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The Overnight Trip That Awakens Emotions

Posted on March 22, 2019March 20, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 11 Review

As cute as Haru is in this series, for me it becomes more compelling when the episode focuses on Subaru, and very much more interesting when it examines Subaru’s emotions in dealing with his parents’ passing. The series begins with the funeral but then seems to just skip ahead and other than establishing that Subaru was on his own, it doesn’t seem significant, but as the series has continues on it has been surprising in that the dead parent trope is more than just an establishing point. This anime seems like it actually wants to look at the process of someone coming to terms with their relationship with their parents and deal with their loss.

Admittedly, it is still very slice of life and doesn’t seem to want to become too much of a downer, so it isn’t exactly diving head-first into dealing with grief. But in its own quiet way it is having Subaru confront the reality of his parents’ love for him, that he wasn’t able to respond to at the time, and realising that it is all just a little bit too late to change that.

As a result, this episode, while it took awhile to get going, was kind of the great penultimate episode. We got to see Ookami’s brother again and he apologised unnecessarily for how he treated Subaru when they first met which kind of brought that sub-plot to a close. We had Subaru trying to get Haru into a cat carrier and failing which was the only real interaction these two had this episode and was our daily dose of adorable. We also had Subaru relying on his childhood friend to feed Haru while he was away.

Because yes, Subaru is taking his editor’s advice and going on a trip to help him think of an idea for his new novel. Almost on impulse, though spurred on by his realisation of what his mother had done with the garden, Subaru has decided to take the last trip his parents had planned to take but didn’t get to complete. This brings on a lot of reflection for Subaru as well as some happy moments and overall it is just a great part of the episode for seeing how far he has come as a character since he adopted Haru.

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Then of course we get the ending where a storm rolls in and his plane is cancelled and Haru’s home alone. It is about as dramatic an ending as something this low key could get without totally shifting the tone and it works well enough as a build up to the final episode.

For those only watching for Haru, this episode offers little. Haru is in the episode but her moments are very much diminished as the focus is very much on Subaru. I really liked it but I can imagine those waiting for cute Haru moments might find the episode a little bit dry.

Thanks for reading
Karandi James

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Dreaming of the Past and Protecting the Present

Posted on March 8, 2019March 6, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 8 Review

I’ve been really enjoying getting to know Subaru and seeing him soften a little from his original stand-offish character while still remaining essentially true to himself. He still dislikes noise in his house and people who won’t leave him alone but he’s also come to appreciate those who look out for him. It is a nice progression of his character and one that has been enjoyable to be along for. Episode 8 of My Roommate is a Cat continues this development by taking a bit of a look at how young Subaru grew into the author he is today.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 8 Subaru and Haru

Though, I’ll point out making someone choose between saving a cat or a book from landing in water is just cruel. At the same time, I assume my cat is smart enough that if she doesn’t want to land in the water to jump to the shore so I’d probably save the book. That and my cat likes playing in water when it is really hot (which is a good five months of the year) so she probably wouldn’t mind that much. Winter would be a different story.

As usual the episode flips between Subaru’s perspective and Haru’s with Haru’s part being quite adorable this week as we see the stand-offish affection a cat holds for their human. Haru perfectly embodies this and while her mannerisms may not be identical, most cat owners should see a bit of their feline in her antics.

All and all, this one remains a pleasant viewing experience and I’m finding myself enjoying it more and more each week. I would like to see Subaru get a little bit more of a push to deal with others but I’ve honestly loved seeing him grow so far throughout this series.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 9 Review

It is time for Subaru’s book signing and as expected when it comes to actually doing it he suddenly realises just how far out of his comfort zone he’s decided to step. On that note though, Haru, left at home, is freaking out because her human started acting strange (was dressing in a suit) and then left for a day (usually never goes out).

Unusually, the story starts from Haru’s perspective before we see Subaru at the book signing before returning home, where we flip again back to Haru’s perspective. It works well though in framing the story and Haru’s tirade and mass destruction of tissues and books is again something as a cat owner I recognise. My cat tends to take out photos and ornaments when I leave her alone too long, though she usually waits until I return, makes sure I can see her, and then deliberately knocks them flying off a shelf (okay, my cat has a mean streak when ignored).

Despite enjoying Haru’s moments which are cute and touching as we see her fretting about being left alone, Subaru facing his readers at the signing is the stronger part of the episode. From panicking over signing crooked to worrying he didn’t thank his first readers, to reaching out to them, we see him really pushing himself personally.

I was expecting it, but Oukami’s appearance and realisation that Subaru is actually the author her brother likes is pretty adorable and yet another good character moment for Subaru as he tries to convey his feelings in words. While his shouting thank-you after her is a little over the top, the scene is otherwise really nicely conveyed.

