This one's for you, cat lovers.
Do you love cats? If you do, you should be happy — they’re quite well-represented in anime. There are many different types and breeds of cats, and many are actually prominent characters on their own.
Here are the 10 most iconic cats in anime — you should really watch their series!
10. Puck (Re:Zero)
In Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu), Puck (or Pack) is Emilia’s spirit guardian.
While most of the time he’s just a small flying cat (or, well, something similar to a cat), he’s actually an ancient spirit capable of destroying the world. Which it actually does in one of Subaru’s failed timelines.
9. Catbus (My Neighbor Totoro)
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) is one of the most iconic Ghibli movies. One of the minor characters in the film is the Catbus (or Nekobus), which is exactly what you think it is.
Yes, it’s a giant cat with many legs that also serves as a bus for the characters — the anime focuses heavily on spirits of Japan, though there’s no actual spirit like that in mythology. There are cats that shapeshift, though.
8. Sakamoto-san (Nichijou)
Nichijou is a bizarre comedy series focusing on events that are ordinary for its characters — but are completely insane by our standards. One of the characters is Sakamoto — a cat that is granted an ability to speak because of his scarf — and he’s quite arrogant, demanding to be called “Sakamoto-san”.
The funniest part, however, is that a talking cat isn’t even that weird by Nichijou standards. In fact, Sakamoto’s behavior is somewhat cat-like, which is less odd than pretty much anything else in the anime.
7. Aria Pokoteng (Aria the Animation)
The mascot of the Aria Company in Aria the Animation, Aria Pokoteng is an oversized cat that seems to have intelligence close to that of humans.
Despite his noticeably non-catlike appearance, everyone in the series treats him normally — indicating that this breed of cat is actually quite popular on the planet Aqua (Mars, terraformed by humans).
6. Baron (The Cat Returns)
Another character from a work by Studio Ghibli, Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, is originally a minor character from the movie Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo Sumaseba). He gets a full movie for himself, however.
The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi) fully focuses on the events of the Cat Kingdom, which is a completely separate world from ours.
5. Nyanko-sensei (Natsume’s Book of Friends)
In Natsume’s Book of Friends (Natsume Yuujinchou), Madara is an ancient spirit who serves as both a mentor and a sidekick for Natsume. He’s originally not even a cat — he’s a great youkai, the original form of which is a wolf.
However, most of the time he spends in the form of a maneki-neko — a type of cat figurine common in Japan. As such, he is kept as a household cat in the protagonist’s home and dubbed “Nyanko-sensei”.
4. Meowth (Pokemon)
There are many cat-like Pokemon, but perhaps the most famous one is Meowth (or Nyarth). Technically, there are many Meowths, but fans remember Team Rocket’s Meowth the most — that’s where he initially appeared.
With Team Rocket being a trio of recurring villains in the series, their Pokemon is very memorable — and he got a bunch of songs for himself as well.
3. Happy (Fairy Tail)
Fairy Tail is an anime that has many haters — but even more fans. The sense of adventure and camaraderie found in it is something you can’t find in many other series. The anime is just fun — and a very important member of the Fairy Tail guild is Happy.
While he’s technically not a cat — he’s a member of a magical race that is similar to cats — he’s so close to one that he definitely should count. Happy serves as an irreplaceable mascot for the series.
2. Luna (Sailor Moon)
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon was integral for codifying the magical girl genre. Luna, the magical cat that serves as mentor for Sailor Guardians. She’s a mascot for them — and for the entire series.
Mascots have already been a thing in the magical girl series, but Luna practically made them a requirement for the genre. Luna actually has a human form as well — something many mascots in the anime that came after Sailor Moon also have.
1. Doraemon (Doraemon)
Okay, so, many Western fans might not be aware of Doraemon. However, the weird-looking blue robot cat is actually incredibly popular in Japan — and in many other countries, including China and pretty much all of Southeast Asia.
Doraemon is a robot cat from the future that takes care of a 10-year-old boy, Nobita. Together, they get into all kinds of adventures. The series has been running for almost half a century now, and many anime actually reference it.