The Summer 2026 Anime Preview Guide

Chainsmoker Cat

Welcome to Yani's apartment. Please don't mind the smell. Yani is a catgirl with a seriously bad smoking habit. Every time she tries to quit, she becomes weak to the cravings and gives in almost instantly. Behind on her rent and unable to hold down a job, her friends and sister rally around to help her out. But when she's using her pee to put out cigarette fires, they may just have their work cut out for them.

Chainsmoker Cat is based on the manga series by Nyan Nyan Factory. The anime series is streaming on OceanVeil and Netflix on Thursdays.

Allow me to set the stage of Chainsmoker Cat by describing everything that you will be exposed to in just the cold-open of its premiere: Our titular protagonist, Yani Neko, dumps a can of old cigarette butts and tobacco juice onto her landlord's head, he sees her topless when he busts into her unit and tries to scold her, and then he then returns to his apartment to vigorously masturbate while still soaked in week-old smoker spittle. Desperate for another nicotine fix, Yani digs her last remaining cig out of a bag of soaking wet garbage, and when the putrid deathstick inevitably makes her sick to her stomach, she squats over her toilet and nearly craps herself to death. Don't worry, though, because the diarrhea exploding out of her backside is pixelated.

You know, in the name of good taste.

Chainsmoker Cat's premiere is the kind of paradoxical endurance test of utterly subterranean bad taste that makes the scores we give these previews more or less irrelevant. On the one hand, this is an intentionally disgusting, rancid anime that does everything it can to convey that Yani Neko is perhaps the filthiest creature ever to exist. It's as if the creators of the comic and anime adaptation watched the grimiest 35mm print of John Waters' Pink Flamingos they could find and thought, “Shit, we can top that!” Interestingly, this means that Chainsmoker Cat makes for an almost perfect anti-pairing for a double-feature with Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You. Where that show played on the cinematic allure of the cigarette and the social bonding that it has facilitated throughout history, Chainsmoker Cat is a supremely effective PSA for convincing people that smoking cigarettes is the most obscene and offensive act that one can be caught indulging in—barring, perhaps, necrophilia, or admitting that you enjoy the stylings of anime by Studio GoHands.

In other words, the four-star rating I awarded this premiere has absolutely nothing to do with how strongly I would recommend it to an average viewer. Most folks will clock out after the umpteenth close-up on Yani's rotted teeth and poisonous stank-breath, if they didn't already throw in the towel when she fished her lost cigarettes out of a mound of freshly steaming dog turds. The Pink Flamingos comparison wasn't by accident, y'all. Chainsmoker Cat is actively promoting its protagonist as real competition to Divine as the filthiest person (or cat-person) to ever walk the Earth.

So, why am I giving this episode a positive review, even though it made me regret taking a shower before I got my writeups done for the day, since I felt like I needed another one the moment this episode ended? Well, to be honest, I simply appreciate its chutzpah. The show understands that one foolproof secret to good anime comedy is to overanimate the bejesus out of whatever dumb bullshit you are depicting on screen, and Chainsmoker Cat really does benefit from Bibury Animation's commitment to making this filth look like prestige television. There's also something oddly compelling about these vignettes of a truly deranged nicotine junkie's day-to-day antics. I swear, if you took all of the exact same footage and replaced the soundtrack with Clint Mansell's score from Requiem for a Dream, the show would become truly horrifying. Does that make it good? Does this mean any of you reading this should go out and actually watch it? I have no clue. I'll definitely stick around to see this sad cat's life fall apart, though. Isn't that what art is all about?

I was very much appreciative of Chainsmoker Cat's commitment to being a deranged spectacle of filth and craven addiction in its first episode. It takes real sickos to dedicate so much obvious time, labor, and money to making the depressing misadventures of a smelly nicotine quasi-furry into a truly cinematic production, and I mean that as a compliment of the highest order. That said, the real question was always whether or not Chainsmoker Cat would hold up as a full season of television. Even I didn't know if I wanted to live in Chainsmoker Cat's world for twelve straight weeks, and I'm the guy who once chose Requiem for a Dream as the movie pick for his first-ever date with a real human girl. Was this really just going to be an onslaught of dozens of depressing (but still pretty funny) vignettes that repeatedly shove our faces in the freshly dumped pile of Yani's life choices, over and over? Or would Chainsmoker Cat actually have a proper story?

