Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
moxplant
I'm writing this review after reading most of Nekojiru's work, however Cat Soup was my introduction to her. Knowing more about her story, her death, and her work, this short feels like a true love-letter to Nekojiru as a person, rather than just as a creator. It features the more introspective and absurdist chapters from Nekojiru Udon, and strings them together into a beautiful narrative about life and death, and everything between.
This is the kind of thing that requires some background to fully appreciate and understand, however it can still be enjoyed by a complete outsider to Nekojiru's work, although its meanings and message may seem a little vague. I'd highly recommend you watch this, loock at Nekojiru's work, specifically Nekojiru Udon Volume 1, and then go back to watch it a seco…
Read at the sourceOptigisa
How could a thirty minute, one episode OVA turn into such excruciating boredom? Simply put, the answer is that this one had no end goal or general direction in mind. It crams - or tries to cram for lack of a better word - several ideas and themes down the viewer’s throat, and tries to present and highlight several topics and issues that aren’t even interminably connected, to the point where it becomes blurry as to what it’s reach and end goal is. It presents several ideas of religion, the circle of life, death and the afterlife, etc. yet it never explains why they are there. These are all good ideas, and the presentation is not iffy in the slightest, but the problem here arises from how forced the presentation feels. What is the general point of this short movie other than showcasing sever…
Read at the sourcexXBluesummersXx
As a major fan of surrealism, I love this movie more than I can express.
This is exactly what this movie is. An adaptation of an amazing (now deceased, sadly) mangaka who's works centered around her subconscious. Even the characters depicted are based off her dreams, her trademark characters.
Anyone familiar with her stories would not be surprised about the content of this movie.
If you enjoy surreal, dream-like tales and the sort of morbid world that can only come from the subconscious mind, you will love this movie. I've watched it 3, maybe 4 times in the past 6 months. The imagery and mysterious atmosphere of the movie invoke an astonishing lonely and wholesome feeling as you watch a small cat traverse his wacky, unbelievable world to attempt to save his sister all the while remainin…
Read at the sourceKrunchyman
Well, it was pretty evident from the character designs and the artwork who scripted this short film. None other than the “great” Masaaki Yuasa. I use great in parenthesis, because besides Ping Pong The Animation, I tend to believe his work is a bit overrated (still good, just not great). The Tatami Galaxy, for example, was far from a masterpiece, as it reused tired anime tropes, and revealed its central philosophical thrust — to grasp onto the opportunities that lie in front of you, and stop chasing the rose-colored, “perfect” life — in the very first episode, rendering much of what came afterwards as trivial fluff. It was a lean 11 episodes, but, honestly speaking, it could have been six, due to its repetitive nature.
Keeping this in mind, If Tatami galaxy suffers from excessive explain…
Read at the sourceSamuraiSteve
Nekojiro-sou is a short that proves to be quite the surreal adventure. I can therefore say, many will be turned off. After all, surrealism is not the most appreciated sub-genre. Nekojiro-sou is strange, but good, understandable as its director is Tatsuo Satou, with Masaaki Yuasa behind him (and heavily involved). Thereofre, if you are a fan Yuasa you will appreciate this title. Also, those of you who enjoy Mind Game, Serial Experiments Lain, and especially Kaiba, check this out. Inversely, if you are not a fan of unfettered absurdism, with stream-of-consciousness plot pacing, avoid.
Let's break it down:
Story (8):
For Nekojiru-sou, story is 'what happens'. In other words, it is paced in an uncontrolled manner: think Seinfeld. Truly, surrealist plots are best when progressed in a stream-…
Read at the sourceArsene_Lucifer
Cat Soup or Nekojiru-sou in its Japanese title is a lot stranger than its own name makes it out to be. It can be best described if you gave a loony philosopher, who just happened to love cats, some drugs this short film would probably be the result of what they see in their high. A series of abstract ideas presented in such a bizarre manner while seemingly nonsensical is alluring in its strange nature. It is very difficult to make any sense of it or confirm it means anything, but that’s part of what makes this short film have such a strong impression in such a small amount of time.
Good: Simple and deep
The story is basically about two cat siblings with Nyako, the brother, searching for some way to resurrect, Nyatta, his dead sister. The opening minutes of the short film are about as dir…
Read at the sourcedangsoo
I chose to watch this film on a whim after reading a review which the final lines were 'any kid who grows up watching this will probably end up talking to the walls'. How can anyone resist that?
