Nyaight of the Living Cat – Episode 1

What’s it about? In a nyaightmare come true, a virus spreads globally transforming all of humankind into fearsome beasts with fangs, claws, and diurnal vision—cats, to be precise. Now, the remains of humanity hide from these kittypets turned wild warriors of the night, fending off clawed clowders as best they can. Among them is Kunagi, a man with no memories of his past but a deep knowledge of cats—and a desire to pet them all.

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For a while now, I’ve wanted a cat: a little silly orange boy named Briar who I’d eagerly transform my apartment for. I envision using all manner of toys to entertain him while I’m at work, dream of cooking a piece of fish for him once a month for our special dinner, have practice clearing space under my nightstand for a bed for him—basically, I’m besotted with an animal that’s not yet a part of my home.

Enter Nyaight of the Living Cat, a anime that combines those cuddly creatures we all love with the zombie apocalypse. It’s a twist on a familiar genre by injecting a bit of feline antics into it, upping the ante from a human threat to an interspecies horror story. Yet will this premiere be a purrfect nightmare, or will my love of our feline friends—and silly premises done right—be the cat’s meow?

Immediately, this premiere starts off with the apocalypse in full effect: the few surviving humans in what looks like a blasted, Tokyo landscape flee, running through tunnels and escaping to a shelter just as a horde of beasts go mewling by. Static fills the screen as a clowder of toms, queens, and kittens sic and lick, adding another former human to their ranks before a banger of an opener plays that, oddly, reminded me a bit of Death Note’s two openings.

The serious tone of the cold open extends into the episode, as does a comedic underpinning with the induction of amnesiac Kunagi, a man who is very knowledgeable about cats but uh…also really, really wants to pet them, which is very bad given the fact that that’s how the virus spreads. 

I was really surprised to see that this is actually a really thought-through plot and not just a gimmick: there’s an entire lead-up to the Nyandemic that includes selective breeding and the proliferation of cats to the point that a cat-based pandemic works on a fictional and logical level. Of course, the show quickly moves on to the actual meat: this being a survival show that’s something of a dark comedy with cats everywhere playing up their typically cute traits as actually malevolent. They paw at glass, desperate to come in from outside—but showing affection and letting them love on you results in you becoming one of them. Squishing their toe beans means direct contact with cats, resulting in the same. Spritzing them with water, thus, is the only way to fend off an absolutely cute enemy.

Truly, this world and its apocalypse is from the depths of hell, and I absolutely love it.

This is the kind of pleasant popcorn anime I want a larger order and refill of quick, fast, and in a hurry. It goes down easy, leaving me both hungry for more and satisfied with what I’ve got. I foresee this being the nature of my experience with this series as yes, I’ll definitely be keep up with this show all summer. After all, every summer needs a little bit of spookiness to complete that summertime sadness vibe, right? (Also, copious cat facts: there’s so many cat facts and I love that, too.)

Nyaight of the Living Cat is actually quite strong as a premise and does well with its execution. While it’s not going to rewire my brain chemistry, it serves as a strong reminder that you can and absolutely should have fun with fiction. Just like Dungeon Crawler Carl, my recent fixation, I think having fun with a narrative and leaning into the trappings and tropes that make it enjoyable is just as rewarding as when stories twist and play with expectations.

Overall, this is easily one of my favorite premieres this season, and if I could give it a rating, it would be like, 8.5 out of 10 toe beans. It’s  perfect for giggling too while also envisioning this in our own world, making for an apocalypse I never dreamed of and wouldn’t want to experience while simultaneously pondering how I’d survive when I pet dogs—and the occasional cat—in my day job. Much like how I carry around milkbones in my pocket, I simply can’t resist loving on animals, but in this case, I’ll leave the cat apocalypse to the screen and enjoy it there since I’d definitely be joining a cat clowder of the end otherwise.