My Roommate is a Cat

Episode 8

We open this episode with the classic cat owner problem: what do you do when getting the thing you need requires jostling a sleeping kitty? It's funny because we often have no scruples about bothering them while asleep just for fun. But once a cat falls asleep on your favorite thing, it's just so unexpected and precious that you don't want to do anything to disturb their slumber. And cats are unpredictable creatures; they can snooze through storms, but the littlest noise nearby may be enough to awaken them. Then again, as someone who's also slept through hurricanes before, I guess people—or at least the kinds of people who own cats—are not so different.

The focus of this episode is Subaru's past and how he's coping with it. While most episodes of My Roommate is a Cat have involved some give-and-take between Subaru and Haru's sides of the story, this week is Subaru's story, with Haru's section being more of an afterthought. It's like a mirror-image of the episode that gave us Haru's backstory. Of course, we already know a lot of the specifics of Subaru's childhood, so episode 8 digs into how he's continuing to process it.

We see a lot of Subaru's history struggling to get along with other kids, including his present-day friend Hiroto, because of his unusual interests. It struck me that as much as wanting to be an author is a fashionable thing to pursue as an adult, it is a weird dorky hobby to have as a kid. Especially if you're like Subaru and spend more time reading your hoard of books than talking to other kids. It's no wonder Hiroto thinks he wants to open up a book factory instead. That's the easiest conclusion for a non-bookish kid to draw from seeing such a room! After that, we flash forward to Subaru in college, when he and his parents gets news of his first book's publication.

After that, Subaru wakes up and mentions that he didn't used to dream of those memories. That revelation makes these flashbacks all the more interesting. It just furthers what we've known for several episodes, that Subaru's love of books is intimately tied to his memories of his parents, and thus his trauma at losing them so young. I hope these hidden depths have at least endeared viewers to Subaru as much as they've made me like him. He's still kind of a grump, but one with some hidden depths to explain his withdrawn behavior.

The next part of the episode focuses on Haru jumping away from Hiroto and making a huge mess of things in the process. The "Haru POV" section of the episode attempts to "explain" what's going on, which I appreciated since it kind of came out of nowhere; Haru was just fine with Hiroto last week. At the same time, I also know cats well enough that I would've been fine with no explanation; I've seen cats turn on a dime toward a visiting friend or family member they were fine with on the last visit. But it's sweet to think that she was caught up in an elaborate plan to make sure her workaholic human is getting properly fed. The funniest part of the episode comes when she jumps down to Subaru and lands on his face.

This whole sequence reminded me of times cats have awkwardly landed on me. When my cat Petey was a kitten, he once tried to climb onto a chandelier via my chest and face. I'll never forget the confusion on his little face when I leapt away from his oncoming claws. Even Haru's sweet moment cuddling on top of Subaru at the end reminded of times my cats slept on my chest, which is certainly cute but hardly comfortable. My dearly departed Louie used to sleep on my mom's back when she took naps. You put up with it though, because who would want to disturb the pristine cuteness of a sleeping cat? Especially one who has decided that you are their chosen pillow. It's too sweet to resist.

Thematically, My Roommate is a Cat keeps emphasizing how Haru can push Subaru closer to other humans—even verbally confirming this when Subaru sighs wistfully about how many more people are over than before he got a cat. He doesn't seem to mind it though, with Haru actually succeeding at getting him out of his shell. Next time, we even get to see the dreaded "autograph session" he was refusing to take part in just last week! I'm proud of Subaru, and I like how this show subverts the usual stereotype of cats and their owners as being more isolated from the world. Yeah, cat people do probably trend more introverted than average, but we love cats precisely because we do need love and connection—cats not only give us that themselves, but they can help us get better at seeking that out in other humans. Pets are not replacements for human contact, but an accompaniment that might even bring you more non-furry friends in the long run.

Rating: A-

My Roommate is a Cat is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rose is a Ph.D. student in musicology, who recently released a book about the music of Cowboy Bebop. You can also follow her on Twitter.