Nyaight of the Living Cat: A Unique Twist

Step away, zombies, it’s time for the cat apocalypse! Crunchyroll’s Nyaight of the Living Cat is off to a great start. It offers a fresh new take on the end-of-the-world storylines.

Nyaight of the Living Cat is an adaptation of the manga of the same name by Hawkman and illustrated by Mecha-Roots. The series premieres July 6th on Crunchyroll with subsequent episodes releasing every Sunday. But is this new series worth the time invested? Join us as we unpack this bold new series.

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STORY

You love apocalypse stories? Then, Nyaight of the Living Cat is going to be for you. This anime offers a fresh take on end-of-the-world storylines. Humanity is often decimated by zombies in science fiction and horror films/series, but this time, it’s different. People often joke about cats taking over the world. This series imagines what would happen if it actually did. What if the apocalypse is not caused by a virus turning us all into zombies, but a virus turning us all into cats when a cat touches us? This sounds like a silly idea, and it actually is. The series is self-aware of that, but it also treats its story quite seriously.

The first episode sends us right into the middle of this cat apocalypse. It has a serious tone and plays it like a proper zombie story. It’s a self-reference within the genre. There are several scenes that are callbacks to other horror films and series. Instead of monsters or zombies or serial killers or madmen, everything is with a cat. It has a cute side while also conveying the sense of urgency and despair of the situation.

CHARACTERS

The story follows Kunagi, a former cat café employee with amnesia whose identity is shrouded in mystery, and Kaoru, a former high school student who used to work as a shop assistant at the same cat café. Evidently, these two characters love cats, so it’s difficult for them to live through this cat apocalypse. The series plays with many clichés of cat lovers, which is quite amusing. As is often the case with these stories, there are flashbacks too. This allows the audience to discover the characters before the disaster and thus further develop them.

VISUALS

Moreover, this series has slick visuals. It knows what it’s about and what you expect to see from such a story. The scenes taking place during the cat apocalypse use a grey palette of colours. The characters are living in dire times. It’s really the end of the world – ruins everywhere, not a lot of humans… On the contrary, the scenes taking place before the apocalypse are colourful. There is a real contrast between the before and after. Visually, it plays all the right beats.

Obviously, since it’s a cat apocalypse, there are a lot of cats. The animators have ensured that as many cats as possible are created. Orange cats, grey cats, black cats, white cats, three-coloured cats … they are all here and they’re all cute. It’s definitely an impressive work that these animators have accomplished.

OPENING AND END CREDITS

Opening and end credits are essential parts of anime. The opening theme is “Cat City” by The Yellow Monkey. It’s a rock/pop song that’s on the upbeat side. The opening credits don’t feel like the apocalypse; it’s more a celebration of cats. Indeed, it’s cats everywhere with a little bit of humans fooling around. It goes against the tide of the story, but it also highlights the ridiculousness of a cat apocalypse.

The ending theme is “Matatabi” performed by Wanima. It’s a rock song that incorporates elements of the hard rock genre. Undoubtedly, it’s fitting for the end credits. Additionally, it aligns more closely with the series’ soundtrack, which heavily relies on hard rock. When you think of an apocalypse, you often think of zombies, and thus the horror genre. As such, the series has given us an amazing end credits featuring horror-themed and science fiction-themed posters, but cats instead. This is “purrfection.”

VERDICT

Step away, zombies, it’s time for the cat apocalypse! Nyaight of the Living Cat is off to a great start, offering a fresh new take on the end-of-the-world storylines. It is a series that is self-aware of its ridiculous premise, but it knows how to turn it into a thrilling ride.