Final Review: Chi’s Sweet Home

Nov 08 2008 • Anime

It’s really hard to write up anything in-depth about Chi’s Sweet Home, mostly because it’s about the daily life of a cat. There were definitely some enjoyable moments and some episodes that were rather bland, but at 3 minutes an episode, it was a fun, quick watch.

Simple, cute anime without major plot

For lovers of the manga, Chi’s Sweet Home is a huge disappointment. It deviates from the original source and consists of mostly filler episodes (if you can really count 3 minutes a full episode). There’s no sense of compensation at all - there’s very little original plot to drive the story. Additionally, some of the episodes have the family treat Chi like a dog and while it serves the purpose of “A Day in the Life of…”, it’s pretty poor quality stuff. Most disappointing of all, the ending does not return back to the manga in any way - it really separates the anime into some kind of parallel universe.

Yet for those that haven’t read the manga or don’t care about the differences, the anime really stands on its own. The viewer can still get to know Chi for exactly who she is, a crazy kitten, and sympathize with the Yamada family for kowtowing to their feline overlord.¹ There are many enjoyable moments, particularly between the Beat Takeshi-figure black cat and Chi. Chi also remains cute throughout each episode so I can’t say that this series wasted my time (unlike the worst series of the year, so far).

Despite these differences, I have to say I really like both the manga and anime versions. More Chi cuteness is never a bad thing (except for my wallet). But the anime ending was a disappointment because it leaves Chi in a stalemate. In the manga, which is yet unfinished, the Yamada’s finally buy a house, giving Chi a whole new territory to explore. I would have much preferred the anime to end this way because it gives hope for a confined little apartment cat.

Rating:

Favorite Episodes

For the first half of my favorite episodes list, see my mid-series review.

• Episode 53
  Chi wanders outside and almost gets caught by the landlady.
• Episodes 62-64
  When the Yamada family becomes sick, Chi tries to play with them.
• Episode 69
  Chi faces a milk addiction.
• Episodes 81-84
  Chi goes out with the black cat, who learns very quickly that Chi has no cat survival skills.
• Episode 89
  The Yamada family tries to take Chi’s picture.
• Episodes 97-98
  The black cat says goodbye to Chi.

1. Like some of my friends, who shall remain nameless for the sake of their dignity [↩]

Related Posts

• Final Review: Antique Bakery
• Final Review: Special A
• Mid-Series Review: Chi’s Sweet Home

Comments

Panther

Added on Nov 08 2008 at 12:18

Chiiii~!!!!

So cute, indeed.

2nihon

Added on Nov 09 2008 at 23:08

Were you able to find raw (i.e. non-subtitled) sources? I had subtitled ones, and it’s too easy to cheat. :P

Caitlin

Added on Nov 09 2008 at 23:31

@2nihon: I watched the mkv files on VLC player, which gives you the option of turning them on or off. I try to do that with any anime I watch now, or, failing that, put a small block in front of the bottom of the screen to cover up most.

2nihon

Added on Nov 10 2008 at 05:33

Oh, that’s right, I forgot the Yoroshiku Fansubs version didn’t have hardsubs. I haven’t watched Chi in a while…got kind of bored with them, and my daughters forgot about them. I do have the first five books of the manga, so I’ll just stick with that. :)

Sasa

Added on Nov 25 2008 at 05:18

“The black cat says goodbye to Chi.”
This was my favorite as well! *____* And it was so sad too somehow, hmmmm. I can’t say I liked the end, really, because it felt incredibly sad and somehow not satisfying as an ‘end’ T_T

Caitlin

Added on Nov 25 2008 at 19:28

@Sasa: I also didn’t care much for the ending but it does leave the chance that they might make more Chi episodes. It’s a slim chance but I’m hoping.

Leave a Reply