Cat Paradise

Synopsis

Yumi and her cat, Kansuke had just entered Matabi Academy, a school where students are allowed to have their pet cats live at the dorms. All goes quite well when they are suddenly dragged into a war that had begun long ago to stop Kaen, a great and ancient demon cat. A long time ago, he destroyed the Futakago kingdom, a kingdom that angered Kaen for some unknown reason. Since then, Princess Kiri and her cat, Shirayuki, fought him and sealed him in Futakago's barrier. Many years later, Kaen was finally sealed at Matabi Academy itself, but not before warning to return 100 years later. To prevent this from happening, Princess Kiri and Shirayuki chose a select group of students and their cats and granted them powers that best suit their talents and abilities. These students are Matabi Academy's student council and protect the school. But when Kaen's subordinate, Tsukumoishu, attacked Yumi and Kansuke, the pair was greeted by the Princess and Shirayuki and promised a great power if they chose to fight the threat of Kaen. With no choice, the seventh pair of student and cat make a pact and join this ancient battle.

Characters

The main protagonists of this manga are the students and cats chosen by Princess Kiri and Shirayuki to help in the battle against Kaen. The antagonists are Kaen and his followers.

Protagonists

Yumi Hayakawa (早川優美, Hayakawa Yūmi)

A new student of Matabi Academy that chose to attend the school because she knew she would be allowed to bring her cat, Kansuke. She loves knitting and often makes outfits for Kansuke. Though clumsy and slightly silly, Yumi is also very kind and friendly. Four years ago, she dove onto the road to protect an injured Kansuke from an oncoming van. Her power manifests itself as a ball of wool (mirroring her passion for knitting), which can be used to transform Kansuke into his human form. The wool can also be reshaped into a number of other objects depending on the circumstance, such as a shield or a cushion. One drawback to her power is that it takes time to unravel, and isn't as strong when used in rapid succession. Yumi has a romantic interest in Tsubame, which developed on her first day attending the academy.

Kansuke (勘助, Kansuke)

He is Yumi's cat, a four-year-old, mixed-blood tabby with orange eyes. He sports a large scar on his forehead from when he was hit by Yumi's bike. Yumi came back to see him bleeding on the road and took him in her arms, protecting him from an oncoming van. Kansuke became her pet that day, and swore to protect her from any danger. Due to this, he has a desire to become strong. He is stubborn, strong-willed, competitive and he hates the outfits Yumi makes for him with a passion, tearing some of them up on one occasion. In his transformed state, he resembles an anthropomorphic cat. In combat, he expresses skills in agility and strength, and depending on the outfit knitted for him, he manifests different abilities.

Tsubame Akifuji (秋藤つばめ, Akifuji Tsubame) and Sakura (桜, Sakura)

Tsubame is the clerk who Yumi has romantic feelings for. He enjoys reading and is popular with both girls and cats at the school, but notes that he likes girls who are a bit silly and clumsy. His partner is the five-year-old Sakura, a pure-blood she-cat, a sister of Yamato and a descent of Shirayuki. In battle, Sakura turns into a bow that always hits its target and can see at a 360° angle.

Shin Kamio (神尾伸, Kamio Shin) and Yamato (大和, Yamato)

Kamio is the strict and serious president of the third year. He fights alone using his sword to perform powerful attacks. His partner is Yamato, a pure-blood six-year-old white tom. Yamato is Sakura's brother and a descendant of Shirayuki. He has the ability to merge with Kamio's sword, changing its appearance and strengthening its attacks. Shin and Yamato are one of the only two pairs in the series who share the same gender the other being Tsukasa Hinode and Raimu.

Antagonists

Kaen (火焔, Kaen)

He is the oldest of the cat deities with two tails. His fur is covered with a black oil and his preferred weapon his fire. Kaen was jealous of the success of other kingdoms of high deities, so he destroyed them. When he destroyed Futakago's kingdom, the princess and Shirayuki swore to stop him. He succeeded in escaping from his seal, slowly plotting revenge against the humans who sealed away his kind. Kaen eventually possesses Akifuji's body in order to open the barrier, but later revealed Akifuji, discovering his ancestor's plot, willingly allowed him to.

Tsukumoisshu (九十九一首, Tsukumoisshū)

He is Kaen's subordinate who appeared before Yumi to kill her for her hair. Tsukumoisshu is a fox spirit that is very proud of his hair, made from the skulls of human victims, and shows anguish when discovering a single split end. He has the ability to summon followers of Kaen through special leaves. He took over the body of the vice-principal so he may freely move about the academy.

Rachi (螺蜘, Rachi)

One of Tsukumoishu's subordinates. She possessed a human, though her true form is that of a spider. She possesses the ability to shoot webs and summon other spiders, and her spider legs are especially sharp. The spiders she summons are her "babies" and warns that if a person gets bit even once, they will die. She had to go back to the place under ground after the fight because she lost.

Kibao (牙王, Kibaō)

The second of Kaen's subordinates that is met, he is a wolf spirit beast. Unlike the others, he freely prefers to stay in a half-transformed state, giving his animal head and limbs to a human body. It was revealed later he had possessed Kaiya, who had allowed him in when he sensed Kibao's true nature. Unlike the rest of the spirit beasts, Kibao feels war with humans will end in disaster and only wishes for his kind to be free.

Daraku (沱邏玖, Daraku)

Another of Kaen's subordinates. He possesses a heavy-set student, but his true form is a gigantic catfish that can control the dead through mist. He was inevitably defeated by a combination effort of Yumi, Kotori, Shin, and their cats.

Media

Manga

The manga series Cat Paradise was written and illustrated by Yuji Iwahara, and was serialized in the monthly seinen manga magazine Champion Red from June 2006 to December 2008. Akita Shoten collected the individual chapters in five tankōbon volumes between May 2007 and December 2008. The series has been licensed in North America in English by Yen Press, who released the first volume in August 2009, and in Taiwan by Tong Li.

Drama CD

Cat Paradise was adapted as a single drama CD released by Frontier Works on July 24, 2008.

Cast

Yumi Hayakawa: Aya Hirano

Kansuke: Yūki Tai

Tsubame Akifuji: Hiro Shimono

Kotori Hasutani: Akemi Kanda

Princess Kirihime: Maria Yamamoto