English Dub Review: Nekopara “The One on My Mind”

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

It’s the mystery kitty’s second day at the big house, and she is a strange one. Then again, everyone at that house is strange and unusual. Shigure worries she lost the kitten right away, until Coconut finds her curled up, and sleeping on the toilet. Azuki, the oldest yet scampiest cat of the bunch, has taken to calling her Sugarcane. Shigure doesn’t go for her naming the kitten without permission because if lost, she likely has a real name.

Since Cinnamon and Maple have the day off work, they opt to look after the baby. After dressing her in an adorable dungaree outfit, they sit back and watch TV. When Minty starts to stir, Maple prepares a fancy tea service featuring delicious Darjeeling and various pastries. However, the kitten roots around under the sink and finds a bag of dried fish just like the one Chocola gave her the night before. After their gnash, the cats introduce her to storybooks, action figures, and jump rope. Minty is unamused. Shigure brings out a big box of toys that Minty only takes interest in when she learns Chocola used to play with them.

At the café, Azuki is really picking up the slack. Chocola wants to ask her about their overnight guest, but Azuki is far too productive to even entertain the idea of downtime. And when the lunch rush finally lets up, she and Coconut get into a heated argument causing Vanilla to lament and say, “Forget it, Chocola, it’s Chinatown.”

Back at the house, all hell has broken loose because Minty has gone missing. She’s been elusive since arriving, hiding in the most unlikely places. But this time, she’s taken her shoes and appears to have legitimately left. The house cats take to the streets to look for her, and once Chocola hears about her missing friend, she leaves work to hit the pavement. Luckily, Vanilla steps up and covers for her.

After an expansive search, Chocola finds the kitten in the very spot where they met the night before. What the hell? Why wasn’t that the first place she checked? I suppose drama’s gotta drama.

The whole family is waiting at the café when Chocola returns with her new friend. Just as Shigure is about to take Minty back to the big house, Chocola begs Master to let her keep the baby above the café. She promises to dress, bathe, feed, and clean up after her—the girl really sells it. To cement the request, Vanilla says she wants whatever Chocola does. Master agrees and pretends that’s what he wanted all along, even though he definitely did not.

 

Our Take

Today’s Nekopara MVP award goes to Vanilla. With Chocola loud, proud, and in our faces at all times, it’s easy to miss the cunning and gracious work of the quiet one. Vanilla, despite being greedy for ahi tuna, really stepped up for her favorite sister. There’s no doubt that she likes Minty and considers her cute—just like the rest of the cats. But standing up for Chocola and demanding the kitten stay with them, went on and beyond an initial fascination. A cat as loyal as this is hard to find, so be good to her, Master and Shigure, and don’t push her around just because she’s quiet.

Last week, I ceremoniously gave the kitten a name—Minty. I felt good about it, because all the other cats were named after baking ingredients based on the color of their fur. However, this week Shigure admonished Azuki for calling the kitten Sugarcane—a much worse name that doesn’t suit her at all, but you get where I’m going with this. According to Shigure—a cat expert—I’m a detriment to this world. But wait. No, no, no, I don’t accept your criticism. What are we supposed to do when we want to get the kitty’s attention? Snap our fingers? Shout “Hey you” at the poor thing? Damn, no wonder she ran away from you. Your house may seem cat-friendly, but you’ve got some weird rules.

Anyway, let’s talk about Azuki, my new favorite character. Here we have a tough feline with a Napoleon complex who gets stuff done. She doesn’t mess around on the job, and if you’ve ever worked in food service you know that’s a huge boon. Plus, she doesn’t take any crap from Coconut. Now, Coconut is the type who’ll sashay all over you if given the chance. And you know this puss has gotten away with it in the past since she’s a leggy blonde with heterochromia. So you have to respect Azuki for keeping her in check, and also continuing to call that kitten Sugarcane despite clap back from the fun police.

Okay, so this show is starting to grow on me. I no longer think it’s entirely for fetishists and weirdos. While the humans don’t do much for me, and I hate how they subjugate the cats like it ain’t no thing, I do enjoy the optimistic outlooks shared by those good-timing cats.

Then again, maybe I am one of those weirdos…