Cats and dogs in anime and Japan

There’s certainly no shortage of cats in anime, whether as major or minor characters. Disregarding the ever popular cat-girl, I can list quite a few anime cats off the top of my head. When it comes to anime dogs however…I have more trouble thinking of some. I wonder why that is since, according to a recent Japan Times article, both cats and dogs seem to be equally popular in Japan as pets, with dogs outnumbering cats in some cases…

For a starting exercise, let’s see how many anime cats I can think of versus how many dogs. I’m only counting actual cats and dogs and not wild relatives like tigers or wolves. I’m also not counting any human+animal hybrids nor any cat/dog pokemon, digimon, or other “collectible monsters.”

Cats
Aria, Hime, Maa (Aria)
Mayaa, Kami-neko (Azumanga Daioh)
Chi (Chi’s Sweet Home)
Arthur (Code Geass)
Tama (Fushigi Yuugi)
Shiranui (Hayate no Gotoku!!)
Kirara (Inuyasha)
Luna, Artemis, Diana (Sailor Moon)
Piro (Kanon)
Shamisen (The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
Jiji (Kiki’s Delivery Service)
A lot of cats in Nyan Koi!
Sphinx (To Aru Majitsu no Index)
Kuroneko (Trigun)

Dogs
Potato (Air)
Tadakichi-san (Azumanga Daioh)
Ein (Cowboy Bebop)
Mameshiba (Eden of the East)
Den, Black Hayate (Fullmetal Alchemist)
Pakkun, Akamaru (Naruto)
All characters in Ginga Densetsu Weed
A lot of dogs in Massugu Ni Ikou!
Satake (Ichigo Mashimaro)
Puni Puni (Kurokami)

According to my lists, while cats do outnumber dogs in terms of number of titles, it’s only by a small amount, at least in the anime I’ve seen. So maybe the reason I have an easier time thinking of anime cats is because the roles that the cats play in their respective series tend to be more memorable. When I think of dogs, usually it’s just Ein and a couple others that pop into my head, whereas I can remember most of the cats I listed pretty quickly. Even though I’ve never had a dog for a pet and have only had cats, I like cats and dogs equally. So I’m really curious if anyone else finds anime cats more numerous, or at least more memorable, than anime dogs. Please let me know! =D


Humorous pic of anime cats (couldn’t find a dog equivalent)

Moving on, both dogs and cats have had their fair share of involvement in Japanese history and culture, from the legend of the “Beckoning Cat“(Maneki Neko) to the story of Hachiko the dog. For folklore, domestic dogs many not have an equivalent to the bakeneko legend, but they do have the nine-tailed fox (Kyuubi) legend for their wild cousin. So when it comes to anime, it’s hard to say which animal is more influential. But as far as cats and dogs in Japanese pop culture, I tend to see more cats, from famous felines like Tama the Station Master and Maru to Japan’s many cat cafés.

Something else I found interesting is why cat-girls are so popular in anime yet we don’t see any dog-girls. Horo from Spice and Wolf is the closest dog-girl I can think of, though she’s a wolf and not a dog (there’s also Inuyasha but he would be a “dog-boy”). I think there may actually be a reason for this. If you look back at old works of literature and poetry, cats are usually depicted as feminine creatures while dogs tend to be masculine. I’ll go out on a limb and say that perhaps the femininity of cats in literary history has somehow led to the cat-girl in anime being more acceptable than a dog-girl.


Horo, the only anime dog-girl?

Another thing I find interesting is that the idea of cats and dogs not getting along isn’t prevalent in Japan (can’t think of any anime examples either) while it’s very prevalent in the West, especially in animation. As a matter of fact in Japan, dogs are known to not get along with monkeys rather than cats. There’s even a Japanese expression called “ken’en no naka”(犬猿の仲) to describe people who don’t get along, literally translated as a “dog and monkey relationship.” What I’ve also found is that Western movies and TV shows tend to portray cats as villainous creatures more often than not (even TV Tropes agrees). There’s your typical Tom & Jerry and Sylvester & Tweety cartoons where the cat is always the bad guy for going after the mouse/bird, all the way down to the evil villain stroking his devious-looking cat. Even Snoopy has to contend with the mean “cat next door” and Garfield is always abusing Odie. And if you’ve ever seen the movie Cats & Dogs, it always bothered me that all the cats were villains while the dogs were good.

