It's a zombie apocalypse, but with cats. No undead. No gore or horror. Instead, there's a cat virus that's communicated by touch and turns humans into cats. Furthermore, everyone's a cat-lover who thinks the horrific thing about this cute apocalypse that you can't cuddle your pets any more.

...and that's it. That's the entirety of this series. That's a funny idea, but the show plays it straight and hardly ever made me laugh. I still quite enjoyed it, but I think it's best watched as a non-parodic variant on zombie films. If you're hoping for a hilarious piss-take, forget it and move on. Sorry. You'll be disappointed. It doesn't even really have jokes.

If you like zombie films, though, try it and see. As a zombie series, it's actually quite interesting. Zombie apocalypse staples (e.g. barricades, fences) are often useless. Cats can climb anything and slip through anything. An infected cat is more dangerous than a mindless shambling corpse. It's sneakier, cleverer and can spread the infection merely by touch. No need to bite. They lack physical strength, of course... but you can't even rely on that. The cat virus also affects animals, but more subtly than with humans. They're only transformed mentally, but that means they can recruit bears, horses, elephants or any other creature just by staying in contact with it. A cat sitting on a bear's head can direct its movements. A cat that catches a bird can effectively become capable of flight.

Next, consider the Zombie With Vestigial Sentience. We get that too. Cattified humans normally lose their memories and personality... but not always. There are unconventional transformations. One particular cat retains human intelligence and can decide which side it wants to fight on. It can even read books.

The cat parody stuff can be fun, admittedly. Everyone adores cats and never considers using lethal force against them. They might have a breakdown at their own cruelty after driving them off with catnip and super soakers. Furthermore, the usual zombie beats are being played hard, even though the realistically hand-drawn cats always look as cute as possible. (Sometimes they're CGI, but usually not.) Also, the show's full of interesting asides about cat psychology, habits, etc. This is life or death information for our heroes, but educational for us.

If this were real life, incidentally, I'd be looking for rat poison, traps and machine guns. Sure, I like cats, but I'd protect myself.

The craziest thing about this show, though, is the fact that Takashi Miike is its chief director. Yes, him. Audition, Ichi the Killer, Visitor Q, Gozu, 13 Assassins, etc. He's recently started doing anime. His first was Onimusha in 2023 for Netflix and this is his second.

Do I dislike anything here? Well, I could have lived without granny's gratuitous English. Also, the cat translation device is pretty silly, although it made me laugh. Would I recommend this series? Answer: less so than I'd expected. I love the concept, but you'd expect it to be funnier. It does, though, commit impressively to its absurdity and faux non-horror. It's quite an interesting variation on the zombie genre, with unusual surprises and an ending that sets up a possible Season 2. (The manga's ongoing.) It also has visual quotes from other horror films, e.g. a cat version of Jack Nicholson looking through the door in The Shining. Overall, if you like zombie films, it's quite fun.

"We'd fare better against an army of hostile aliens. I'm sure our men would choose death over harming a cat. At least, I know I would."