I am now sincerely glad I did. It is one of the strangest and greatest animes I have watched to date. The story is simple, the music practically nonexistent, and the characters don't speak, so as a result you have no choice but to be plunged headfirst into the eerie, empty, echoing world of these disturbingly cute cats. The animation itself is clear and colourful, the movement smooth to the extent of unnatural.
One truly great element is the complete lack of rational method in which any scene was thought out. One moment they are in a field, the next they are sliding down a glass wave; their reac…
Read at the sourceDwarfVader
Cat Soup is not something you'll want to read a review of before watching. It's completely pointless, and will make the actual watching less enjoyable. Instead, I'd prefer you to read this AFTER you have finished watching, be it because you want to see others' thoughts or shape your own, or to understand what you've seen or whatnot.
The first thing that comes to mind while watching is that this is not a story told, nor an idea that can be put to words being conveyed, but rather a "journey of the state of mind". I believe this is the best way I can describe the experience of watching Nekojiru-sou. Or so I would like to say, but there are two ways to watch the OVA. And both I believe are equally as important, and so I feel was meant by the author; don't quote me on that though. The two ways…
Read at the sourceSolemnmind
Some anime want to confuse you with complex dialogue or heavy symbolism while others might be difficult to comprehend because of their randomness and nonsensical approach alone. Cat Soup belongs firmly in the second category; the creators themselves have proclaimed that it doesn't really mean anything but the storyline is bizarre enough to demand fair amounts of attention. I see this anime as, above all else, a visual experience and this review exists for the purpose of explaining why.
As far as narration goes, Cat Soup speaks in strict visual language without any traces of verbal communication to convey its plot developments. The core of the story is comprised of a journey that is neither a quest for self-discovery or knowledge but rather the tale of a cat named Nyako who searches for a…
Read at the sourceMouseParade
This is truly the epitome of surreal, artistic anime.
Nekojiru-sou offers a minimalistic view into a crazy abstract world that is lacking all too much in many animation productions. The characters (of few words) are yet colorful and spike the primal curiosity that remains present for the entirety of the 30~ minutes of run time. Sounds in the film are coordinated in a wonderful scheme that helps bring the viewer even deeper into this easily manipulable, and wild world.
I will say that the enjoyment of this film is highly based on whether you have an affinity for abstract workings. Therefore, it is understandable if some do not enjoy such a film but even working through a tough medium like animation, the enjoyment of this film is incredible. All it takes to see how incredible it is; is to p…
Read at the sourceastra_moon
It's not easy to explain this anime, but what I think, I will tell you.
The story begins with a house. There live several cat's in that house: mom, dad and 2 kitty's. Their lifes is full of psychological thing. The oldest kitty is sick, cause a demon stole his soul. The youngest child is try to cheer him up by going to a circus, but everything goes wrong...
Yet it does have a bit of a happy atmosphere, even though the story seems a bit sad.
I really like the OVA, because it is so random you can always watch it!^^
Read at the sourcekekekeKaj
I hate shows that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I never cared for trippy insanity such as those found in abundance in "FLCL" and "Dead Leaves"... and "Cat Soup" is about as trippy as they come - it makes me wonder what the hell the producers were smoking when they made this. There is no dialogue for starters, and after the first couple of minutes, there is barely any coherence either, just random scenes flashing across the screen. I just don't get it - what exactly is the point of this kind of anime? The art is ultra simplistic, the story is non-existent, and to say the characters are zero dimensional would be flattering to the extreme. If it's suppose to be entertaining, then it failed as I found it intensely boring despite its short length. If it's supposed to be funny, well, apart…
Read at the sourceLordTeapot
An abstract anime that brilliantly captures the feelings of dreams and nightmares. The music is often lighthearted and causes the viewer to question the seriousness of what he / she is seeing. There is a lot of repeated imagry in this film which has a strange effect on those that notice it. There is also a lot of symbolism. I will not go any further into this but I had a fun time watching the macabre scenes shilst analyzing the possible meanings and links.
I would recommend this to anyone who wants a dream-like anime which never ceases to surprise whoever is watching!
