My_Roommate_Is_a_Cat

<i>My Roommate Is a Cat</i>

My Roommate Is a Cat

Japanese manga series and its adaptation(s)


My Roommate Is a Cat (同居人はひざ、時々、頭のうえ。, Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue., transl. "My Housemate Is on My Lap, But Sometimes, on My Head") is a Japanese manga series written by Minatsuki and illustrated by Asu Futatsuya, serialized online via Flex Comix's Comic Polaris website since June 2015. It has been collected in nine tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Zero-G aired from January to March 2019.

Quick Facts 同居人はひざ、時々、頭のうえ。 (Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue), Genre ...

Characters

Subaru Mikazuki (朏 素晴, Mikazuki Subaru)
Voiced by: Kenshō Ono,[3] Riho Sugiyama (young) (Japanese); Austin Tindle,[4] Rachel Michelle Thompson (young) (English)
A 23-year-old introverted mystery writer, who adopts Haru by chance. While he initially remains distant, they gradually bond with each other. Part of the story is shown from his point of view. Initially before the death of his parents he was always reluctant to visit crowded places, but after Haru entered his life, he understood the real value of love and started to interact with people better.
Haru (陽 (ハル))
Voiced by: Haruka Yamazaki[3] (Japanese); Jad Saxton[4] (English)
A stray Tuxedo cat, adopted by Subaru. Her life prior to being adopted was rough; she was trained by Miz Tora to survive in this harsh world and she took care of her four younger siblings and struggled to feed herself and them. She and Subaru rarely understand each other, but their misunderstandings lead to a common goal. Part of the story is shown from her point of view. She initially believes that her name is a sign for food as that's the name of the girl who once gave her food.
Atsushi Kawase (河瀬 篤, Kawase Atsushi)
Voiced by: Hiro Shimono[5] (Japanese); Jessie James Grelle[4] (English)
Subaru's editor at the publishing company. He tries hard to get Subaru to get out of the house, but often to no avail. He is fond of cats, especially Haru, and frequently visits the two.
Nana Ōkami (押守 なな, Ōkami Nana)
Voiced by: Chika Anzai[5] (Japanese); Alexis Tipton[4] (English)
Clerk at Sunny's Pet Store with a fondness for cats. She helps Subaru learn to care for Haru. Has two cats. One cat is Haru's younger brother.
Hiroto Yasaka (矢坂 大翔, Yasaka Hiroto)
Voiced by: Shun Horie,[5] Ikumi Hasegawa (young) (Japanese); Kyle Igneczi,[4] Morgan Berry (young) (English)
Subaru's childhood friend. He often visits unannounced to drop off food for his friend, since Subaru doesn't cook and rarely has any food in the refrigerator.
Yūgo Ōkami (押守 優伍, Ōkami Yūgo)
Voiced by: Yoshiki Nakajima[5] (Japanese); Joe Cucinotti[4] (English)
Nana's younger brother, a 2nd-year high school student, and a fan of Subaru's novels. He visits his elder sister Nana and also loves cats.
Hachi (はち)
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase[5] (Japanese); Kimberly Grace[4] (English)
Nana's Tuxedo Cat and Haru's brother.
Roku (ろく)
Voiced by: Kenjirō Tsuda[5] (Japanese); Jarrod Greene[4] (English)
Nana's 3-year-old cat.
Tarō (タロウ)
Voiced by: Tomokazu Sugita[6] (Japanese); Anthony Bowling[4] (English)
A happy and friendly Golden Retriever who lives next door to Subaru and Haru.
Nagisa Yasaka (矢坂 渚, Yasaka Nagisa)
Voiced by: Hisako Tōjō[6] (Japanese); Sarah Wiedenheft[4] (English)
Hiroto's 17-year-old sister who has a crush on Subaru.
Tora-nee-san (トラ姉さん)
Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi[6] (Japanese); Jamie Marchi[4] (English)
Female Tiger Cat who taught Haru and her siblings to survive on the street.
Haru Akimoto (秋元 春, Akimoto Haru)
Voiced by: Yoshino Nanjō (Japanese); Emily Hornsby (English)[7]
Narumi's classmate and Haru's namesake. Her family runs a chūka restaurant.
Natsuko Akimoto (夏子 秋元, Akimoto Natsuko)
Voiced by: Sachiko Kojima (Japanese); Nazia Chaudhry (English)
Haru's mother.
Kuro (クロ)
Voiced by: Daisuke Ono[6] (Japanese); Cris George[4] (English)
A stray black cat who was friends with Tora.
Hayato Yasaka (矢坂 隼翔, Yasaka Hayato)
Voiced by: Makoto Koichi (Japanese); Meli Grant (English)
Narumi's twin brother.
Narumi Yasaka (矢坂 鳴海, Yasaka Narumi)
Voiced by: Risae Matsuda (Japanese); Felecia Angelle (English)
Hayato's twin sister.
Misora Yasaka (矢坂 海空)
Voiced by: Anzu Haruno (Japanese); Emi Lo (English)
Hiroto's 3-year-old sister.
Sonoko Tanabe (田辺 苑子)
Voiced by: Mika Kanda (Japanese); Samantha Herek (English)
Subaru's neighbor and Taro's owner.
Kazuhiro Mikazuki (朏 和宏, Mikazuki Kazuhiro) & Saho Mikazuki (朏 佐保, Mikazuki Saho)
Voiced by: Hiromichi Kogami (Kazuhiro) & Sayaka Ohara (Saho), Jeremy Inman (Kazuhiro) & Joanna Beatty (Saho)
Subaru's parents who were killed in a tour bus collision before the story begins.