After two episodes, I honestly don't know the answer to that question, but what I do know is that the opening scene has Yani violently gobble up the backside of a giant, anthropomorphic cigarette that she hallucinates after being forced to sit through a claymation PSA filled with a bunch of ass-wiggling cig mascots. Then we get introduced to Yani's neighbor, Yaku, who teaches our girl how to toke up on that good shit that is definitely just regular old nicotine. You know, the kind of nicotine that gets your eyes all bloodshot and brings about a mighty powerful case of the munchies. So, I'm leaning towards the “Onslaught of depressing but funny sketches” option, but there's still plenty of time for the series to insert some sneaky themes and character development into the proceedings.

For folks who were put off by how incredibly disgusting the premiere of Chainsmoker Cat was, I can at least tell you that this episode isn't quite as off-putting, at least so far as bodily fluids and excretions go. We spend much more time fleshing out the supporting cast of crusty cat-girls that Yami spends her time with, and your appreciation of the show will surely depend on how much you vibe with this crew's whole dynamic. Yaku, for instance, could easily be the kind of character that rubs people the wrong way, what with her screeching and her flagrant addiction to much harder drugs than just weed. I think there's something genuinely interesting about her relationship with Yani, though, since she seemed to be a perfectly ordinary gal back in the day, before she encountered Yani's corrupting influence. Also, Misato Matsuoka gives a hell of a performance here, especially when she has to deliver Yaku's more paranoid, understated lines. Hame is the other character who, along with Yani's little sister, helps balance out the pathetic junkie vibes that Yani and Yaku give off. She's not a saint, of course, since she's a terminally online gamer-rage addict who also ends up shoving her piss-soaked pants into Yaku's face. She also ends up legally registering her legal name as “Easygoing Anal Angel” by accident. Hey, I said the episode was less off-putting, not that it had suddenly stopped being freak-trash. It's entertaining freak-trash, though, so this second episode still gets my seal of approval.

The girl failure is an interesting archetype because, on the one hand, I think a lot of us are drawn to characters that are a little bit messy and unkempt. It adds a sense of realism to how a character presents themselves because, in reality, people are very messy beings. Most people probably don't have their rooms super clean, often struggle with their jobs, and are just looking for a little momentary peace. The fact that this show is leaning into that archetype from a cat girl's perspective doesn't really change the fact that it seems to be one of its main selling points. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say the fact that Yani, the protagonist, is a cat girl is almost superfluous because she could've just been a normal young adult woman, and nothing about the show would've changed.

The problem with the girl-failure archetype, especially when you make it the definitive focus of a show, is that if you go too far in displaying the character's incompetence, or give them too prominent a vice, what started as endearing and relatable ends up becoming just straight-up unlikable. What exactly am I supposed to be attached to with this show? Is it adult humor? Some moments got a bit of a laugh out of me, but so much of this is way more juvenile than I was expecting, considering that the show literally starts with a shitting and masturbation joke. Am I supposed to find this relatable as a smoker? I understand that nicotine is incredibly addictive and there's a reason why it's not highlighted in a positive light in a lot of media much anymore, but the extent to which this woman has an addiction to cigarettes has far superseded comical and actually just enters really sad territory. The fact that Yani can barely take care of herself and is constantly causing problems for everybody because she can't go literally an hour without smoking is actually really sad. I'm not so much laughing as I am just praying that this poor woman gets an intervention before she completely ruins her life if she hasn't done so already.

Maybe the appeal of the show is that I am supposed to find this character endearing because Yani is going to recognize how shitty her life is after this first episode and make legitimate efforts to be better? I would like it if the show is willing to commit to that idea. However, the end of this first episode has me a little concerned because it almost teases that idea with the cancer-scare dream. But considering that sweet moment on the phone with her sister is undercut by her smoking again, I am wondering if that was more of a joke than a legitimate narrative direction. I think I need to watch another episode or two to get a firm understanding of what exactly the show is trying to be because if it is just a series of girl failure moments revolving around a nicotine addict, then I'm not sure I'm going to be able to really enjoy this despite the incredibly well-done character animation and directing. If anything, I worry that all the effort will feel wasted on this material.

Last week, I was confused about what the actual appeal of this series would be. Clearly, the show is leaning into the girl-failure aspect by making Yaniko a completely irredeemable lost cause, but it did such a good job of portraying just how bad her addiction was that I actually ended up feeling very bad for her instead of laughing at her. There were hints that the show was maybe using that first episode to set up Yaniko getting her life together. But no, this episode makes it clear that the chain-smoking cat is just going to double down on the girl failure aspect by introducing even more girl failures. It's a girl failure smorgasbord! Let's just introduce a straight-up drug addict and a two-faced live streamer with anger issues.

