DOUKYONIN WA HIZA, TOKIDOKI, ATAMA NO UE.

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA ComedyDoukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue.

REVIEWS

• 

  AdmiralNyan

  85/100
  Finding Family Values via Cute, Kitty Companionship

  Somewhere within my brain and deep within my heart I knew that I was going to love My Roommate is a Cat. You can blame it on my mushy-gushy obsession for the feline species, or my intense relatability to Subaru’s anti-social and incapacitating social anxiety, or maybe just the cutesy and energetic opening. I finished the first episode and thought to myself, “Oh yeah, this is going to be my weakness.” Initially, my only concern was the humour, which had felt forced in some situations. However, overall, I was immediately taken by the premise and characters. After finishing it, I can safely say that this is one of the best slice-of-life anime that I’ve seen in years. Even with how carefree it can feel with Subaru learning what it means to live with a cat, it centres on sentimental subjects like the profound comfort of companionship and finding family values in the most surprising ways possible.

  I remember the very first time I brought home Kheb and Azizi. They were brothers and only two-months old. Being a first-time cat human, I had no idea what to expect. In my mind, I pictured fluffy little beings cuddling beside me while I slept and read. But in actuality they were tiny terrors with their rambunctious playfulness and deathly kitten-claws. There was an adjustment period that I never saw coming. We see this with Subaru—who has been living entirely alone since his parents passing—as he learns to care for someone else. He sucks at feeding himself on time, to the point where he faints from exertion, so him recognising that his callous behaviour affects the livelihood of another was quite endearing. It forced him to crawl out of his small shelter. Subaru had to learn about proper feeding portions, recognising what a hiss, or purr, or meow meant, discovering that his absence can cause kitties to throw tantrums, and much more. Out of everything he learned, the best parts were recognising the emptiness that filled his home and heart upon his tragic loss.

  Companionship can be a tricky thing for introverts. As much as we love being on our own and being independent, it can cause us to fool ourselves into believing that we don’t need social interactions because of how self-sufficient we are (mostly on an emotional level), which is total crap. Due to Subaru’s supreme awkwardness with engaging with people, and some bad experiences as a child (e.g.: being bullied or made fun of), he had always kept to himself, even with his parents. They’d go on trips to different cities, but the kid would stay home and read or study. So, when his parents’ died, it didn’t hit him, the things that he had lost, right away. Sure he felt grief and sadness, but the lack of their presence didn’t fully compute within his brain until he got Haru the kitty-san.

  Along with a terror that can tear up a house, Haru gave Subaru a partner. They began to share meals. Subaru had someone waiting at home who would then greet him as he walked through the front door. He wasn’t saying tadaima (ただいまー) to an empty box any longer. When Haru did get into mischief, particularly in parts of the house he shouldn’t have been nosing around in, causing Subaru to get emotionally startled, the young man had someone whom he could turn to for support immediately; someone who showed him he wasn’t alone any more, and most importantly, that family isn’t an annoyance or something to take for granted.

  Throughout My Roommate is a Cat and all of its comedic moments, Subaru’s grief simmers beneath the surface. He works so much that it’s easy for him to shove aside the guilt and the giant black hole of longing that he has for his mum, whether she’s gardening or cooking meals. He is forced to confront this grief when people he has encounters with on a semi-weekly/daily basis begin to show up at his house. Everyone wants to see the cat, or they use the cat as an excuse to check-in on an otherwise grumpy old author. Because of the bond that Subaru builds with Haru and because of a key climactic moment where he faces his loss head-on, Subaru learns the value of these people who take time to embrace him in their lives and their worries. A few of them include his editor, who is a weirdo with a stronger “I love cats, I shall chase them to the ends of the world” aura than I have; Subaru’s best friend from childhood who comes over to steal Subaru’s snacks as well as to provide the fool with food he doesn’t realise he needs; a couple people who have helped him regularly with raising Haru, whom he met at the pet store. Every one of these individuals, and another couple of folks, are all a part of Subaru’s family in one form another. They are companions in his life, and they bring value to his existence as well as value to himself as a person. Additionally, he never would have understood any of this if he didn’t meet or bring home Haru. Haru taught him the value of family and what it means to be loved and cared for, as well as to understand how comforting it is to have someone to cherish and care for yourself.