Media

Manga

The series has been licensed in English by Lezhin Comics.[8]

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Anime

The anime adaption aired from January 9 to March 27, 2019 on AT-X, ABC, Tokyo MX and BS11.[5][10] The series is animated by Zero-G and directed by Kaoru Suzuki, with Deku Akao handled the series composition, and Masaru Kitao designed the characters.[11] Schrödinger's Cat and Kotringo performed the series' opening theme song "Unknown World" (アンノウンワールド), while Yoshino Nanjō performed the series' ending theme song "Kimi no Tonari Watashi no Basho" (君のとなり わたしの場所).[7] The series ran for 12 episodes.[12] Crunchyroll streamed the series,[13] while Funimation produced the English dub.[14] Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the dub was moved to Crunchyroll.[15]

More information No., Title ...

Reception

Anime News Network had five editors review the first episode of the anime:[16] James Beckett found the first half with Subaru the weakest part, but praised the second half when moving from the cat's perspective; Theron Martin praised the "technical merits" of the premiere for showcasing a "more balanced and natural portrayal" of the cat and its point of view; Paul Jensen was critical of Subaru's introduction and a lack of "emotional drama" in his arc, but was hopeful of his growing development in the series and his adventures being retold from the cat's perspective, calling it "an enjoyable slice of life story" that will grab viewers outside of its core audience; Rebecca Silverman wrote that: "I'm not sure it will be able to sustain itself, but if a pet's ever made a difference in your life, this is worth checking out." The fifth reviewer, Nick Creamer, felt that Subaru's story contained "superfluous" interactions with other people, "insubstantial" humor and "purely functional" animation but gave praise to the cat's retelling of the events, concluding that: "In the end, My Roommate is a Cat is too lukewarm in its comedy and limited in its aesthetics to really grab me, but still offers a fairly reasonable premiere. If you're a big fan of all things cat, maybe give this one a try."[16]

Silverman reviewed the complete anime series in 2020 and gave it an A− grade.[17] While finding the flashbacks "a bit heavy-handed" when depicting both characters' lives before they met, she praised the accurate portrayal of cat behavior and the respectful exploration of both Subaru and Haru's anxiety problems, concluding that: "My Roommate is a Cat is definitely a cat person show, but it's also one for anybody who's anxious or understands the comfort of having an animal to make the world less scary. It has its heavy moments, but that just means that when things get lighter, we can really feel like maybe it'll all be okay."[17] Stig Høgset, writing for THEM Anime Reviews, also praised the series for capturing "general kitty behavior" that's similar to Sketchbook ~full color's~ and utilizing a "restrained tone" when portraying its human and animal cast throughout the episodes, concluding that: "[T]here is a certain delightfulness to the antics of the characters in this show, including the animals, and that's why you should give My Roommate is a Cat a go."[18] The series was nominated for Best Comedy at the 4th Crunchyroll Anime Awards, but lost to Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.[19][20]

Notes

  1. All English titles are taken from Crunchyroll.

References

  1. Orsini, Lauren (April 27, 2020). "8 Soothing Anime To Help You Relax In Quarantine". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  2. Bridges, Rose (March 15, 2019). "Episode 10 - My Roommate is a Cat". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021. My Roommate is a Cat is classic iyashikei, healing in the way that it explores real life, but through a rosier and cuddlier version of it than reality.
  3. Loo, Egan (September 22, 2018). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.' Feline Anime's Teasers Reveal Main Cast, Composer". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  4. heyitshales228. "My Roommate is a Cat". Funimation. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Sherman, Jennifer (October 2, 2018). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.' Anime Reveals More Cast, January Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  6. Loo, Egan (December 12, 2018). "Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue Anime's New Promos Unveil More Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  7. Sherman, Jennifer (November 2, 2018). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.' Anime Reveals Theme Songs, Additional Cast". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  8. Hazra, Adriana (September 14, 2020). "Lezhin Comics Releases My Roommate is a Cat Manga in English". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  9. "同居人はひざ、時々、頭のうえ。". comic-polaris.jp. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  10. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (November 30, 2018). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.' Anime's Promo Video Reveals January 9 Premiere". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 17, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2018.
  11. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (August 8, 2018). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue' Manga About Novelist and Cat Gets 2019 TV Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  12. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (January 6, 2019). "'Dōkyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue' Anime to Have 12 Episodes". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  13. Ressler, Karen; Mateo, Alex (January 7, 2019). "Crunchyroll to Stream Rinshii!! Ekodachan, My Roommate Is a Cat, Rainy Cocoa SideG Anime (Update)". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 13, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  14. Mateo, Alex (January 7, 2019). "Funimation to Also Stream My Roommate Is a Cat, Rinshi!! Ekoda-chan Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  15. "My Roommate is a Cat – The Winter 2019 Anime Preview Guide". Anime News Network. January 9, 2019. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  16. Silverman, Rebecca (April 17, 2020). "My Roommate is a Cat BD + Digital – Review". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  17. Høgset, Stig. "My Roommate is a Cat". THEM Anime Reviews. Archived from the original on October 20, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  18. Orsini, Lauren (January 10, 2020). "Here Are All The Nominees For The 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards". Forbes. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  19. Goslin, Austen (February 15, 2020). "Demon Slayer takes home top prize at Crunchyroll's Anime Awards". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved March 31, 2022.

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