Chainsmoker Cat Episode 1 Recap: Will Yani Quit Smoking?

Some of the most depressing stories are told under the guise of absurdity and humor, a narrative technique that has been perfected in anime and manga. Netflix’s anime adaptation of mangaka NyanNyan Factory’s “Chainsmoker Cat” is the perfect example of this, as the narrative utilizes a silly premise to tell a timely, relatable tale of the younger generation getting completely overwhelmed by despair and gloom. The pilot episode, which focuses on a smoking-addict young catgirl, is simultaneously bizarre, zany, a bit lewd, and carries a tragic undertone. Very few recent anime have actually managed to display such a brutally honest spectacle of the fragmented, broken condition of modern youth, so much so that it is bound to make you uncomfortable.

Spoilers Ahead

“Chainsmoker Cat” is set in a world where humans coexist with Catgirls/Catpersons, and no, they are not animal-themed cosplayers; they are a literal species who exhibit both human and cat-like physical features. The episode focuses on Yaniko, a smoking-addict catgirl living in her dingy apartment, which is so dirty and messy that you’ll probably be able to smell the stink from the other side of the screen. With no care for personal hygiene, Yani has kept her dirty apartment decorated with unwashed dishes, trash bags, and untidy clothes, as she is too busy all day smoking to her heart’s content. A flat broke Yani occasionally works some odd jobs, and spends all her earnings buying cigarettes. It’s not your average crippling addiction; Yani’s obsessive smoking tendencies have ruined her psychological state, and she doesn’t even feel bad for her self-destructive habit. Things are so bad that Yani literally picks up unused cigs from trash bags and faeces to have a puff. The shocking contrast of having a cutesy catgirl engaging in most revolting, stomach-churning, filthy activities just to smoke a pack surely gets to viewers. 

Yani’s landlord, Otani, a seemingly good guy who tolerates all her deplorable antics, has perverted tendencies, as he is seen secretly pleasuring himself after accidentally catching a glimpse of Yani changing her tee. A brief flashback shows that during his younger days, Otani suffered much at the hands of his abusive, addicted father. Knowing how addiction ruins the lives of not only the consumers, but also their families, Otani time and again advises Yani to straighten up, to no avail. Yani’s condition is so severe that she can’t bear to get through the work day without smoking and literally flees before ending her shift. Yani believes smoking cigs frees her mind from every bothersome thought, and she wants to perpetuate this fleeting sense of freedom by smoking all throughout her waking hours. Food and other amenities are secondary to Yani; she lives and breathes through smoke, and sees absolutely nothing wrong in doing so. She has literally thrown her life away, buried her ambitions, responsibilities, and any possibility of self-improvement deep under the pile of ashes and cig-ends. 

On the exact opposite end of the spectrum is Yani’s sister, Imoko, a high school student who lives a healthy, perfectly well-maintained life. Imoko keeps herself immersed in her studies, and there is a heaven and hell difference in the apartment set-ups of both sisters. Imoko wants her sister to redirect her life for the better, but knows how impossible it is for her to make Yani feel the urgency. Lack of determination, feeble resolve, and addiction issues have left Yani such a lost cause that even after planning to clean her house so that Imoko agrees to pay a visit, Yani ends up making a fool of herself by reverting to her usual habits. Imoko shares her disappointment with her in an angry text, prompting Yani to try to reconcile with her by trying nicotine patches to cure her addiction. But covering yourself and even cigs with several patches while still smoking is probably not the best way to go about it. Yani visits Imoko in a café, and mentions she has stayed off of cigs for three consecutive days. Just as Imoko lauds her sister for her newfound self-control, Yani shamelessly starts puffing in front of her, disgusting Imoko in the process. While returning home, Yani acts as a poor influence on a bunch of schoolgoing kids through her day drinking and smoking habits, and has absolutely no remorse whatsoever. Addiction has numbed her senses to such an extent that regular emotions are not processed correctly in her mind. 

Yani’s carelessness causes her to suffer from a fever when she catches a cold due to sleeping bare-bodied with her apartment door open right after taking a bath. As Yani struggles to keep up on her own, Imoko pays her a visit, wearing a hazmat suit to protect herself from the filth of Yani’s apartment. Hilariously, Yani tried to flee, believing Imoko to be a public healthcare representative sent to capture her. Anyway, Yani is relieved upon realizing that despite how her habits anger Imoko, she still loves and cares for her elder sister. Imoko makes food for Yani, but accidentally falls over, which opens up her suit – and the putrid smell of filth in the apartment causes Imoko to throw up, right on Otani’s head. Poor guy can’t catch a break. It turns out that despite not being present all the time, Imoko takes care of her sister by having one of her associates, a fellow catgirl, Kansai, look after Yani from time to time. Kansai doesn’t have much respect for Yani, but out of her respect for Imoko, she looks after her. In a conversation with Kansai, Imoko reveals how Yani often gets herself into messy situations, and it’s always Imoko who has to clean up after her and take care of her sister.

Perhaps due to her repressed sense of guilt for failing as an elder sister and knowing Imoko’s concerns for her, Yani experiences a terrible nightmare. She sees Imoko has brought her to a doctor, who diagnoses her with lung cancer after initial testing, and mentions she has a couple of months to live at most. Fear of mortality finally gets to Yani as she breaks down and calls Imoko to say that she is finally determined to quit smoking. Imoko can sense the resolve in her sister’s voice, and she is extremely elated. Imoko asks Yani to look outside at the night sky, which is illuminated by the beautiful sight of the Milky Way galaxy. Imoko senses that something has changed in Yani to make her suddenly come to this decision, and motivates her to share anything with her whenever she feels like it. Finally, it seems that Yani is going to take better care of herself and quit smoking, but while marvelling at the cosmic splendour, Yani lights a cig and compares the view with smoke. Imoko senses what’s happening from the other side of the call and chastises her sister for turning her back on her promise so soon. However, Yani is enjoying herself by letting go, and the episode ends on a bleak note. It hardly seems funny; Yani’s situation is difficult to look at, which simply emphasizes the basic realization that you can’t help those who don’t want to help themselves. It’s not that she doesn’t want to get out of this loop of decay; it’s just that her mind has suffered so much that her will is not strong enough in the first place. Hopefully, the rest of the episodes will be less depressing, and Yani will be able to turn her life around with the help of her close ones.