Chainsmoker Cat

Chainsmoker Cat is a raunchy comedy anime about a nicotine-addicted catgirl, adapted from Nyan Nyan Factory's manga. It premiered on July 2 on Tokyo MX and BS11, produced by Bibury Animation Studio and directed by Taku Kimura. The show launched with a rare dual-version strategy: a broadcast-friendly 'On-Air' cut and a director-approved 'Evil Dragon Unleashed' version on AT-X and premium services. Reviews of the early episodes describe the show as deliberately grotesque, with community scores on Anime News Network ranging from 2.6 to 3.7, yet also note craft and an undercurrent of melancholy fatalism.

As the season progressed, reviews found the show gaining emotional range. Episode 5 toned down gross-out humor for a dramatic story centered on Imoko and discrimination against beastfolk. Episode 6 delivered two tender scenes, reframing the comedy as a coping mechanism. Episode 7 earned a 4.1 community score and was called the series' finest half-hour, using nearly the whole supporting cast while balancing crude humor with sadness. Episode 8 introduced Kaoru's brother Shunran, a beatboxing catboy, and trapped the Landlord in a mochi-pounding time loop, with the reviewer predicting Aru will die on screen before the season ends.

The cast expanded steadily: Niina Nakabayashi joined as Jikaki Neko, Yu Kobayashi as Penpen Neko, and Yumi Hara as Yani's mother Shizue Sato. In August, Ani-One Asia removed the anime from its streaming lineup across all regions, citing Hong Kong's Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance and Taiwan's Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act over the show's prominent display of real cigarette brands like Mevius. The series streams on Netflix and OceanVeil, the latter a new platform from WWWave Corporation.