SoraRabbit Short Hop 020: Cute Cat Adventures Part 2
Are you ready for more cuteness? I’m finally back with Part 2 in this series! I know there was a huge delay between Part 1 and this and I really didn’t mean for there to be. I go into more detail in the main blog, but basically I had a few setbacks with making my content and wanted to get through some big projects before working through the backlog of smaller posts, like this one. I’m going to jump right into working on the third (and final?) installment of this series as soon as I hit publish on this one. You will find Part One here:
CHI! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
I’m approaching this series a little strangely. See, I wandered across it on Crunchyroll while on a search for a cute anime to fill the void made by the end of Bananya Season 2. I was hooked immediately but it soon became apparent that I was watching a sequel. The characters kept referring to things I hadn’t seen as though I should have. After looking it up I found out Episode 1 of Chi’s New Address was actually the 105th episode in the series. I was missing the entire first season and it wasn’t on any streaming service! I quickly found it on DVD and ordered it, but by that point I was well into writing the first post. I quit after 26 episodes and pivoted to Season 1, which is called Chi’s Sweet Home. So this post will be all about the entire 104 episode series of Chi’s Sweet Home. In Part 3 we’ll jump back to the second season to wrap it up.
Big eyes! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Chi’s Sweet Home is the anime adaptation of a manga by Konami Kanata. It was created by Studio Madhouse and broadcast in 2008, running for 104 episodes before pivoting to the second season. Each episode is around 3 minutes.
My cat flops on me like this. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
I won’t go though the basics of the show here, since that was covered last time. And since this is a Short Hop and there are 104 episodes, I’ll be abbreviating things quite a bit, omitting stuff, and basically just speeding through. Even though the episodes are short, there are a lot of them and they add up to around five hours altogether. But hey, all the stuff I leave out is just more for you to discover if you decide to watch it for yourself!
Chi is traumatized. Life is hard for a kitten. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
A brief recap: Chi is a kitten that was taken in by the Yamada family. They consist of Dad, Mom, and Yohei. Dad is a graphic designer who sometimes works from home. Mom is a homemaker, and sometimes Yohei has preschool. (He doesn’t seem to go every day, so maybe it’s just a sometimes thing.)
This show has an adorable opening theme song sung by Chi all about how she gets milk and pats after playtime before taking a nap. I love it so much.
Chi has a family! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
As the show begins, we meet Chi and actually see her cat family! (They were not referenced at all in the episodes I watched last time, so this was a big surprise to me.) Chi has a mom and two siblings. As they walk down the alley, Chi is distracted by a bird and loses the others.
Poor little baby. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
She wanders for a bit, eventually sinking to the ground in a park close to where little Yohei falls and hurts himself.
They meet Chi. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Seeing that Chi is so small and all alone, they take her in even though their building doesn’t allow pets. This begins a short story arc where the Yamadas try to rehome Chi. They have no luck even though one of the prospects nearly takes her. Unfortunately the woman goes to ask her husband and he’s already gotten a cat from his boss. So the Yamadas decide they will need to keep the cat. Which is fine, since they’ve already fallen in love with her.
So cute! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
What follow are a series of adventures that would be familiar to any family who takes in a cat unprepared. They have to litter train her, teach her not to shred the couch, give her a bath, learn how to trim her claws and brush her, take her to the vet, and so on.
Hehe. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
In the litter training story arc, we find out how Chi got her name. She was peeing everywhere and Mom was trying to teach her to use the litter box. (Which she thought was for playing in.) At the same time Yohei (who I think is around three) is still having some accidents. He would shorten the words for urine (shikko) to “shi”. He said it so often that the kitty started thinking it was her name and would look up when it was said. They decided to name their cat Chi because of this.
Mad Chi. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
On two occasions, Chi has to go to the vet. The first time is for a routine checkup where we learn that she is female and roughly 2 or 3 months old. The second trip is for shots. Both times she’s mad at Dad because he was the one who took her to the scary place with strange people and frightening animals.
