Night of the Living Cat, aka Nyaight of the Living Cat, is a manga and anime series set in a post-apocalyptic world where people turn into cats if they touch them. Takashi Miike, known for his visceral films (Audition, Ichi the Killer, 12 Assassins), is attached as the chief director of the anime. The series follows Kunagi (English voice by Jason Douglas), Kaoru (Maria Delilah) and Tanishi (Lew Temple) as they try to survive the cat-pocalypse.

Kunagi is the macho protagonist who has a soft spot for cats. He worked at a cat café and has an encyclopedic knowledge of cats. His world turns upside down when cats are turning humans into cats. The cats aren’t zombie cats, so they still look adorable, and if they jump on you and touch your skin, you’ll turn. As the show progresses, audiences will learn more about the process.

“I think that one of the great things about the show is that you don’t have to be a cat lover or a dog lover to watch and enjoy it,” Douglas tells Nerd Reactor at the CatCafe Lounge in Los Angeles. “But it certainly is there for you if you are, and I think for cat lovers for sure. But if you’re a horror fan, I think this show breaks out of, at least in North America, the expectations about what an anime is. This is a show that I think potentially could find a lot of fans outside of the anime fanbase.”

Since the cats still act like normal cats, this makes things tough for Kunagi, who absolutely loves cats.

“Yeah, it’s exciting,” Delilah said of the anime. “It’s adorable because you just want to hug them. You don’t want to run. I would not survive five seconds because I would just hug them all and touch them and then I’d be a cat.”

There are a few burly guys who love cats in Nyaight of the Living Cat, and that includes Tanishi.

“What’s great about it is it speaks to [Tanishi’s] affection for cats, which I love,” Temple said of his character. “We have this burly macho alpha male, 12 pack anime abs, clearly spends time at the gym, cool faux hawk, but just cannot deny his passion for the feline. It becomes his demise and then we flash back and he’s part of the moving world.”

About Nyaight of the Living Cat

Synopsis: Run! The adorable cats are here. In 20XX, the world is dominated by cats. A virus which turns anyone who touches a cat into a cat has spread into a worldwide nyandemic. Cats rub against people, turning them into cats. Can humanity fight their urge to pet cats to survive in this cat-ridden world?

Nyaight of the Living Cat debuted on July 6, with the English dub debuting on July 20. It is streaming only on Crunchyroll. New episodes, subbed and dubbed, premiere on Sundays.