'My Roommate Is a Cat' Is an Absolute Delight

One of the new anime shows I picked up at the very start of the winter 2019 season is My Roommate Is a Cat (the original Japanese title translates into English as “My Housemate Is on My Lap, But Sometimes, on My Head”, and it takes until the very end of the season’s 12^th and final episode before one can learn why the title is such).  It tells the story of an introverted 23-year-old writer named Subaru Mikazuki and Haru, the stray cat that he encountered while visiting his parents’ graves which he then finds himself adopting.

As a cat person, I extremely enjoyed My Roommate Is a Cat.  It’s not necessarily a great anime, but it’s utterly adorable and endearing.  Each episode unfailingly brings laughter and warms hearts.

But make no mistake.  Despite its overwhelming cuteness, it’s not all fluff.  It has substance.  It has some excellent character drama.

Initially, the only benefit that Subaru gets from Haru’s presence is the inspiration for his next novel.  But as their bond deepens over time, Haru proves to be a real life-changer for the withdrawn, socially awkward Subaru. Having Haru in his life brings him experiences and realizations – experiences and realizations that he probably wouldn’t have come across otherwise – that encourage him to open up, reflect on the lessons from his memories of his parents, improve his relationships with the people around him, and jump out of his comfort zone.

A protagonist’s life getting profoundly changed by the arrival of a new pet is something that we have seen countless of times before.  But the storytelling on this anime does an outstanding job in letting this cliché play out in a way that is effectively thoughtful, amusing, and touching.  And thus, there’s no drop of tiresomeness in witnessing how Haru works as the stimulus for Subaru’s growth as a person.

One particular way it enhances the experience is telling the story through both Subaru and Haru’s point of views.  Usually, the plot of each episode is first seen through Subaru’s perspective, which can be entertaining, funny, and heartwarming on its own.  Then, afterwards, it unfolds again, this time, through Haru’s perspective, which often reveals further depth and comedy to the events that were initially witnessed.

Haru is, of course, the MVP of this anime.  She’s the epitome of kawaii.  But she wins you over not solely because of just that.  She’s well-realized as a character.  She has personality.  And after learning her tragic backstory, it’s just impossible not to root for her.  But what I enjoy best about Haru is how she believes she’s the one who is taking care of Subaru, instead of the other way around  (well, in a certain sense, she is.  But not in the way she hilariously sees it).

The supporting cast is pretty likable, too.  Their different interactions with Subaru and Haru are highly enjoyable.  My only disappointment is that I think the animal characters don’t have enough scenes together.

All in all, My Roommate Is a Cat is an absolute delight.