats don't have cat ears. And they have pouches like kangaroos. Doraemon can pull just about any wacky invention you can think of out of said pouch, but it pretty much never works the way it's supposed to. It's a great big circle of fail, really: Doraemon, a malfunctioning robot in the future, is taken in by the Nobita family, who are poor because their ancestor was an idiot. So the robot cat heads back into the past to when that ancestor, Nobita Nobi, was a child in an attempt to help him develop into a productive member of society. Every attempt fails ridiculously, of course. How is this show not depressing?
To be fair, there were a lot of weird cats in Azumanga Daioh. And in the series' continuity, this cat is actually just a weird pillow-plushie thing. But in the insane subconscious of both space cadet Osaka and cat-obsessed athlete Sakaki, said pillow is actually the father of their child genius friend, Chiyo-chan. He levitates, plays baseball, and turns red when he's angry. And he's played by Norio Wakamoto, the former policeman turned voice actor of Hellsing Ultimate's Alexander Anderson and Code Geass' Britannian emperor.
Is it a cat? Is it a bus? Do you need a license to drive it? Would you even get in one? Did it just eat those kids? What's creepy for some is charming for hundreds of thousands, and Hayao Miyazaki's Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro is a prime example. The Catbus is so popular that it got its own short film spinoff, Mei and the Kittenbus— which could also be called Son of Catbus, since it follows the original Catbus' offspring —which screens at the Ghibli Museum in Japan.
Trigun's Kuroneko-sama may not seem all that weird in the first couple of episodes of the series. Sure, he's got kind of a football-head thing going on, but that's just a style choice, right? But then you start to realize...this cat is everywhere. Does it have access to a teleporter? Is it stalking our show's hero, Vash? Could it actually be after Vash's $$60,000,000,000 bounty? Or is it something more philosophical, perhaps a statement on mankind as a lazy observer? Or...you know, maybe it's just a small black cat.
As an added bonus to our lists, each post will be accompanied by a survey to rank readers' thoughts on a specific topic. Starting with the next list, we'll also report the results of that survey. This week, we want to know who ANN readers' favorite crossdresser is. Click the link, pick an answer, and check back later to see how everyone else voted!
Nue’s Exorcist is the sort of book that’s more fun the less you think about it.― The history of the nue is long in Japanese yokai lore, dating back to at least the Heian period, when it was described in Heike Monogatari as a chimera-like creature composed of bits and pieces of snake, chicken, tiger, tanuki, and monkey. Different variations on the theme followed, but manga fans may best know it as th...
Fantasy series about woman falsely accused of plotting to assassinate a saint has English release on J-Novel Club― Drecom announced at its panel at Anime Expo on Saturday that storywriter Yūji Yūji and illustrator Nami Hidaka's The 100th Time's the Charm light novel series is getting an anime adaptation. The full title of the series is The 100th Timeʼs the Charm: She Was Executed 99 Times, So How Di...
Masahiro Andō directs anime at bones film― Studio Bones Film announced during Crunchyroll's Anime Expo panel on Saturday an anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's Daemons of the Shadow Realm (Yomi no Tsugai) manga. Crunchyroll will stream the anime. The company unveiled a trailer and visual: Masahiro Andō (Sword of the Stranger) is directing the anime at bones film. Noboru Takagi (Kingdom seasons 3-6,...
Crunchyroll to stream new season from Studio Pierrot― Crunchyroll announced during its Anime Expo panel on Saturday that the anime based on Yūki Tabata's Black Clover manga is getting a new season. The service will exclusively stream the anime. The company streamed a trailer and visual: Studio Pierrot will return to animate the new season. The panel shared a message from original creator Tabata:
"Th...
BLUELOCK season 1's Tetsuaki Watanabe directs anime at 100studio― Yomiuri TV announced at its panel at Anime Expo on Saturday that Dr. Poro and Nabana Naba's The Vermillion Mask (Shuiro no Kamen) manga is inspiring an anime adaptation. Yomiuri TV did not reveal the debut date or format for the anime. The company unveiled an English-subtitled trailer and visuals: Dr. Poro and Nabana Naba drew the bel...
If you love a lady that can kick your ass, Scarlet is sure to be your new favorite villainess this October.― The Platinum Ballroom in the JW Marriott hotel, located here at Anime Expo 2025 in Los Angeles, is fully dedicated to anime premieres throughout the entire convention. Crunchyroll hosts it, so the stage is adorned with its signature orange. It's a guaranteed way for attendees to get an exclus...
Life in this city is both the same and very different in KyoAni's adaptation of CITY. Read all of our reviews for the summer anime season including: Puniru is a Kawaii Slime Season 2, Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra, Hotel Inhumans, Cultural Exchange with a Game Centre Girl, Uglymug, Epifighter, Ruri Rocks, and more!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Summer 2025 Anime Preview Guide sponsored by Crunchyr...
