The accursed cat hath cometh

November 6, 2014 6:16 PM

From the acclaimed horror mangaka Junji Ito (previously), comes: Junji Ito's Cat Diary.
posted by cendawanita (23 comments total)

Holy shit those are two of my cats. Whitey is Helmet because of the black patch on her head, and fluffypants is Lux because my girlfriend named her and doesn't know how to do it properly.
posted by turbid dahlia at 6:33 PM on November 6, 2014

This is so so so so good, ahahaha. He really captures the bizarre anatomy and expressions of cats. I love the note at the end of one of the chapters: "my wife is not as angry about this manga as you might think."
posted by sonmi at 6:38 PM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

how can this be real
it's just too beautiful
posted by murphy slaw at 6:48 PM on November 6, 2014

New twitter icon.
posted by maryr at 7:22 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

NOPE.

Don't need to think about cats the way I now think about fish.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 7:39 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

The chapter about the reclusive cat reminded me of my parents, who lost their cat earlier this year. It was relatively fat, and had a distinctive THUMP-THUMP whenever it jumped down from its favorite window perch. My mom at first, and then my dad, and finally my brother (who's back at home for the time being) have all reported hearing a ghostly THUMP-THUMP when they're in different parts of the house. I don't believe in ghosts, much less cat ghosts, but it's certainly nice to think that his cat spirit is still doing stuff he loved.
posted by codacorolla at 7:40 PM on November 6, 2014 [3 favorites]

Wait, no, bottom center panel
posted by maryr at 7:44 PM on November 6, 2014

This was great. No real horror in it, for the record, TheWhiteSkull. Cats are still as safe as the ever were.
posted by maryr at 7:49 PM on November 6, 2014

The path of the cat wand is long and convoluted.

Also, in Chapter 5, page 4:
😻     😻     😻     😻     😻
🎺 ~~ Here, have a cat anus. ~~ 🎺
😻     😻     😻     😻     😻

Seriously though, this is awesome and hilarious.
posted by JHarris at 8:05 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

THE HORROR... THE HORROR....
posted by JHarris at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2014 [1 favorite]

BTW, for people who are slightly confused, manga panels are read right-to-left.
posted by JHarris at 8:12 PM on November 6, 2014

This is so good! Thank you!
posted by Pope Guilty at 8:16 PM on November 6, 2014

PRRRR…..PRRRR…..PRRRR
posted by Jon Mitchell at 9:32 PM on November 6, 2014 [6 favorites]

You might also be interested to know that Junji Ito is now working on Pokémon comics.
posted by rifflesby at 11:22 PM on November 6, 2014 [2 favorites]

Wow, that site does some annoying shit on iPad, auto-launching the iOS App Store application and arbitrarily blanking itself out.
posted by ardgedee at 2:21 AM on November 7, 2014 [1 favorite]

...Damn, and here you had me thinking someone had finally released an english copy.

I love Cat Diary, it's basically Junji Ito making a parody of a Junji Ito comic. It's funnier if you've already read his other works though, since much of the humor relies on his frequent usage of body horror in his typical stuff. It's perfect as a capstone comic.
posted by Qberting at 3:06 AM on November 7, 2014 [4 favorites]

THE PATH OF THE CAT WAND IS LONG AND CONVOLUTED
posted by magstheaxe at 3:26 AM on November 7, 2014

NOPE.

Don't need to think about cats the way I now think about fish.

Don't be afraid of this one. It really is just a slice-of-life comedy about living with kitties. The only difference is that Ito uses exactly the same visual tropes he uses in his horror manga, like disconcerting camera angles and grotesque reaction faces, which makes it very funny. No harm comes to humans or cats. (Some fingers get chomped, and one cat has a medical scare but quickly recovers, and everybody is fine.)
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:50 AM on November 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Yes, it's even better because at first it seems like it's going to go the horror direction, what with how ominous the markings on that one cat's back seem, how the cats seem to shun him, and how he draws his wife's eyes without pupils. But it gets cuter, and it makes it feel even better when the kitties warm up to him.
posted by JHarris at 4:09 PM on November 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

Is anyone else creeped out with the fiancée's iris-less eyes?

Edit: I mean other than JHarris
posted by Cog at 4:16 PM on November 7, 2014

I liked this a lot, especially the first part where you're waiting for the other shoe to drop (I was almost disappointed when it got easier/friendlier-- I liked that paranoid drama/ genre conflict).
Gets across that embarrassing jealousy for attention, "the cat will sleep with her but not me, bitch cat."
posted by Capybara at 4:59 PM on November 7, 2014 [2 favorites]

In the same 'people you wouldn't have expected to write a fluffy book about cats' category: The Cat Inside, by William S. Burroughs.
posted by gnimmel at 2:28 AM on November 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Looks like Junji Ito had a dog, too. Like the cat manga, it's anecdotes from life rather than horror, but, uh, it doesn't dwell on cuteness and positivity.
posted by ardgedee at 6:43 AM on November 8, 2014 [1 favorite]