Chi's Sweet Home (Japanese: チーズスイートホーム, Hepburn: Chīzu Suīto Hōmu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Konami Kanata. It was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning from 2004 to 2015, with its chapters collected in twelve tankōbon volumes. The manga has been licensed for North American distribution by the publisher Vertical. An anime television series adaptation, lasting two seasons, aired from March 2008 to September 2009. A 3DCG anime television adaptation lasting two seasons began airing in October 2016 to September 2018, and a third season premiered worldwide on Netflix in July 2024.
Contents
Plot
A small grey and white American Shorthair kitten wanders away from her mother and siblings one day while enjoying a walk outside with her family. Lost in her surroundings, the kitten struggles to find her family and instead is found by a young boy, Yohei, and his mother, Miwa. They take the kitten home, but, as pets are not allowed in their housing complex, they try to find her a new home. This proves to be difficult, and the family decides to keep the kitten and so must hide it from the landlady.
While being housebroken, the kitten mistakenly answers to "Chi" (from chī (ちー), a Japanese word for "urine") and this becomes her name. Chi then lives with her new family, learning about different things and meeting new people and animals.
Characters
Yamada family
Chi (チー)
Voiced by: Satomi Kōrogi
Chi is a small grey and white kitten with large eyes, an American Shorthair breed. She is easily distracted and does not have much experience of the world. Chi is particularly attracted to small moving objects, but is scared by larger animals, especially dogs. Although her speech is audible to the viewers, the Yamadas cannot hear her talk. It is revealed that the name her mother gave her is Sarah (セーラ).
Yohei Yamada (山田 ヨウヘイ, Yamada Yōhei)
Voiced by: Etsuko Kozakura (first voice), Ryoko Shiraishi (second voice)
Yohei is a little boy who finds Chi when she gets lost. He is cheerful, kind, obedient, and fond of toys.
Mom (おかあさん, Okaasan)/Miwa Yamada (山田 ミワ, Yamada Miwa)
Voiced by: Noriko Hidaka (first voice), Maaya Sakamoto (second voice)
Miwa is a housewife. She often stays home with Yohei and Chi.
Dad (おとうさん, Otousan)/Kento Yamada (山田 ケント, Yamada Kento)
Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (first voice), Makoto Yasumura (second voice)
Kento is the source of income, a graphic designer who often works from home. He is very fond of Chi and wants her to like him in return, but he is often called upon to do things that make her angry with him such as taking her to the vet or trimming her claws.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Konami Kanata, Chi's Sweet Home was serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning from January 8, 2004, to June 18, 2015. Kodansha collected its chapters in twelve tankōbon volumes, released from November 22, 2004, to June 23, 2015. In contrast to the serialized version, which is black and white, the tankōbon version is in full color.
In North America, the manga was licensed for English release by Vertical and published in a left-to-right orientation instead of the original right-to-left one. The twelve volumes were released from June 29, 2010, to November 3, 2015.
A four-volume series by Kinoko Natsume and Kanata, titled Chi's Sweet Adventures (今日のこねこのチー, Kyō no Koneko no Chi), was published on BomBom TV's Twitter account from October 2, 2016, to September 30, 2017. Kodansha collected its chapters in four volumes, released from March 23, 2017, to April 23, 2018. Kodansha USA published the volumes in English from May 1, 2018, to May 28, 2019.
Another series by Konami and Catherine Bouvier, titled Chi en France: Chi's Sweet Home France-ban (Chi en France ～『チーズスイートホーム』フランス版～), started on Kodansha's Comic Days online platform on September 23, 2024.
Anime
The anime series is directed by Mitsuyuki Masuhara and produced by Madhouse aired from March 31 to September 25, 2008. The episodes are about 3 minutes long and equivalent to one chapter from the manga. The opening theme is "Ouchi ga Ichiban" (おうちがいちばん; 'Home is the Best!') by Satomi Kōrogi.
A second season, Chi's New Address (チーズスイートホーム あたらしいおうち, Chīzu Suīto Hōmu Atarashī Ouchi), aired from March 30 to September 24, 2009. The opening theme is "Chiisana Daibouken" (チーさな大冒険; 'Little Big Adventure') by Rica Matsumoto.
In April 2016, it was announced that the manga would receive a 3DCG anime television adaptation by Marza Animation Planet. Titled Chi's Sweet Adventure (こねこのチー ポンポンらー大冒険, Koneko no Chī: Ponpon-rā Daibōken), the series aired from October 2, 2016, to September 24, 2017. The opening theme is "Nee" by Perfume. A second season simply titled Chi's Sweet Adventure: Season 2 (こねこのチー ポンポンらー大旅行, Koneko no Chī: Ponpon-rā Dairyokō), aired from April 8 to September 30, 2018. The ending theme is "Nya-Oh!" (にゃーお！; 'Meow!') by Wi-Fi-5. An English-dubbed version of the first season streamed on Amazon Prime Video on April 21, 2018.
A third season, Chi's Sweet Adventure: Summer Vacation (こねこのチー ポンポンらー夏休み, Koneko no Chī: Ponpon-rā Natsuyasumi) premiered worldwide on Netflix on July 19, 2024. The opening theme is "Follow my heart" (心まかせ) by kobasolo and kopi, with the ending theme being "Myr" by Riko Tanaka.
Video game
A video game for the Nintendo DS, titled Chi's Sweet Home: Chi ga Ouchi ni Yatte Kita! (チーズスイートホーム チーがおうちにやってきた!; 'Chi's Sweet Home: Chi Has Come to Your House!), was developed by Interchannel and released on September 4, 2008.