All and all, another fun episode with Haru and Subaru and while they aren’t together for a lot of this episode, that allows them both to grow as characters.

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NENDOROID NO. 1097 LAID-BACK CAMP: AOI INUYAMA

Finding Value In The Unexpected and Uncontrollable

Posted on February 23, 2019February 22, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate Is a Cat Episode 7 Review

We know Subaru doesn’t really like dealing with people, hates interruptions to what he is doing, and generally isn’t great at dealing with the unexpected, and this episode gives him a dose of all three. However, rather than being an excuse to bring the curt Subaru back from episode one, the series of events this week shows just how much owning Haru and the interactions Subaru has had in the last six episodes have changed him. That said I think he would still prefer to be left alone so his inherent character hasn’t changed.

The episode begins with Subaru meeting his editor and they are picking out covers for his book. As usual the editor is prattling away and seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is incredibly annoying but Subaru actually just keep focused on looking at the options in front of him. It isn’t until the editor asks him about a book signing that Subaru actually shuts him down. All things considered with Subaru’s character it makes sense, though you have to wonder how that effects his career.

During this sequence though the childhood friend shows up with a tribe of siblings in tow. Apparently they came to play with Haru, because randomly invading someone’s house without notice to visit their cat is a perfectly sensible thing to do. It would have made more sense if Subaru had been involved with them growing up of similar but he didn’t even know the younger siblings, so the whole scenario is just kind of weird.

However, rather than venting frustrations, Subaru actually goes with things. Part of that is probably shock and inability to figure out how to throw them out, but that also is a sign of growth in that he actually cares about how to go about removing the problem rather than just wanting it gone.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 7 Subaru and Haru

While there’s nothing overly profound here, the kids are actually surprisingly cute, their interactions with Haru mostly benign, and Subaru actually makes some progress by the end as he reconsiders at least thinking about the book signing. Of course, the real precious moment comes from Haru and Subaru both curling up and going to sleep, exhausted from dealing with others. Owner and cat are definitely very similar here.

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The Awkward Cat Belongs With An Awkward Human

Posted on February 16, 2019February 15, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 6 Review

There’s been no doubt that Subaru is a fairly socially awkward human being (or rather he has never tried to engage socially so hasn’t the faintest idea of how to do so). And they do say that owners and their pets resemble each other. I found it hilarious this week in My Roommate is a Cat where Subaru is sitting facing Nana’s brother in awkward silence and Haru, is in the shot staring awkwardly at Nana’s cats. While we later see what was going on from Haru’s perspective, the parallel between Subaru and Haru has never been clearer.

That said, I found this episode a little less engaging than normal, and part of that is because at only eight minutes in we go to Haru’s perspective. And while Haru’s thoughts on what is happening in the apartment are kind of sweet, we get an extended flash back of Haru and her siblings learning to live on the streets. The thing is, that we’d already pieced most of this together from existing flashbacks so this kind of felt like filler and it dominate most of the second half of the episode.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 6 Haru's siblings

It doesn’t stop Haru from being utterly adorable. She’s now giving Fuzzy from The Morose Mononokean a good run for being cutest character of the season and I have a long standing love of Fuzzy. Apparently adorable is enough because while very little else of note occurs in the second half, I didn’t really dislike it.

One human development is that we learn Nana and her brother are both reading Subaru’s story as it is published in a magazine and it is perhaps his first time meeting people who read his work. Unable to figure out how to respond he ends up fleeing, but there is definitely a slow change occurring in his personality and I’m looking forward to seeing if that goes anywhere.

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NENDOROID NO. 1088 HETALIA WORLD STARS: USA

The Beginning of the Journey For The Cat and The Writer

Posted on January 26, 2019January 24, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 3 Review

It seems weird to say the journey is beginning when we’re at episode 3 but it feels right now like the emotional connection between the characters has finally been established and they are both ready to maybe let the other one be more than just an occupant in the house they happen to share. My Roommate is a Cat has done an excellent job at making Subaru’s character feel emotionally cut off from others to the point where he genuinely felt no need to form connections. For some viewers that made Subaru an unsympathetic character or they felt he was a bit of a jerk, however for me I saw him as an introverted character who probably already tended to be emotionally cut-off and then after the death of his parents just became adrift from others until he had lost sight of any path back.

More importantly, I kind of got Subaru because while I might not be the extreme introvert he seems to be at times when people in my life try and ‘help me’ by dragging me out of my comfort zone the end result usually isn’t good. Mostly because I was perfectly happy in the first place and my comfort zone is just that, comfy. So seeing Subaru not play nice in episode one when dragged out by his editor was something I enjoyed, and this episode reinforced the fact that Subaru’s editor really doesn’t get it.