I genuinely have no idea what I am supposed to take away from this situation, because I didn't find this episode funny, nor did I end up sympathizing with any of the characters. The show doesn't portray many of these interactions or signs of addiction as tragic, so much as punchlines. This episode leaned more into the zany back-and-forth among everyone rather than the more realistic addiction portrayals. I wonder if that's because the show is walking a very fine line, particularly with the character Yaku-Neko, given Japan's very strict drug laws. I will say that Yaku-Neko was probably the funniest character in this episode, but much of that came down to the voice acting, especially when she was trying so hard to dodge people asking exactly what she was doing.

I feel so bad for this landlord because it looks like he's just got a carousel of crazy women living at his place. Dealing with all the yelling and property damage must not be easy, but these are also some of the most confrontational women I've seen this anime season, so I don't even know how I would handle the situation if I were in his position. The animation really goes all out in showcasing just how twisted everything is, from the kinetic character animations to the really bizarre moments of surrealism. I never thought I'd be watching a show this season about a bunch of cigarettes shaking their butts on screen or an episode that starts and ends with an anal joke, but here we are.

A lot of effort went into this really dumb idea, and a part of me wonders whether the show would work as well for people if it didn't have the insane production values. For me, though, despite the clear quality that has gone into almost every scene, this doesn't feel like something that was really made for me. The humor is a bit too gross, the characters aren't really likable, and it's kind of hard for me to get invested in the downward spiral that these women are going through. I can respect its commitment, but I think my personal time is better spent elsewhere.

Something tells me this show is going to be divisive. Chainsmoker Cat is nothing more than a series of vignettes strung together about Yani Neko, a catgirl with a serious smoking addiction and a disgusting apartment. She is the embodiment of “Damn girl, you live like this?” The opening sketch involves explosive diarrhea AND a man masturbating.

It is so not my thing.

Like, I can appreciate it. There is a real transgressiveness to what a disgusting mess Yani Neko is. There's nothing cute about her filthy, smelly room and how her addiction makes it difficult to go long enough without a cigarette to even keep a job. She wanders around in unwashed, ill-fitting clothes and, when given a choice between eating and buying a pack of cigarettes, she'll always go with the latter. It doesn't feel preachy, like anti-smoking propaganda, but rather inviting us into the life of a complete disaster of an individual whose life has spiraled out of control, and she can't be arsed to put in the effort to improve it. That, combined with the obsession with bodily functions, gives it an almost John Waters-esque feeling.

It's also gorgeously animated. When Yani Neko's landlord walked in on her changing, I was impressed by the realistic balance of sag and bounce to her boobs. The attention to detail around her smoking rituals borders on obsessive, as is the rendering of her nasty, ash-coated bathtub. Every gesture, every expression, every line of her body, every dog turd on the sidewalk, communicates a rare level of detail and care from director Taku Kimura and his team at Bibury Animation Studio.

I hated watching it. When I paused and found I was only halfway through the episode, I groaned out loud. The vignettes were a chore. The jokes hammered home over and over how wretched YaniNeko is, how bad her addiction is, and how much she harms herself through her single source of joy in life. I've never been a fan of gross-out humor; it didn't help that, as the child of a smoker myself, I could practically smell her apartment through my screen.

If it's your thing, this is a fantastic episode. My husband, sitting next to me, enjoyed it thoroughly. But if it's not, there's absolutely nothing here for you.

Does it say something about me that I found the episode's singular piss joke a lot less disgusting than any of last week's parade of various fluids, bodily and otherwise? I'm pretty desensitized to urine with the day job and all, though I imagine the catgirls' piss stinks of ammonia…

But enough thinking about pee! I don't enjoy that subject! Let's talk about some of the other things that happen in Chainsmoker Cat, like… uh… intravenous drug use… Well, okay then.

The fact is, there's no safe way to talk about a show as gleefully transgressive as Chainsmoker Cat, which I must reiterate is really good if you're into that kind of thing. While I don't necessarily need my entertainment to be safe, per se, the first episode leaned too heavily into disgust for my taste. The second episode may still carry some of that – see the aforementioned piss joke – but the introduction of Yani's two friends, Yaku and Hame, makes proceedings much more tolerable. They give Yani people to play off of other than her long-suffering little sister, with their own foibles: Yaku uses harder stuff (though leave it to Japanese media to equivocate marijuana and injected drugs) and Hame is a video game streamer who is prone to heated gamer moments. With more flawed characters in the mix, the effect comes closer to watching terrible people being terrible a la It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia than an obsession with inciting disgust in the audience.