  I’m a sucker for stories like this one; ones that seem so light-hearted and one-dimensional on the surface but have deeper and more meaningful motifs within all of the mirth and merriment, motifs that can move you to tears when you absolutely never expect them to. The fact that it includes kitties definitely didn’t hurt it either. Yet even if you loathe cats, I believe there is something here for you to find pleasure in if you enjoy slice-of-life stories.

  Other things that makes My Roommate is a Cat a delightful and worthy investment are the perspectives and the episode set-ups, and the animation. Each episode starts off from Subaru’s or another human’s perspective (uncommon) and then the second half to the last one-fourth is shown via Haru’s point-of-view. What surprised me about this structure was the lack of repetitiveness. Even though we go through some of the same details, it doesn’t recount each scene minute-by-minute and Haru’s POVs are so different than Subaru’s that it’s a bit like watching a separate, shorter episode. They are so precious, especially when Haru is angry and yelling at her human. The animation is quite good with a clean and simple allure to it. It utilises softer coloured character outlines and vibrant uses of yellows, greens, and blues, to highlight the Spring-time aura of the setting, which contributes to that whimsical spirit of it. There is nothing too complicated or far-reaching here; just a basic, classical presentation.

  All-in-all, I positively adored My Roommate is a Cat. I cannot recommend this enough to people who like stories about individuals that have to face some harsh realities while evolving beyond their miniature-world to see a bigger picture in order to find friendships, laughter, and gratitude.

  8.5 pieces of sashimi outta 10!

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• 

  Protogeist

  80/100
  A review of My Roommate is a Cat and it's great use of character development

  Spoiler alert!

  “I regret things every single day. So just be sure to thank them next time, and let’s work hard to make sure “next time” happens”
  – Atsushi, My Roommate is a Cat, episode 9

  Character development is something I value a lot when looking at a show or movie. Whether a character becomes better or flawed, it is always interesting to see how the story changes how a character sees the world. But from the shows I’ve watched, this doesn’t seem to get a lot of attention. A character might change a little, become a better person or something like that, but very few shows make that change interesting and satisfying. And this is where ‘My Roommate is a Cat’ delivers.

  My Roommate is a Cat, directed by Kaoru Suzuki, the producer behind ‘Flying Witch’ and ‘Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon’, is an adaptation of a manga by the same name by As Futatsuya and Tunami Minatuki. The show follows Subaru Mikazuki, a book writer who’s mourning the death of his parents. One day Subaru finds a stray cat who follows him from his parents grave. And eventually, Subaru decides to keep her.
  The episodes usually are structured in two parts. The first half is usually of Subaru trying to write on his book, but how the cat, who he later names Haru, gets in the way.
  The second half then centers around the cats and her thoughts, where we get some context of what the cat was doing in the first half.

  And when I first started watching this show, I was not enjoying it at all. Subaru felt like a very bland protagonist, one I had seen so much before. The cat half of the episodes were still pretty enjoyable, but it was not worth it. So at the third episode, I was almost about to drop the show. But I got a feeling that I had to at least watch the whole episode before deciding whether I wanted to watch the show or not. And thank god I did.
  The episode spends most of its first-half showing Haru jumping around the house. We don’t see what Haru is jumping at, but it is revealed that she is seeing some sort of spiritual energy that is later revealed to be the ghost of Subaru’s parents. Subaru is still haunted by his parents. But as he follows Haru around the house, she knocks down a few books which remind him of his parents. He gets a meltdown and starts to cry on the floor, thinking about whether it was his fault or not that they died. This was the thing that changed my mind about the show. I wasn’t crying or anything, but the thought-process was extremely realistic. I have probably seen that concept a couple of times, but the way that they wrote the scene was amazing.
  Subaru then realizes that he has ignored everyone around him and their feelings, and has just thought of what he feels. This is a turning point in the character, where we see how Subaru starts to want to change who he is.
  We see how Subaru starts to do things that he wouldn’t normally do, cause he wants to change to become a better person. He meets new friends, does meet-ups for his books and other social activities. It is extremely satisfying to see how Subaru is actively trying to change as a person throughout the show. He feels like an actual person because of it. And that’s why character development is so important. Cause it makes for realistic, interesting and immersive characters. It is one of the best character arcs I have seen in a while.
  At the end of the scene, we see how the ghost of Subaru’s parents disappears. Subaru is no longer haunted by his past.