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level Season 2 is perfectly “fine” at what it sets out to do.― I've been sitting here for ages racking my brain for the correct adjective with which to describe this series. “Mediocre” is too negative, as is “middling,” as both would suggest I didn't enjoy my time with it. I guess I'll stick with this one: it's “fine”. I've Been Killing Slimes ...
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners to feature new standalone story from world of Cyberpunk 2077― Studio Trigger revealed at a panel for the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime at Anime Expo on Friday that a Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 anime is in production. Ichigo Kanno from Studio Trigger drew the below poster. Kai Ikarashi (who was a storyboard artist, animation director, animator, and prop designer for the first seri...
It's the final ranking of the Spring season and, while the top spots remain stable, the middle ranks shift around as Aharen-san, Catch Me at the Ballpark and Dinner Table Detective are rewarded by the strength of their last episodes.― Let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season,
based on the polls you can find in our Daily Streaming Reviews
and on the Your Scor...
This American Manga Awards nominee is an unflinchingly honest and compassionate look into the lives of two neurodivergent teens just trying to get through life.― Recently, I've found myself searching for works that leave me with a sense of catharsis—stories that send me through emotionally wrought tunnels and leave me coming out of it like I'd just gotten something off my chest. Thanks to a strong r...
Studio Khara presents 20th anniversary anime short with more in the works― Yusuke Matsui (CG animator and CG animation director for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time) and Studio Khara producer Kohei Fujiwara introduced a 20th anniversary "Sugar Sugar Rune Les deux sorcières" anime short for Moyoco Anno's Sugar Sugar Rune manga at Japan Expo on Friday. Matsui also revealed that production on a ...
Announced at the end of season 2 on Friday― An early "ultra teaser promotional video" announced on Friday that production on a new sequel to the anime based on Natsu Hyūga and Touko Shino's The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) light novel series has been green-lit. The first season premiered in October 2023 with the first three episodes, and aired for two cours (quarters of a year). Crunc...
Between new projects from Arc System Works and another attempt at a live-action Street Fighter movie, there are a lot of old friends making new appearances this week.― Welcome back, folks! It's been... a week. Tragedy struck: some Path to Nowhere merch I had tried importing from China was unfortunately routed back to the Netherlands because my address was misspelled. And unfortunately, they destroye...
Ahead of The Summer Hikaru Died anime's premiere at Anime Expo today, dive into the series' creeping horror with manga creator Mokumokuren!― Manga creator Mokumokuren is having a good year. Their debut manga The Summer Hikaru Died was recently tapped for an anime adaptation, but not before making multiple entries on top manga lists, in the U.S. and Japan. Dripping with the sticky heat of summer, Th...
Romantic comedy fantasy series centers on man reincarnated as demon lord's underling, falls in love with priest― Futabasha announced on Friday that Suisei's Yūsha Party ni Kawaii Ko ga Itanode, Kokuhaku Shite Mita (There Was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party, So I Tried Confessing to Her) light novel series and Kairi's manga adaptation are getting a television anime series. Kairi's manga adaptation is...
Punichan's story of being reincarnated as otome game's villainess, only to be wooed by neighboring country's prince― Kadokawa's B's-Log Bunko imprint announced on Friday that an anime adaptation of Punichan's light novel series The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom (Akuyaku Reijō wa Ringoku no Ōtaishi ni Dekiai Sareru) has been green-lit. More information on the anime will b...
Find all the news and reviews from Anime Expo 2025, right here!― Where is Anime News Network at Anime Expo 2025? Thursday, July 3 News Macross Frontier Manga to Be Published by Udon in English Aksys Games to Release Novect's Project Code M, 6 Other Games Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Anime's Blu-ray Disc Set Ships on October 28 GATE Anime Gets Sequel Based on 'Season 2' Novels Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Re...
Studio M2 animates GATE 2: Tides of Conflict anime centered on JMSDF in fantasy world― Anime platform Oshi announced on Thursday that the television anime of Takumi Yanai's Gate: Jiei-tai Ka no Chi ni te, Kaku Tatakaeri (Gate: The Self-Defense Forces Fight Like This in Another Land) light novel series will have a sequel titled GATE 2: Tides of Conflict, which will be based on the novel series' "Seas...
Music video of Matsutōya's theme song "Karasu Ageha" also revealed― A panel at the Japan Expo 2025 event in Paris, France on Thursday announced that a new anime based on horror manga artist Junji Ito's various stories titled Junji Ito Crimson is in the works. Singer Yumi Matsutōya will perform the new anime's theme song "Karasu Ageha." A music video of the theme song was also released, featuring ill...
CITY revels in the casual charms of our lives, delights in our mundanity, and provides more than a few chuckles along the way.― The first volume of CITY is a delightful slice of life slapstick romp that asks very little of the reader while eliciting a lot of great feelings. CITY is a simple work at face value. Three young women – Midori, Ayumu, and Wako – all go to Mont Blanc University in a city na...