Read at the sourceniafabo
I was expecting to like this movie. I am a fan of surrealism and of the art movie genre in general. I was sorely disapointed however. Despite all of the rave reviews and excitement around it I could never seem to get myself into the film. At first I tried to analyze every piece of it and work it into some overall theme. The problem is when it comes right down to it there is no theme or overall message present in the movie. It comes off as a jumbled mess of half ideas like they were sitting at the drawing board and decided this scene would look really good here. I was lefting feeling like the creators had no idea in mind and that the movie had no message. Thinking I must be wrong and missing something of valuable importance I looked into it further and once again tried to analyze it but fou…
Read at the sourceace52387
The plot of cat soup is simple, but easy to miss without a small summary, so here is a quick one: a young girl kitten is bed ridden with illness, close to death. Her younger brother sees a spirit take his sister`s soul with it, and he fights to take the soul back. He only gets half of it, which is enough to keep her alive, but brain dead. They set off on a journey to find a flower that will return her to normal. I made the mistake of not reading a synopsis. Because the cats all look alike at first and there`s no voice acting to help distinguish them, I didn`t recognize what was going on. One thing to note is that the brother wears a green shirt and shorts while the sister wears a peach colored shirt and a skirt that looks a lot like shorts. You`ll figure this out eventually, but it sure ma…
Read at the sourceycart59
Well, what can I say... I don't really know! Because, even though I've watched it, I still don't really understand it... so let's see how this review goes!
Story (9): It's... a strange one, I'll give it that. I must thank the people that directed me to that, because it really is awesome. Confusing, but awesome. I can't really tell you what the story is about, because I don't undertand it... but it's about two cats, which I think that the older sister cat lost her soul or something because she drowned. Most of the humans are replaced with cats, but it's interesting. There wasn't one point in the whole thing where I wasn't going WHAT THE FUCK?!?
Art (10): The art in this is so cute! I just love it all! Some of the characters looked so strange that it just made it even more enjoyable. Most…
Read at the sourceAlmightyED
I really enjoyed this movie. I had seen it before I watched the animated series which is entirely different. In the movie there are many dynamics of influence, scenery, imagery, and philosophical impressions. It follows the story of a small cat trying to get his sisters souls back. Even though it is a short movie it was one that really captivated me.
Read at the sourceBlackfred
Every once in a while, a truly magnificent and original anime shows up. Being a media everyone relates with silly characters, a fun story and a little ecchi now and then, the typical anime-lover would get a mild shock from a movie such as this.
Through the film, we follow the cat Nyatto on his quest to reclaim his sister's lost soul. They embark on a strange journey filled with mystery, darkness and disturbing obstacles. There isn't much more to say, really.
Nyatto and his sister - and also a few other characters - were all in Nekojiru Gekijou, the series this film spawned from. Although this story takes place in the same world as the original series, this is not similar to it at all. All the black humor that Nekojiru Gekijou was built upon have been replaced with a dark and disturbing t…
Read at the sourceaghagjhakjghakg
I have to start with that this is probably THE weirdest movie I have ever seen. And you know what, I loved it. You get completly lost when u watch it but in a good way, but the best thing with this is probably that they made it look like a kids show, but its so harsh in some places that you realise that this is not a kids show.
Story: I liked the story that the Main cat (Nyatto) is trying to help his sister that got her soul removed. but that might just be because I love weird anime.
Art: I just got blown away by the art, it was so appeling that I cant give it lower then a perfect score.
sound:The sound was good, cant really elaborate that because the characters doesn't talk. but they did a really nice work with the backround sound and music.
Character: I loved Nyatto he did things tha…
Read at the sourcehara_karikitty
I'm not going to lie to you and tell you the film provoked my thoughts in a massive way, I never deeply analyzed the movie but I did find it a gorgeous little story.
I found the simplicity and complexity both coinciding to be more of a focal point than a distraction. The colors are fantastically bright at one point and then disgustingly dank at others which flowed very well with the overall story.
The childlike animation led me to believe the story was going to be of the same ilk, though when it began I realized I was a bit mistaken to say the least xD. The events which take place throughout the film make it hard to grasp, and to be fair, I had no idea what they were looking for at the time, and wondered "Why is his sister looking at him like that?" D:
I thought it was a good story wi…
Read at the source