Red Cat Ramen (Japanese: ラーメン赤猫, Hepburn: Ramen Aka Neko) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Angyaman. It began serialization as an independent comic published on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website in March 2022. It later became a full-fledged series in October 2022. An anime television series adaptation produced by E&H Production aired from July to September 2024. The second season is set to premiere in January 2027.
Contents
Plot
Red Cat Ramen centers around the titular establishment, a ramen shop established and run by talking cats. Focusing on Tamako Yashiro, a human woman who is working as a part-timer behind the scenes, the series focuses on the day-to-day antics of her and her fellow feline employees: Bunzo, the head chef; Sasaki, the owner and finance/business expert; Sabu, the sous-chef; Hana, the customer service manager; and Krishna, a tiger in charge of making the base ramen noodles in-house.
Characters
Main characters
Bunzo (文蔵, Bunzō)
Voiced by: Kenjiro Tsuda
An orange tabby cat and the softspoken head chef at Red Cat Ramen. He was originally a stray before being rescued by the old owner of a ramen food cart. After the owner retired to a nursing home, Bunzo took over the business for him. He then eventually partnered with Sasaki to upgrade his food cart into a full restaurant.
Pudding Sasaki (佐々木 プリン, Sasaki Purin)
Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama
A grey tuxedo cat and the laidback owner of Red Cat Ramen. He primarily manages the business' finances and office work, but often helps out his staff by serving customers. Like Bunzo, Sasaki was also a stray before being adopted by a wealthy businesswoman. When his owner became terminally ill, he acted as her caretaker until her death. He then received a large inheritance, using it to open the restaurant.
Sabu (サブ)
Voiced by: Michiyo Murase
A black cat and the cheerful sous-chef at Red Cat Ramen. He is responsible for cooking side dishes, such as gyōza, and plating ramen. Sabu grew up as a stray in Chinatown before being scouted by Bunzo. As a result of his upbringing, he is very food-motivated. Outside of work, he is an avid PC gamer who is skilled enough to compete in online tournaments against human players.
Hana (ハナ)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya
A white cat and the customer service manager at Red Cat Ramen. While she puts on a cute, bubbly persona for her guests, her real personality is more sassy and tsundere. Prior to joining Red Cat, she worked as an idol under the handle Love Pipi. She became the center of an animal abuse scandal after she willingly had her ear pierced, resulting in her leaving show business due to the harassment her owner faced from the incident.
Recurring characters
Ushimitsumaru (丑満丸)
A mysterious, black long-haired cat and "master ninja" who trained Red Cat Ramen's feline staff in his secret technique of not shedding fur, thus allowing them to work in the restaurant industry. He is owned by Teru Tajima (但馬 照, Tajima Teru), a former restaurant proprietress who supplies menma to Red Cat.
Tetra (テトラ, Tetora)
A Sphynx cat and former employee at Red Cat Ramen. She agreed to help during Red Cat's opening period as a favor to her close friend Sasaki. While adored by customers, Tetra was notoriously unreliable, constantly forgetting people's orders and napping on the job. After quitting, she often travels overseas with her owner Taichiro Ishigami (石上 太一朗, Ishigami Taichiro).
Buono (ボノ, Bono)
A cat from Italy and Jewel's apprentice. He works at the restaurant Il Miagolio, owned by three-star chef Pietro Romário and his granddaughter Emma, where he serves and entertains patrons; however, his true passion lies in the kitchen. After Jewel returns to Japan following a failed kidnapping attempt against him, which results in Il Miagolio's temporary closure, Buono decides to join Red Cat Ramen as a new part-timer.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Angyaman, Red Cat Ramen was originally published on Shueisha's Jump Rookie website from November 26, 2021, to February 20, 2022. It later began serialization as an independent comic published on Shueisha's Shōnen Jump+ app and website on March 14, 2022. It later got promoted to a regular serialization on October 2, 2022. Its chapters have been collected in fifteen volumes as of July 2026.
The series is published digitally in English on Shueisha's Manga Plus platform. The series is also published in France by Kurokawa.
Anime
An anime adaptation was announced on November 27, 2023. It was later confirmed at Jump Festa 2024 to be a television series produced by Good Smile Company and E&H Production, directed by Hisatoshi Shimizu, with Toru Kubo overseeing series scripts, Michinori Chiba designing the characters, and Hirotaka Matsuoka composing the music. The series aired from July 4 to September 19, 2024, on TBS and its affiliates. The opening theme song is "Akaneko" (赤猫; lit. 'Red Cat') performed by Wednesday Campanella, while the ending theme song is "Honjitsu no Osusume" (本日のおすすめ; lit. 'Today's Recommendation') performed by Rikon Densetsu. Crunchyroll licensed the series. Medialink licensed the series for streaming in Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam) on its Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.
A second season was announced at Jump Festa 2025 on December 21, 2024. It is set to premiere in January 2027.
Game
On July 1, 2024, a licensed game, Ramen Akaneko ~ A Lovely Ramen Shop (ラーメン赤猫 ～ニャンて素敵なラーメン店～, Rāmen Aka Neko ~ Nyante Sutekina Rāmen-ten), was announced for Android and iOS phones. The game will have animated cutscenes for the game and new lines recorded by the cast.
Radio show
On June 7, 2024, a web radio show, Ramen Akaneko: A Lovely In-Store Announcement (ラーメン赤猫 ニャンて素敵な店内放送, Rāmen Aka Neko Nyante Sutekina Ten'nai Hōsō), began streaming online through Good Smile Company's YouTube channel. Kurumi Orihara, who plays Tamako Yashiro in the anime, serves as the host.
Reception
The series was nominated for the eighth Next Manga Awards in 2022 for the web manga category and was ranked fifth out of 50 nominees. The series was also ranked fifteenth in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2023. It ranked nineteenth on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2024 for male readers.