Neither does Subaru mind you, but while everyone will be quick to point out Subaru isn’t picking up on social cues, an editor that invades his writer’s house on a daily basis in order to see his cat is pretty inept at reading the situation. And if he isn’t inept, he’s pushy and intrusive and neither one of those seems like a better option.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 3 Subaru's parents

But what really sells episode 3 as a beginning is that we finally see the backstory on the death of the parents and we also see Haru and Subaru make a genuine emotional connection. The flashback establishes that Subaru was indeed a fairly anti-social child, but he did have some connections, mostly through his mother who continued to try to draw him out (though never pushed him). Finding the album in this episode and Subaru realising just how much effort his mother went to for him was a really great moment and for the first time we see Subaru really get in touch with the loss of his parents.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 3 Subaru stares at Haru

Haru for the most part does behave pretty inexplicably in this episode until we see the cat’s perspective. Previously this gimmick of retelling events from the cat’s point of view has been cute but relatively unnecessary, but here it confirmed a suspicion you will have about the motive for the cat’s antics and adds further emotional weight to the finding of the album.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 3 Subaru and Haru

So with the story started in episode one, of the writer who lost his parents young, now kind of resolved with him feeling their loss and accepting what happened and that it is too late to fix things now, we now have a clean slate and a story of a writer who adopted a cat and the two have found in each other something they need. I’m really enjoying this because it is just easy to watch and I really do like Subaru’s character and the cat gets cuter every episode. Hopefully it continues to be an enjoyable and emotional story until the end though with the parents part kind of resolved they are really going to have to switch the focus to Subaru’s development from this point or introduce a new character for this to not end up feeling stale.

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If I Sit On It, It’s Mine – So Says The Cat

Posted on January 19, 2019January 19, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 2 Review

Anyone who has owned a cat will get a good laugh out of this episode if nothing else. From the opening sequence of Subaru finding the cat asleep on his laptop to later being scared when he opens a box to find the cat asleep inside, these are wholly relatable moments for the audience to enjoy. I’ll admit though, my cat and I have come to an arrangement when it comes to keyboards and now she has accepted sitting beside the keyboard and just periodically swiping at my fingers if I’m not paying her enough attention. Negotiations with cats are always ended in favour of the cat even when the human thinks they’ve won.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 2 Cat on Keyboard

Realistically, there’s not a lot going on in this anime. It is very slice of life, author living with cat, and honestly other than the appeal of seeing my own cat’s antics on screen, there’s not a huge amount to cling to in terms of plot. Even though I quite like Subaru, I found his ‘misunderstanding’ at the pet shop a little bit on the painful side and while the rest of the episode rolled along smoothly, it seems every time the cat is absent from the screen things hit a bit of a rocky patch.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 2 Subaru at Pet Shop

As with last week, the final part of the episode flipped the perspective and we got the cat’s point of view on the events of the episode. Again, I’m not sure this adds a lot, but it is cute so we’ll just go with it.

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 2 Cute Moment

While I’m not going to say this is a particularly good anime, if you like cats, don’t mind things just being cute for the sake of it, and can put up with something where about half the jokes don’t quite land, you’ll probably enjoy this. I’m enjoying it and it isn’t a genre I normally like. The love of cats goes a long way here.

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NENDOROID DOLL: MAD HATTER

Adopt a Kitten, It Could Save Your Life

Posted on January 12, 2019January 10, 2019 by Karandi

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 1 Review

A slice of life/comedy? My favourite. (Please note: sarcasm.)

Actually, given I enjoyed Barakamon and Poco’s Udon World, both of which this one kind of reminds me of (though with quite a lot less impact), My Roommate is a Cat’s first episode actually kind of worked for me. I didn’t mind Subaru as the socially awkward writer who brings home a kitten on a whim and a flash of inspiration and I certainly could see my own cat in the kitten as it tried to make sure Subaru was alright (okay, my cat never gave me a bowl of cat biscuits but it certainly brings me grass-hoppers and she knows when I’m sick and stays with me).

My Roommate is a Cat Episode 1 Subaru and Cat

However, there isn’t a lot more to this first episode other than meeting the writer, who may annoy some viewers as he is a bit blunt and rude at times to his editor, and meeting the cat. There’s a few other characters such as the editor and I’m guessing the childhood friend (though friend may be the wrong name for it), however their impact in this first episode is pretty minimal.

The one part of the story that was a little unexpected was seeing the sequence from the cat’s point of view but that only added a little tiny bit to the episode, and to be honest we probably could have figured out most of that narration without it actually being narrated to us by the cat.

So, this one I kind of enjoyed for a relaxing watch but there’s not a huge amount to recommend it. Everything about it is decent enough, and the OP is incredibly catchy and probably my favourite part about the show so far. Still, it’s got an anime cat in it that is absolutely adorable and it didn’t annoy me, so this one will stay on my watch list for now.

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THE ART OF THE CAT RETURNS

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