With a title like Samurai Cat, how can I resist? It has two of my favorite things: Samurais and cats. What’s not to love? Samurai Cat was released fairly recently in 2014 and was based off a TV series of the same name. People in America will no doubt have a hard time finding an appropriately priced copy of this, especially since it hasn’t been released in the US. Every copy that I’ve seen for this movie is unreasonably expensive. I probably wouldn’t have watched this movie (or even heard about it) if it hadn’t been for the Japanese Foundation in Los Angeles who had a free screening of Samurai Cat in Japanese with English subtitles and the crowd was packed.
A former samurai named Kyutaro Madarame (Kazuki Kitamura) is hired by a dog-loving clan to kill their opposing clan leader’s cat. But when he goes to complete his task, he decides to keep the cat for himself because she’s just so darn adorable. Later on, the cat-loving clan leader wants to hire Kyutaro to kidnap the other clan’s dog, and all hell breaks loose from then on.
A former samurai named Kyutaro Madarame (Kazuki Kitamura) is hired by a dog-loving clan to kill their opposing clan leader’s cat. But when he goes to complete his task, he decides to keep the cat for himself because she’s just so darn adorable. Later on, the cat-loving clan leader wants to hire Kyutaro to kidnap the other clan’s dog, and all hell breaks loose from then on.
I cannot stress enough how happy this movie made me feel, not just because of how cute it is, but also because of how genuinely good it is. There’s a lot of depth for each of the characters, especially Kyutaro who has really exceptional character development. He has a thought out backstory and you can really see how compassionate he is. Kyutaro narrates his thoughts throughout most of the movie and you really get to know about his character and how he thinks. Also, Kazuki Kitamura plays the role to near perfection. Even during the really ridiculous scenes, Kazuki plays his part very seriously. I thought it was hilarious to see such an intimidating guy have a cat as his weakness. He also shows that he can do drama well too. I also found it interesting that a lot of the characters are connected in some way.
The story is also both very funny and actually touching and surprisingly heartwarming. The message about the importance of family is not very subtle, but it’s still affective. Also, this movie is about as funny as the plot synopsis sounds. The comedy in this movie is actually more mature than I had expected. There’s not many laughs because of a funny face or slapstick. Instead, there are many clever visual gags and the nonsense dialogue between some of the characters is very amusing. I’m sure that kids might not even understand some of the jokes, but the cuteness of the cat in this movie breaks all language barriers.
The story is also both very funny and actually touching and surprisingly heartwarming. The message about the importance of family is not very subtle, but it’s still affective. Also, this movie is about as funny as the plot synopsis sounds. The comedy in this movie is actually more mature than I had expected. There’s not many laughs because of a funny face or slapstick. Instead, there are many clever visual gags and the nonsense dialogue between some of the characters is very amusing. I’m sure that kids might not even understand some of the jokes, but the cuteness of the cat in this movie breaks all language barriers.
I was expecting just really cute fluff from this movie, but I was surprised that it was so much more. There are terrific characters, a hilarious premise, and even some notably touching moments throughout. The ending so affecting and utterly satisfying that I honestly almost teared up. Just thinking about this movie makes me uncontrollably happy. There’s actually very little action in this movie at all, but I’m not disappointed because there were so many other aspects to admire. I feel that Samurai Cat is a movie that most all people can enjoy. Adults will probably appreciate the comedy, story, and message about family, while the kids will appreciate how gosh darn cute the cat is. Samurai Cat is still a very silly movie, but, in short, if you like samurais and/or cats, you’ll definitely like this movie.
Images from AsianWiki
*A sequel was released in 2015 called Neko Samurai (Samurai Cat) 2: A Tropical Adventure which finds our beloved characters stranded on an island.
*Yosuke Asari (the actor who plays Shinsuke) looks a lot like a Japanese John Cusack. Just sayin'.
Images from AsianWiki
*A sequel was released in 2015 called Neko Samurai (Samurai Cat) 2: A Tropical Adventure which finds our beloved characters stranded on an island.
*Yosuke Asari (the actor who plays Shinsuke) looks a lot like a Japanese John Cusack. Just sayin'.