This week I’m turning my attention to the human half of the fabulous duo that made up the very sweet My Roommate is a Cat, Subaru. Admittedly, individually, and particularly at the start of the season, Subaru’s personality is a little bit abrasive and hard to take. I still found him interesting to watch but didn’t necessarily like him. However, the fantastic, emotional journey he goes on throughout the series and the growth he makes as a person just made him really shine by the end of the series and I think he is a character well worth spending some more time on.
There will be some spoilers for the series.
If you only watched the first episode or two of My Roommate is a Cat, your impression of Subaru, other than the fact that we have yet another anime protagonist starting a show with the funeral of his parents, is that he’s a bit rude and abrupt. I kind of understood why though because in the cases where he was being rude to his editor, the editor had taken him out of his comfort zone seemingly for no reason. If you know someone doesn’t like going to cafes and the like and there’s no reason to meet them there, then why drag them out. Still, Subaru doesn’t make the best first impression on the audience.
However, in these first episodes, Subaru comes across Haru, who despite being a cat very much deserves her own character post, and Subaru, seemingly on a whim, takes her home with the intention of using a cat as a muse for a new character in a story he is writing. it’s an on the spot decision made without a lot of forethought and it becomes obvious fairly quickly that Subaru doesn’t have a clue how to deal with the new addition to his household.
Over the course of the series, we see that Haru’s presence in Subaru’s life begins to help him reconnect with others and makes him remember his parents and the many lost opportunities to connect with them. While this show doesn’t have a dramatic change of character, Subaru begins to subtly grow, seeking out small interactions with people building up until he agrees to a book signing.
That doesn’t mean he’s actually good at interacting with others. He’s still awkward, gets flustered, at times wants to run away, but he’s more and more committed to trying to deal with those in his life. He also begins to appreciate what each of the others brings into his life and tries to show that he appreciates it.
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However, the final push comes at the end of the series where he goes on the last holiday his parents planned. While this is an emotional enough development given the course of the story, what really shows the change in Subaru is his reaction when he realises he can’t get home to Haru as planned. Then, Haru manages to get out of the house and Subaru needs to search for her.
From a character who blatantly refused to leave the house and if forced outside was cold and cut-off, to one who actively searched for another and called on those he’d made connections with to help, Subaru’s character grew in leaps and bounds and while his basic personality hadn’t changed at all, something shown through the clever use of flash backs, his ability to deal with others and his acceptance of them had developed tremendously.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed watching Subaru grow as a character and found his story delightful.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
Join the discussion in the comments.
Karandi James
- Maka Albarn – Soul Eater
- Kuronuma Sawako – Kimi Ni Todoke
- Yato – Noragami
- Takeo Gouda – My Love Story
- Zen Wisteria – Snow White With The Red Hair
- Yamato Kurosawa – Say I Love You
- Sebastian Michaelis – Black Butler
- Madoka – Madoka Magica
- Rimuru Tempest – That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
- Yuki Soleil – The Price of Smiles
- Emma – The Promised Neverland
- Subaru – My Roommate is a Cat
- Xianming Lin – Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
- Haruhi Fujioka – Ouran High School Host Club
- Hestia – Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon
- Haruitsuki Abeno – The Morose Mononokean
- Reiko – Natsume Yuujinchou
- Angelo Lagusa – 91 Days
- Jean Otus – ACCA
- Saitou Kazuki – Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
- Liliruca Arde – Is It Wrong To Try To Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon
- Diamond – Land of the Lustrous
- Naofumi – The Rising of the Shield Hero
- Itsuki – The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
- Ririchiyo Shirakiin – Inu X Boku SS
Oh you beat me to this, can I ping this when I write my own? Hope you had a great trip. Great post.
You are welcome to and thanks.
Thanks so much for this post! I kind of hate Subaru because he’s a lot like me and I don’t like being reminded, but I can’t help liking him at the very same time. He is trying his best. He’s never going to be a very social person. But he’s becoming more considerate and aware. I hope I am too.
I know I could definitely relate to him but I loved watching him grow as a person.