The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today: Episode 1 Review

When I first saw the name of this show is supposed to be The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today, I was completely confused and left wondering what on Earth this anime could be about?! So naturally, I watched Episode 1 of The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today to get an idea of what this could possibly be.

And let me just say: I LOVED IT!

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Episode 1 Summary (Spoilers Ahead!)

This episode worked as an introduction to the different characters within The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again and their daily lives and roles within the story. The episode starts off with Saku Fukuzawa being woken up and made food by her Masterful Cat, Yukichi who is still not shown to the viewer yet. Afterward, she leaves for work and the perspective is switched to Fukuzawa’s boss, Kaoru Orizuka as he is getting to work in his fancy car (which I’m guessing is modeled after an Audi R8–one of my favs) contrasting the packed public transportation Fukuzawa is forced to take.

So beautiful!

Anyway, back to the story: at work, Fukuzawa begins to question why Yukichi is so large when her coworker, Yuri, reveals to her that she loses a chance at marriage if she has a cat, causing Fukuzawa’s thoughts to go spinning.

Coming home, Fukuzawa finds an annoyed Yukichi as she came home late and eats a variety of dishes aside from a few glasses of beer and falls asleep on the floor, causing Yukichi to force her to get cleaned up. Afterward, against Yukichi’s better wants, she asks for the lunch he had prepared her for the day after and, after some begging has it while remembering her coworker’s remark.

The next day is nearly the same as Yukichi forces a crying Fukuzawa to work. Yukichi then gets to work himself and writes down a special recipe to make for Fukuzawa. At work, she calls Yukichi to tell him that she will likely have to stay the night as she had run into a problem at work, and, at his displeased answer, she finishes her work at an inhuman-like speed, making it home.

She gives Yukichi a severely small cat bed from Yuri who continues to remark about how Fukuzawa probably does not have enough time to care for her cat, creating a bit of irony. He makes madeleines in return and has Fukuzawa give them to Yuri, causing her coworkers to believe she is a great cook and would be a perfect wife due to how orderly she comes to work, despite that all being due to Yukichi.

The episode continues with her boss asking her about her cat, revealing that he had met Yukichi at a time Fukuzawa was not aware of, causing her to worry slightly. The day after, Yukichi takes out the trash and remembers when Fukuzawa first found him in a snowstorm and saved him.

Characters

First off, the characters are pretty much hilarious. There is the ‘Masterful Cat’ himself, who’s named Yukichi, and is one of the protagonists. This cat is unlike any other, taking care of Fukuzawa instead of her helping him. In episode one, he makes her food, cleans, and even goes as far as helping her get ready for work and makes gifts for her colleagues, taking charge of the different responsibilities in her life.

Yukichi seems to enjoy the chores and takes time to look into learning new recipes for his owner and, while he does not allow his owner to get away with something like too much drinking, he often caves in and allows her to do what she wants, showing the connection he has built with her as some sort of morphed form of a pet.

Fukuzawa was also a fun depiction of a modern-day working woman who is constantly burdened and taken up with her work and the stress of not only the work itself but the commute too. She has realistic worries which make her character seem more lifelike and is burdened with the reality of the strange cat she has at home.

Her boss also seems fun in his own stoic way. He seems to take life from a chill lens and is grateful for his workers. His introduction seems to hint at a possible romance between the two characters which I am excited to see! It would be interesting to see Yukichi’s reaction to something like that as well.

Art Style

The art style in this show is pretty nice and seems to make good use of CGI, like with Orizuka’s car, which makes it more unique from other shows. I liked how the characters were designed and how Fukuzawa especially looks different and unique to herself, escaping the kind of same-face syndrome a lot of animes end up having. I also loved seeing how the food and cooking were animated and how Yukichi himself was drawn to be one comfy, large cat in the small house.

Pacing

I felt the pacing was really nice in this show! It seems to be more of a slice-of-life anime and hence has a slower, more detailed pacing while also keeping the show light and fun. I believe most of the events in the episode were given their time while also paying attention to building the characters and their identities themselves.