A punk, a high school girl, and a strong, silent type who looks like he’s faced death once or twice before are running for their lives inside an abandoned warehouse. The horrors chasing after them close in, pushing at the doors, scraping at the windows, crawling in the air ducts, their inhuman braying getting louder and louder. What are these creatures, you may ask? Prepare your hearts for the terror at play here: It is a pack of overly friendly cats. But it’s not just treats or firm butt pats these floofs want. No, their affections are deadly, with a few rough-tongued kisses proving more dangerous than a zombie who’s been without brains for a month, at least, if you want to retain your human form. Because whoever is claimed by the cats becomes one of them. Literally. Flashback to before the Nyandemic: Turns out our hapless humans know each other from a certain down-at-the-heels cat café, run by the girl and her older brother and frequented by a clientele of seamy tough guys. Until one day, when their world suddenly turns a little too furry. As the cat lovers flee for their lives, the older brother becomes fascinated with the bauble bouncing in his coworker’s hair…could he be…infected?!
Move over Spinal Tap, Robin Hood: Men In Tights, and Blazing Saddles! Make way, Shaun of the Dead! There’s another parody-that-is-better-than-the-original in town, and it’s got cats. CATS! Nyahahaha! I loved it. This premiere hits all the right beats of a zombie (comedy) horror, but with 100% felines, and everyone knows that cats make everything better. (Witness: Jurassic Park but with a Cat.) Seriously, it’s dramatic, it’s comedic, it’s infinitely relatable. The angst, the inner conflict, the heartbreak! What is a cat lover to do when the fur balls become humanity’s Enemy No. 1? (The meme harvest will be plentiful with this one—see below for the firstfruits.) The full range of emotions is on display here, with compelling character acting in the animation and voice performances. The cat animation is some of the best I’ve seen, even when CG is used. Which is saying something, because there are some pretty funky-looking felines out there in anime land. Meanwhile, the nods to horror film conventions peppered throughout make it a rewarding watch even if you aren’t a huge cat fan, with a thread of mystery as well, in the form of the strong, silent type who doesn’t know who he is, having recently lost his memory completely, apart from his encyclopedic knowledge of felis catus. Special mention goes to the montage of classic horror film poster rip-offs (featuring Cats) in the ED, and the Aggretsuko-style heavy metal soundtrack that bursts on the scene at appropriate moments (for both dramatic and comedic effect). This is a delightful genre mashup that is perfect for summer blockbuster season! (There’s even a post-credit educational sequence!) I have zero sense of where it’s going, but I’m along for the ride.
But just look at their little faces!!!!
Nyaight of the Living Cat is streaming on Crunchyroll.
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