Chi’s Sweet Home is like the Nintendo Wii of anime. Anyone of all ages can enjoy it: your sister will like it, your mom will like it, even your grandma will like it, if she’s into anime and is cool like that.
Story
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The story is pretty clear-cut. A cute kitten named Chi gets lost and separated from her mother, and a human family that lives nearby finds her and decides to adopt her. Unfortunately, pets are not allowed in the apartment complex, so the Yamada family must keep Chi out of sight, especially from the landlady. The third quarter of the 104 three-minute-long episodes gets kinda repetitive and filler-ish, but once you get over this small hurdle and reach the last quarter of the anime, you’ll remember why you stuck with this series for so long. Chi’s Sweet Home is not only entertaining, but enlightening for future cat owners like me. It’s like an animated pet manual. I had no idea about some of the things I’d have to go through while owning a cat, until I watched this anime.
Animation
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Some people may complain that more shadows or a darker color palette should’ve been used, but I think the watercolor style reminds me of a children’s book, which complements well with the innocent atmosphere of this anime. The animation stays very true to the manga’s design. Actually, if you were to set them side-by-side they would look almost exactly alike.
Sound
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The OP theme with Chi the cat singing the lyrics is cute, but odd, to say the least. Even I wouldn’t be caught listening to it on my MP3 player -- and that’s coming from a person who likes Figu@Mate. XD The only thing I can compare the OP theme to is Menchi the dog howling the ED theme of Excel Saga (which is ironic, because it’s sung by the same voice actress). As for Chi’s ED theme…what ED theme? Lol. The rest of the music is standard and bubbly, but in a good way. Simple music for a simple anime. Most of all, I gotta give huge props to Satomi Koorogi for doing such a great job with Chi’s voice. Many times I thought they used a real cat!
Character
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The characters don’t have much depth, except the main star, Chi, of course. The parents and the little boy are mainly there to serve their role of caring for and disciplining Chi. Yet, the Yamada family does grow on you. Soon they will feel like distant relatives or close neighbors.
Enjoyment
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I’ve never said “kawaii” so many times in an anime. This anime is very funny, which may be hard for you to believe until you see for yourself. Chi’s facial expressions and the way she reacts to her owners are simply priceless. This anime isn’t all about comedy, though. It is also suspenseful when Chi is at risk of getting caught, and there are some sad moments where I couldn’t help myself from saying “Poor Chi,” or “Poor Dad.”
Overall
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Unless you totally hate cats or are allergic to uber kawaiiness, you should give this anime a try. Even though it’s a hefty 104 episodes, the series is only a little over 5 hours in length. Heck, even if you have 30 minutes to spare, you can zip through the first 10 episodes to see if you like it. In my opinion, Chi’s Sweet Home is the best anime about a pet. It’s suitable for all ages, and you may even learn a few things about cats.
