What's Michael?

What's Michael? is a fantastic pet-themed comedy series with charming feline character designs and a catchy soundtrack.

The story of What's Michael? is rather simple due to its focus on sketch comedy. Each bit is a different absurd scenario in the life of Michael the cat. Each comedy sketch depicts Michael having various owners, making for an optimal "what if" situation. From newlywed couples welcoming their first pet to manly Yakuza secretly snuggling their adorable cat while away from their gang buddies, Michael is depicted as living various wonderfully entertaining lifestyles.

What's Michael? primarily centers around only two characters: Michael, our delightful orange cat, who is ... the main focus of this series, and Poppo, his occasionally appearing female companion. Michael and Poppo don't actually talk and only communicate with a series of meows, growls, purrs, and hisses, just as real cats do.

While the animation is nothing that will blow your socks off, the character designs featured in this OVA are quite charming. I appreciate that the cats animated in this series are presented with more realistic proportions, giving them an adorably pudgy look. Of course, the best detail that is brought out in this series is that Michael is illustrated with a visible pair of gonads.

As for the soundtrack of this anime, What's Michael? reeks of 80s synthesizers in the most kitschiest way possible. Nothing in particular stands out in the soundtrack of this series, but the opening song performance by P.J. is spectacular, as it is catchy and one of the main reasons I first discovered this anime.

Altogether, What's Michael? is an entertaining pet-themed anime I would recommend to anyone who's a fan of cats, absurdist comedy, or just loves seeking out classic OVA series. I hope by immersing yourself in this anime, you will uncover the long-awaited answer to the alluring question: "What's Michael?"

"What's Michael?" is a collection of 3-4 minute shorts about cats. The concept sounds quite cute, I enjoy older animation (when it's done well), and I like cats, so I thought it might be a decent watch.

But nahhh. The art and animation is mostly fine, so no complaints there. The problem is that it's not funny. Almost every short in "What's Michael?" is either unfunny or uncomfortable, sometimes both. Didn't really wanna see cats being slapped / punched, didn't really wanna see an adult cat be inappropriate towards a kitten. Just felt gross.

I'm not sure who the target demographic for this is. If you like ... cats, you don't want to see them hurt... If you hate cats, you don't want to watch an hour-long OVA about cats... Baffling.

Among the many bad shorts, there's a couple that were fine, but that being said I wouldn't recommend "What's Michael?" to anyone. It's not worth suffering through all the bad shorts for the one or two that you might find funny. There's many, many better uses of your time.