Chainsmoker Cat Anime Review: We watched the new Netflix anime that’s making people so sick they hard quit after one episode

PLOT: Yani can’t keep a job or pay her rent; she only thinks about smoking. However, the concern of those close to her will force her to turn her life around.

REVIEW: When I was in grade school, our teachers assigned us a fundraising task to go door-to-door selling wrapping paper. The first stop on my neighborhood tour was the house next door, which belonged to a family known to my block as The Romans. The moment Mr. Roman opened his front door, his eyes watering in the dark circles around his eyes, the smell of tar, nicotine, and chemical additives invaded my nose, the rancid scent lining my nostrils with acrid poison. Everyone who lived in the Romans’ house chain-smoked. When I made my way inside, I could see the furniture yellowing, taste the bitter, pungent air on my recoiling tongue, and see tar stains on the buttons of the remote control for their outdated TV. I wanted to throw up. Run. Just get out of there and never look back. I imagine that venturing into the Romans’ house was a lot like visiting Yani’s apartment, a biohazard masquerading as a legitimate living space.

What I’m getting at is I’ve known people like Yani my whole life. Whether they were Klopek-like neighbors or people I hung out with in high school, some people can’t help themselves, even when they know their habits are slowly killing them. In Chainsmoker Cat, our main character, Yani, is a beastfolk involved in an intimate situationship with self-sabotage. She relentlessly smokes cigarettes, exists in an apartment surrounded by trash bags and rotting food, and fails miserably at every part-time job she manages to land. It’s a miracle she’s alive at all, the way she looks after herself.

Luckily for Yani, she has her sister Imoko, a prim and proper idol-like beastfolk who genuinely cares about Yani’s well-being. She’s the kind of sister who takes care of Yani when she’s sick, or offers to help clean her apartment while wearing a hazmat suit. She desperately wants Yani to get her act together, and Yani wants that too, but that involves actually doing the work it takes to change. Imoko only has so much patience, and Yani’s friends, Yaku and Hami, aren’t exactly a positive influence. Yaku is busy battling her own addictions and demons, while Hami hinders her dreams of becoming a video game influencer by losing her temper and letting her ADHD get the best of her. That’s the story of my life, Hami—the ADHD part, not the temper. People tell me I’m “disturbingly chill,” but what they don’t know might be the reason they’re still with me.

One of the reasons I wanted to watch and review Chainsmoker Cat is all the buzz it’s getting for being offensive and disgusting, and for being a series that people in Japan are hard-quitting because of its content. Is the show that foul? Can I handle the gross-out elements of the series? Are these headlines legit, or a byproduct of “gotcha” journalism? I wanted to know for myself. What did I find? Is there a good show hidden underneath what’s making people turn it off? Yes. Yes, there is.

Before we get started, understand this. I get why a lot of people wouldn’t pick up on what Chainsmoker Cat is putting down. The show is grotesque, with Yani sucking down cigarettes like a milkshake, barfing rainbows, visibly defecating into a shit-stained toilet, and rescuing a dropped fistful of lung darts from a fresh pile of dog coils. What? She can chop off the ends and be back in business. Cigarettes are expensive. If all you can focus on are these elements of the show, you’re missing out on what else Chainsmoker Cat has to offer. Does the show glorify smoking? Absolutely. Does it also warn of the consequences and health risks of lung cancer? You bet.

Beyond the gross-out aspects of the show, there are fleeting moments that suggest Yani genuinely wants to change her habits. Losing her sister’s respect would devastate Yani, and she doesn’t want to be a disappointment to the only person who has her best interest at heart. The problem is that Yani is an addict, and when you’re as deep into the rabbit hole as she is, change is a Herculean task. I like Yani’s imperfections and the drama they bring to her story. I want her to take better care of herself, but I know what it’s like to stumble on your way toward better habits.

Chainsmoker Cat, anime, rainbow barf, Netflix

Does the show gross me out? No. Look, I’ve had Crohn’s disease since I was 15. I’ve walked around with my intestines in a bag for months. I’ve had two open-heart surgeries. I can handle whatever comes out of a human body. No sweat. However, I appreciate that other people are fixating on this aspect of the show. It’s ever-present and isn’t shy about the gory details. Still, there’s great animation. I love the way the show mixes up media by including segments made with stop-motion, CGI, and other methods. This element of the presentation adds unpredictability to Chainsmoker Cat, in addition to its extreme depiction of addiction and wicked patterns.

I’ve not read the manga by NyanNyanFactory, and have no idea what’s going to happen next in Chainsmoker Cat. The show could take a wrong turn at Albuquerque at the drop of a smoldering cigarette nub, and I won’t be the wiser until it happens. For now, the series is worth checking out for people willing to put up with some discomfort. I’m not super married to any one character yet, but Yani’s relationship with Imoko appears promising. Yani’s friends are walking disasters, but also remind me of people I used to know, so I’m game to hang out with them more. Get a front-row seat to the show, as it were. I love how gross the show is, from the artists’ depictions of dirty dishes caked with old meals to watching events unfold inside a smiling mouth filled with rotten teeth and worse breath. Narratively, the show isn’t blowing my hair back, but we’re just getting started. The players are there, the group dynamics are toxic, and I can foresee shenanigans galore. That’s enough to keep me watching, my gag reflex on snooze, and a genuine interest in Yani’s messy journey being what I need to buy the ticket and take the ride.