WHEE! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Dad, sadly, gets the brunt of Chi’s anger since he’s the one who trims her nails and takes her to the vet. A running gag are Dad’s trips to the pet store where he meets an overly-enthusiastic clerk who gives him advice on what to buy. Dad is overwhelmed by all the choices and when he goes to buy toys he buys way too many. (None of which Chi is interested in.)
Adorable. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
A lot of the humor of the show comes in Chi’s wide-eyed bewilderment about ordinary things. She thinks the scratching pad and litter box are for napping. She’d rather play with a box or plastic bag than her toys. She thinks the brush is a torture device at first. Any new treat is the best thing in the world, every new discovery brings so much joy.
Yohei is the best at figuring out what Chi wants. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Although we can hear Chi’s thoughts, like I said last time, they’re more an approximation of her feelings than actual communication. The Yamadas and Chi often draw different conclusions from things. For example, early on Chi was trying to go back home and kept meowing as she walked around, looking for the exit. The Yamadas assumed that meant she was getting used to her new house.
Poor kitty. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Other adventures include Chi getting stuck outside in a storm and being afraid of lightning, clawing up Dad’s vintage jeans, and playing nursemaid to the family as they each suffer a cold in turn. (Really, she’s more of a pest than anything, not understanding why they won’t play with her.)
Trauma! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Near the end of the season, Chi meets Julie from Hokkaido. (This meeting was mentioned in Season 2.) Julie is Mom’s niece. Julie lives on a farm and doesn’t understand how to interact with a kitten, so ends up scaring Chi, grabbing her tail, threatening her with a crab, and petting her way too hard. By the end of the visit, Chi likes her, though, deciding that she’s just trying to play. Before they go, Julie’s mom says that if anything happens, they can take Chi in. (This comes back next season.)
So sad! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
A recurring plot point for the first part of the show are Chi’s fading memories. Since she was so young when she got separated from her mom, she starts to forget her pretty quickly. Certain things bring her back… being cuddled in to Yohei as he sleeps, the sound of Mom Yamada’s heartbeat as Chi naps against her, being brushed by Dad Yamada. Every time Chi tries to remember why these sensations are so familiar but she can’t quite get there. The memories fade more every time they’re shown. It’s a clever way to show Momma cat’s influence on her in her day to day life without getting too bogged down in the sadness of their separation.
During one of Chi’s outdoors adventures, she’s actually just a couple feet away from her mom and siblings and none of them realize it.
Noooo! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
The main conflict in the series (at least this season) is the building manager. She’s not given a name, but is usually called the “Super”. She doesn’t allow pets and is obsessed with figuring out where the cats are being hidden in the building. The Yamadas have to keep Chi hidden and have several close calls. They have to hide Chi in the bathroom, set up stuffed animals around the window she likes to sit in, and sneak her in and out in a basket. If they’re caught with Chi, they will either have to give her away or move.
The tension is made so much worse by the fact that Chi keeps wandering off to have adventures outside. Which brings us to…
The BEAR CAT! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
For half the season, a recurring character is Blackie. We never learn his real name, but Chi eventually starts referring to him as Blackie, so I will too. The Yamadas called him the Bear Cat, and that’s what I called him in my first post. The reason for this was that Yohei and Mom couldn’t quite describe him to Dad when he got home from work. The closest Yohei could come was showing Dad a photo of a black bear in one of his books.
Cat adventures. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Blackie has a habit of breaking into the resident’s homes and stealing their food. Once he even eats Chi’s food. Chi is scared of Blackie at first but eventually starts to look up to him, seeing that he’s older and knows way more about the world than she does. She follows him around until she starts to grow on him. Although he’s baffled by Chi’s naivety, he becomes a sort of grudging mentor. He teaches her how to open the screen door, hide from dogs, navigate by the sun, and bring presents home for the humans.
This all comes to a head in the final story arc of the season as they’re caught in someone’s house stealing her chicken.
