One thing I like about social media like Twitter and Facebook is how I can reach out to J-List followers and ask questions like, why do you watch anime? And time and time again I’ve gotten an answer along the lines of, “Anime literally saved me. I could not get through the stresses of my life without it.” Today’s post will explore the adorable anime My Roommate is a Cat, and how anime can heal us.
My Roommate is a Cat (Japanese title Dokyonin ha Hiza, Tokidoki Atama no Ue, or My Roommate Sits In My Lap, Sometimes on my Head) is the story of Mikazuki Subaru, a 23-year-old writer who was already plagued by social anxiety issues, preferring reading books to interacting with people. When both his parents are killed in a bus accident, he decides to pull out of society completely. His life changes when he picks up a stray cat he names Haru, who becomes protective of his new owner. As they get to know each other, Haru helps Subaru work through his grief over his parents.
The show is adorable on several levels, but mostly because each episode is told in two halves, from the point of view of the human and then again from the cat’s perspective. In one episode, Haru realizes his human isn’t eating properly, and, knowing the extreme pain of starvation, he gives over some of his cat food. Subaru thinks the cat doesn’t like the food, so he throws it away, causing Haru to go ballistic at the waste of food. In another scene, Subaru is puzzled at why the cat is running around, violently reacting to something invisible in the open air. But when we see the same events from the cat’s point of view, we learn that he’s sensing two spirits in the room, and is trying to protect his human from them. Later we learn that the spirits are… you’ll have to watch it to find out!
Yes, My Roommate is a Cat is a great show for many reasons. It’s a peaceful, zero-stress show of the kind known as iyashi-kei in Japanese, which means “healing,” and it’s up there with other great shows like Flying Witch, Recovery of an MMO Junkie and Non Non Biyori as a show I recommend highly. It’s a series that will make you understand the psychology of your beloved pet (either cat or dog), too. As someone who lost both a cat and a dog last year, this show is making me appreciate their friendship more than ever.
Will you be watching My Roommate is a Cat? What other shows do you think of as “healing” shows? Tell us on Twitter!
The J-List staff has been hard at work adding gorgeous new anime figures to the site. We’ve got sexy figures, cast-off figures with clothes you can remove, and more. Browse all the new anime figures here.
