Nyaight of the Living Cat anime claims to be a horror, but unless I’m missing something, this is a very offbeat comedy show, one that utilizes horror elements but is overall completely devoid of any tension.
Are CGI cats scary?
I haven’t read the Nyaight of the Living Cat manga, so I can’t tell what direction this story will go towards, but so far, the only scary thing in this anime is the CGI cats. However, to be fair, there wasn’t a lot of CGI being used, so I wasn’t completely turned off by its inclusion.
The art style and art direction are both very solid. Nothing to write home about, but good enough to keep your attention on the screen. At least for a while, since the first episode didn’t pack that much of a punch. Perhaps The Summer Hikaru Died and Takopi’s Original Sin already spoiled me. Those two have exhilarating first episodes that immediately set up the story, stakes, and character motivations. This, on the other hand, had a very slow start. And that’s something you don’t want in a show without an element that grips the viewer immediately.
We get a glimpse of the catpocalypse and how it affects people in a flashback. See, in this world, cats are like zombies. But instead of eating you, they lick you. Then you turn into a cat as well and do the very same thing. At the start, I legit expected the cats to start ripping people to shreds. The anime itself positions the scene and atmosphere in that direction, with freaking death metal music (I think) ripping and tearing during multiple scenes.
Why is this labeled as “horror”?
I get the implied suspense in this story. We follow a dude who lost his memory and got adopted by some people that run a cat caffee store. Cats don’t like him, but he knows EVERYTHING there is to know about cats. I think he’s a cat turned into a man. But that’s just a theory. A game theory.
So as I see it, the Nyaight of the Living Cat anime could have gone down a more psychological thriller/mystery route. Maybe it will, but so far, the tone has been on the funny side, at least to me. Like Kunagi, the dude with no memory, keeps berating himself for trying to survive the onslaught of cats. He finds a suit and a large watering device (used to water plants, I think) and uses it against the cats. Then we get a cool little info scene talking about why cats hate water. That was, in all honesty, very fun, informative, and unexpected. I hope it happens again.
But that’s it. That was the only interesting part of this first episode. Kunagi and the younger sister from the cat coffee shop (the older brother got catified in the backstory of when the catpocalypse happened) now have to survive in a world full of cats that lick you and turn you into a cat as well. The story isn’t scary, it isn’t particularly tense, and the mystery element isn’t very enticing.
Should you watch the Nyaight of the Living Cat anime?
For an unorthodox comedy, this one is solid. I still don’t know if it is a comedy, but that’s the vibe I get from it.
So if you like cats, like really, really like cats, this might be a fun watch. I didn’t get enough from the first episode, but I will check out at least 2 more just to see if it continues being funny or if it ends up being scary. But a world where all cats hound you to lick you, which turns you into a cat, sounds like a pretty cool world to me.
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Leave a comment if you watched Nyaight of the Living Cat, and do tell, do you consider this a comedy or a horror show?
