My Roommate is a Cat

 So, an anime I had on my Plan To Wath list, but which was moved forward due to it being part of the MAL summer stack, Wonderful Wordsmiths.

And this is a story about an introvert novel writer, whose parents died in a crash when he was young.

One day, when visiting his parents grave, he meets Haru, a stray cat he takes home and tries to take care off.  But Subaru has never taken care of someone else, let alone a pet.  The cat feels how he is struggling, and they form a bond of trying to take care of each other.

But having a pet isn't simple for an introvert who wants to write his novels in all serenity, and he meets Nana in the pet shop, who helps him out with pointers for his cat.  And tells him to actually name his cat, making it easier for veterinarian visits and such.  When he remembers how his mother read him a childern's book, he settles on the name Haru, from the japanese word for the sun.  Which the cat believes means food is coming though...

He tries to figure out how a cat works, but when he looks at an old picutre book with his parents, Haru comes to comfort him.  But when she accidentally knocks over his parents ashes, as she sees imagined spirits, she doesn't realise what damage she did.  But she vows to stay by his side to protect him.  This results in the spirits briefly materialising as Subaru's parents, thanking Haru for looking over their son.

 

 

He has to learn though how to take care of Haru, like feeding her less in one go and such. And a hilarious POV from Haru to the veterinerian for her very first check-up.  Nana comes over to visit Subaru, as she found out they live in the same neighbourhood.  She gives him all sorts of tips on how to take care better of Haru.  taking Haru and Subaru back to her place, it turns out she has Hachi as a pet, Haru's sibling.  Haru recalls her days when still roaming the streets with her brothers and sisters, and how they where taught to survive on the street.  But also how one by one they find families until Haru one day runs into Subaru, but also how she loses one of her siblings.

One day one his friends passes by with three children and his younger teenage sister, something Subau can't control.  When he comes down with a fever, his friends come to take care of Haru.  One day, Subaru has to leave the house longer then usual, for a signing of his novel.  This is a real torment for his intorvert self, but Haru as well as she has no clue where he went and when he would come back.

When he needs to start thinking about his next book, he is taking care of his late mom's garden.  He decides to take a two day trip to get some plants and finish her project, meaning his friend will take care of Haru in his abscence, but his return flight gets cancelled, soe he takes the shinkansen.  With the storm even harder back home, Haru worries about Subaru and runs outside to find him.  Subaru sets out in the storm looking for her, together with his friends.

He finds her again near the cemetary he first met her, crying of gladness that she is okay as the storm recides.  As they all share a meal, Haru reflects on how glad she was she managed to protect him.

So this was an innocent, amusing and simple anime.  One of those series that just gives a feel-good feeling when completing it, with not to much depth but, well, just purely enjoyable and worth the watch.