  The best episode in the show is easily episode 9, where I took the quote at the top. This is where the structure of the show changes. In the episode, we start from Haru’s perspective, where we see how Subaru leaves his home looking rather distressed. Haru experiences so many different emotions at once from this. Anger, sadness, anxiety. We still don’t know where Subaru is, and we seriously worry about what Subaru is doing and why he hasn’t come home. We sympathize with Haru, cause we have the same relationship with him as Haru has.
  And after half of the episode, we finally see where Subaru is. At a meet-up with for his book. This is something we know Subaru doesn’t like since he has shown his displeasure of it in the episodes before it. He starts out the meet-up thinking that everyone would be disappointed by him. But he slowly realizes how much happiness he has given to people, how much he means to them.
  He realizes that he hasn’t thanked any of the people, and starts to get anxious again. But right when that happens, his editor Kawase tells him how everyone makes mistakes, and that it is just about making sure you don’t let that stop doing what you love. That is where the quote comes from. And while saying “don’t give up” or “Everyone makes mistakes” is probably one of the most cliche lines you could write, the way it is written here makes it extremely good.
  And when the last fan leaves and Subaru realizes that he hasn’t thanked her, he starts to get anxious again. But he remembers what Kawase told him, and he loudly says “Thank you so much”.
  This feels like another turning point in his character, where he understands that his work is appreciated.

  And this is why I love this show. You know, there’s a unique score, some fine comedy, but this is what makes the show what it is. Showing the importance of the people around you could be very cliche, but this show manages to make it extremely immersive.
  In the last episode of the show, Subaru comes home late from a trip and tells his friend Hiroto to make sure Haru is all right. But since there’s such a big storm outside, Hiroto couldn’t close the door at Subaru’s and Haru runs out. Throughout most of the show, we have seen Subaru not enjoying the company of his friends. He finds them all annoying and a nuisance to his work. But in the last episode, Subaru and all of his friends get together to find Haru. He doesn’t even have a problem asking a stranger if they’ve seen Haru. And this ending was honestly amazing. Showing Subaru’s development like this was very emotional, and really encapsulates why I love his character.
  It is one of the few shows/movies I would call inspiring.

  ‘My Roommate is a Cat’ is a show that doesn’t look like much. It looks like a comedy show with some cute animation of a cat playing around. But the way this played with my expectations was honestly astounding. It is a show I would normally not watch. But now that I have, it was a pleasure for sure!

  Strong 8/10

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• 

  RoTeSuKoRo

  98/100
  It's not like a review, it's more like a note about my feeling my journey watch this anime from episode 1 to episode 12.

  My English easy to anyone who didn't expert in English, but it's harder to understand to someone expert in English.

  WHAT HAPPEN !!! WHY THIS IS SO CUTE !!!

  Really... Really I'm shocked ! At first i just like.."What is this? What they already want to do?" And then boom so powerful, they put a suit voice actor and actress to make this anime being so best. I'm very enjoy with this show. It's really... GREAT ! Actually I'm still in episode 1 here, i will update this after finish it.

  (EDIT):

  Actually at first, I just want to watch it because want to waste my time. I want to release my tension, but I didn't expect this anime will be this good. It really means a lot to me... as a cat's lover, I didn't believe this such a heartbreaking anime.

  Aaaa so cute, so powerful voice actress, so nicely character, I love it all

  A combinacy between a cat and hikikimori really get me. Really make me smile and want to know what will happen. Author was so good make a character who not human and still act like itself didn't think like a human 100% and this anime didn't like other anime who animal can change to human and something like that, that will make that story become unlogical.

  I didn't want to end this anime in one day. This anime really calm me, I want to watch this always when I'm moody until this anime end. Now I'm in episode 6.

  { EDIT }:

  Really emotional. Really heartbreaking, with only a cat as a character, they do very well to make viewer sad. I should give them a clap. Aaaa really love it.

  In this anime we learnt that even cat has a life and we should appreciated how much cat have their importance to still alive.

  Also, how they introduced new character really make me love it ! Main character also trying to change himself and improve himself to be a better person. I admit that this anime really have many benefits to we stand to our life.

  I learnt new thing now ! Even i have a cat, but i don't know that cat also have a diet and portion of eating. I give same to main character at first, wow i really learnt new thing, tq this anime really great !

  [EDIT]:

  Why? Why why why why ?!! Why this is not popular like other anime ?!! I'm very sad !! Everyone should watch this anime ! Argh !