On top of there being less stuff I didn't like, there was more that I actively enjoyed! I even laughed out loud at a couple jokes, whether or not they also made me wince. Poor, poor Hame has a nasty surprise waiting when she sees what her legal name was registered as. These rough chuckles go hand-in-hand with hints toward the systemic oppression beast people face and Imoko dealing with microaggressions from her human school friends. Plus, Misato Matsuoka gave a standout performance as Yaku Neko.

I still don't think Chainsmoker Cat is for me, but if you were on the edge of whether or not you were into it last week, this one's smoother, milder flavor may be more pleasing to your palette.

Smoke, smoke, smoke that cigarette
Puff, puff, puff and if you smoke yourself to death
Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate
That you hate to make him wait
But you just gotta have another cigarette

Here's how to decide whether you will like this anime: watch the first 2 minutes and 15 seconds of the first episode. In it, you'll see a can of cigarette butts and vile-ass tobacco water dumped all over a guy's bald head, watch that same ugly, middle-aged man frustratedly jack off, and despair as a catgirl has explosive diarrhea—all in graphic detail. Then, ask yourself: did I laugh at any of that? If you did, then this show is likely for you.

This is very much an anime for those who like raunchy humor. But more than that, I have a feeling that this is one of those comedies that will appeal to both sides of the smoking spectrum—i.e., smokers and non-smokers. Smokers will see Yani's obsession with getting her next nicotine fix as relatable. They may know people just like her—or even have been her at some point in their lives. At the same time, non-smokers will get a laugh at the craziness from the outside looking in—happy that they are not/never have been in any of these situations.

Of course, Yani is the extreme outlier of the smoker spectrum—every crazy smoker stereotype rolled into one. She can't hold down even a part-time job (and only tries so that she can afford her next pack of cigarettes), and the idea of going a whole day without smoking is beyond her ability to conceive, much less do. Heck, even general cleaning and self-care are an impossibility for this cat girl.

But the core of her character—the joke behind every joke this episode (smoker-related or not)—is the fact that she sees herself as the victim in everything. Everything is happening to her. None of it is her fault. She's a terribly selfish creature and can't see—refuses to see—that she is the problem. And even in the rare moments where reality slaps her in the face hard enough to get a reaction, any revelations are gone the moment the next cigarette hits her lips.

And that, my friends, is what we call comedy.

Now I'm a fella with a heart of gold
With the ways of a gentleman, I've been told
A kind of a guy that wouldn't even harm a flea
But if me and a certain character met
That guy that invented the cigarette
I'd murder that son of a gun in the first degree

With this episode, Chainsmoker Cat puts its cards out on the table for all to see. While the first episode went all in on the cigarette smoker humor, this episode widens the scope. This isn't just a story of one girl failure, it's the story of many—and each with their own particular addiction that's ruining their lives.

The first of these we are introduced to is Yaku. She went to school with Yani and still, somehow, looks up to her. Of course, the subtext makes it painfully clear why this is. Yaku still feels guilt—she knows she is ruining her life with her hard drug use. Try as she might, she can't escape her addiction despite her best efforts—her apartment may be barren but it's not a total shit hole like Yani's, after all. Deep down, she wishes she could just not care about life outside of her addiction like Yani—because that's the only escape from her guilt that she can see.

Meanwhile Hame, or Hameko Easygoing Anal Angel (if you want to use her full legal name), is addicted to something completely different: a fictional ideal. Bullied in high school (by Yaku, in fact), she has reinvented herself as the perfect cutesy streamer online. She's got the gamer setup going and knows how to talk the talk—however, none of that changes the person she really is. She's got anger issues and thinks that pretending to be a loved-by-everyone idol streamer will somehow make that fantasy true. But the fact of the matter is she's made no changes to her real world life. If she really wanted to do more than put a band-aid on the problem, she wouldn't be hanging out with losers like Yani and her high school bully on the daily.

If anything, this episode proves that this series won't be falling into a rut any time soon comedy-wise. There's so much humor to be mined from these characters and their failed attempts to interact with the rest of society. And, to be frank, I am embarrassed at how many times I laughed out loud during this episode—and it wasn't even at the more clever of the jokes. It was every time the cat girls—so human in their vices—acted like cats. (Hame eating the bug on stream had me rolling.)

All in all, I'm sure that Chainsmoker Cat won't be for everyone, but I have to say, it is for me.