Blackie attacks! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Chi gets caught by the Super and to save her, Blackie jumps at the old woman, scaring her into dropping Chi. (Blackie never loses his grip on that drumstick.) They run off and have to hide in Blackie’s home. That’s right, Blackie isn’t a stray and the Yamadas are not the only ones hiding an illegal cat. The Super is continuing to follow, so the two have to climb out the window and jump to a roof below. Blackie imparts a valuable lesson to Chi here since she’s afraid to jump. “Don’t look down. Look straight ahead and smile.“ She jumps and makes it onto the roof. Yohei sees Blackie helping Chi down from a tree and realizes the Bear Cat isn’t scary, he’s Chi’s friend.
Action! (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Sadly, this adventure has repercussions. For one thing, the Super is cracking down worse, so they can’t let Chi out anymore. She’s depressed that she can’t go out and play with her friend anymore. The Yamadas discuss that they may have to give Chi to Julie in Hokkaido. At least that way Chi could play outside.
That night, as Yohei goes to comfort Chi, he sees Blackie standing outside the screen door. At first he insists that he can’t open the door, but he gives in and Blackie comes inside. He has brought Chi a gift. (A squirming grasshopper which hops away.) The formerly gruff and imposing cat grooms Chi for awhile before he leaves, promising to play with Chi again someday.
The worst effect of the chicken adventure is that the Super has found out where Blackie lives. His family doesn’t want to give him up, so they have to move. She also learns the kitten must belong to someone else in the building. Chi sees Blackie go and at first she’s excited her friend gets to go on an adventure. Then she’s inconsolable, realizing that he’s not coming back and they can’t play together anymore. She comes to a realization, however, that even though she can’t see him, that doesn’t mean he’s gone. He’s still out there somewhere.
Chi is a good kitty. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
And that is the entirety of Chi’s Sweet Home Season 1! I highly recommend this anime for anyone who loves cats and cute media. I gushed a lot about this show in my previous post, but I’ll do it some more here. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and I even rewatched it as I prepared to write this post up. I never once got bored. Everything about this show is fun and adorable.
Chi looks so evil here. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
I said it in Part 1, but they really nail the personality of a cat with this… the curiosity, the rambunctiousness, the alternating between needing all the attention and none of it. It’s fantastic and the show never misses its mark. The voicework, the music, the visuals, everything about this show is great.
Chi just peed on the clean clothes. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
This season was just as adorable and charming as the portion of Season 2 that I watched for the first post. I’m really glad I was able to find the DVD of this season. (Season 2 is not as easy to find, probably because it’s licensed for streaming.) Although the stories are simple, I found myself laughing out loud at several points, mostly at Chi’s reactions. It’s just a fun, wholesome, feel-good anime. I feel like I’ll be coming back to it in the future if I need a pick-me-up or comfort show.
Reminds me so much of my cat. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Another quick note I wanted to make is that last time I mentioned how the show was helping me with my Japanese studies. Well, here we are almost two years later and I can really see how far I’ve come. In some cases I didn’t even need the subtitles! Words like “delicious”, “lunch”, “fun”, “mom”, “dad”, and more have become much easier for me to recognize because of this show. Also, this show taught me a very useful phrase: “I’m sorry”. (Gomen nasai or just Gomen.)
The characters all speak clearly and the dialog is simple, so it helps me to translate in my head as I’m watching. In some cases I was even able to make a more literal translation in my head than the subtitles provided. I still have a long ways to go to become fluent, but I can see now that I’m getting there.
Proud kitty. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
Now that we’re all caught up on Chi’s origins, I will be heading back to Chi’s New Address to rewatch the first 26 episodes and go all the way to Episode 104. That will be the subject of Part 3. I hope you’re enjoying this series as much as I am! Thank you for reading and I’ll see you soon with the rest!
It won’t be such a long wait this time. (Credit: Kanata Konami, Madhouse)