  I... I don't even want to break up with this anime. I feel like i want to be with this anime forever... Together. I don't want this end. It's such a animal anime masterpiece. Oh no... I don't want to forget it huhuhu

  For anyone who read this. Please... If you cat lover's especially... I really hope you watch this. I'm seriously that you will not regret it. It's so emotional, and different level of other animal anime. Please... I hope can have other anime similar to this or can beat this masterpiece anime.

  EDIT < :

  WOW ! Subaru started to change himself. It's very nice episode. We didn't see like other recent episode, subaru story and then haru story, it's something different, they start with cliffhanger and haru suspension, will make us want to know what happen next, and then they start to make us feel what Haru feel when she lonely because Subaru didn't with her.

  It's really nice episode, combination between supporting and MC, also other cameo and background character also do very well to change Subaru attitude to be better. Arghh I love it.

  Almost end... Hope it will end carefully and nicely, since this, it's one of the awesome anime I ever watched. So please, do the well like what I expect you to do.

  -EDIT- :

  One of the advantages from this anime is we will never forget how this story is even though we haven't watched it for a long time. Maybe we will forgot a little but will fast to remember what happen like ohh it's like that....

  The important thing that implied in this story is not even once we hurt our parents. Regret later we will not be able to change. So we should do thing that we will not regret.

  Remember, time will not return, as long as the parents are there, cherish them well, take good care of them and make sure we don't cut their hearts in the slightest , what they want, what they ask try to grant, don't just aaa, okay, it's okay, don't. Our parents are only one, appreciate it as best you can okay?

  Aaaa episode 11 also has many emotional scenes? aa really heartbreaking anime ... Subaru has changed, he's tried to get out of his circle, he tries to go to the place that his parents once asked him to go when they were alive. This episode really really teaches us about mother's love .. oh men, sad crazy. This time also has feelings of loneliness between Haru and Subaru, two feelings of loss because there is nothing on each side.

  And they put suspense cliffhanger in the end ... What is this ... It's so sad ARGHHH to expect like thiss. No wonder haru's words like that .. it's feel sad. .. arghhh Whattt their preview attachment wow why are you sitting at that ARGGHHH how can aaaaa.

  Only one episode left, i will update after finished it.

  = EDIT =

  Last episode... Ya I finally finished it. It's one of the perfect episode in this series. It's not take a space between Haru POV and Subaru POV. It's just go thru and make we feel very excited and happy to see it.

  I'm happy... I'm happy so much because what I expected didn't happen. I'm very proud of the excellent creator because make such a masterpiece like this.

  For those who hope more for last episode, it's okay, I hope more too but it's maybe the best ending they can do so we should just agree with them. They have a choice to make an ending and they think it's the best ending.

  Last episode more about finding Haru, even actually Haru want to find Subaru. I expected it's gonna be sad but ya, they do very well to push my expectations.

  So now I will summarize my feeling about this anime.

  When you read above, I maybe have say that the voice actress of Haru doing well, ya, I admit that in early episode, but sorry for say, maybe it's just me, it's start kinda annoying when a seiyuu start show herself so much. I meant... She start want to be brave or arrogant and cannot do the type of Haru I want. Sorry again, but you can ignore that, it's just me I think. Don't bother me, I really love Haru as character and it's one of my favourite anime character of all time.

  Advantages of this anime, they do something else. No one expect they will make a cat as main character with a introvert MC. An no one expect that MC actually having a bad past and Haru change him. I like their development so much.

  But, it's also have a problem, one of them are voice actress like I say above. Actually not only Haru's seiyuu, it's also dog's seiyuu who sound not professional. After that, it's my first mind when watch episode 1, it's seriously use a graphic of hentai anime. It's one of the reason why I paused at episode 1 because I cannot expect that.

  But... With this graphic, they also do something I didn't expected, it's a nice and awesome story. I didn't even imagine graphic like that will make me like this anime.

  Hm, after that, I'm sorry for giving at 98, maybe many people anger and hate me because this anime really should not get it. But for me, you should enjoy and not rushing so much to end it fast as you can. Trust me, when you rushing, you will not find a exciting about this anime.

  At all, I recommend this so much to cat's lovers or animal's lovers. For those who also feel lonely and miss your family, watch it also, it's gonna make your memory back. I love you all.

  See you in the next review !

  P/S : SORRY FOR MY BAD ENGLISH

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