I think this beef many people have with cats as opposed to dogs comes from not understanding their natures. Dogs are naturally pack animals so they look up to human owners as their pack leader and want to do everything to please them, such as doing tricks or following them everywhere. Cats, however, are naturally solitary creatures so they’re simply accustomed to pleasing themselves first. Cats like to spend some time alone and some time with their owners while dogs rarely want to be alone. So people tend to take it as a personal insult if a cat runs away from them or ignores them, which is probably what lead to cats being depicted as “bad guys” because they don’t constantly give affection the way dogs do. But the way I see it, this makes it a lot more rewarding to win the friendship of a cat, since needing love from others in not in their nature yet they can learn to yearn for it the same as a dog.


Couldn’t resist posting this pic – Nyan cats!

To conclude, both cats and dogs have their place in anime and Japan. I don’t usually have this many links in a post so I hope you found them helpful. Whether my idea that cats play a slightly more prominent role in Japanese pop culture and anime is valid or not, I’m still not sure. Any thoughts, please share ^^

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. An Otaku says:

    Dare I mention Wanko to Kurasou?

  2. BeldenOtaku says:

    You forgot Sakamoto-san in Nichijou :3

    • Yumeka says:

      Oh my gosh, I did forget him. Well, then there’s one more anime cat to add to my list for anime I’ve seen! (there’s also those weird dogs that Mai has XD)

  3. chikorita157 says:

    I have been wondering about the popularity of cats in Japan considering that Yune had a strong fondness of them. Of course, it’s interesting to see how they are differently viewed over there compared to the West as the thing with dog vs cats is kind of the norm.

    Then again, taking the assumptions that dogs actually gets along with cats kind of explains some of the stuff in Dog Days and their friendly war… of course, that anime has a lot of dog girls.

  4. draggle says:

    WHERE IS DENSUKE FROM DENNO COIL?!!!! He is more memorable than all these animals put together. This is discrimination against virtual pets!!!

  5. Myna says:

    My favorite anime cat is probably Nyanko-sensei from Natsume Yuujinchou. But Kuroneko and Jiji are up there too.

    My favorite dog is undoubtedly Ein.

    Good point about the lack of dog girls. Does an inu musume even exist in Japanese folklore?

    • Yumeka says:

      Apparently the anime Dog Days (which I don’t think either of us have seen) is about dog-girls. It’s the only one I can think of though, other than Horo as a wolf-girl and Inuyasha as a dog-boy.

      I could be wrong but I think the only prominent dog figure in Japanese folklore is the fox (kitsune).

  6. Reiko says:

    There’s also lots of cats and other animals in Hetalia as well. (every country practically has their own cat, but the only one whose name is revealed is Japan’s, Tama.) :D

    And as far as dog-girls go, check out Dog Days for that. There’s tons of them (plus lion-girls, fox-girls, and others).

    • Yumeka says:

      Yes, I remember the cats from Hetalia ^_^ A lot of anime seems to have a fascination with very “cartoony” looking cats used for a comedic effect, such as in Hetalia, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Azumanga Daioh.

      Didn’t know Dog Days had other kinds of animal+girl characters too. If it’s not too ecchi/fan service filled I may check it out.

  7. Jamie says:

    Your point that “it’s more acceptable for women to be associated with cats” is quite interesting when applied to Fruits Basket. It gives Kyo an added dimension that I, as a Westerner, had not taken into account when watching this series. Thanks for the quality post(s)!

    Also, Ein is my favorite anime animal to date.

  8. Kal says:

    Interesting. And yeah, definitely cats do tend to be present way more often in anime.

    I also think that cat characteristics are more “interesting” than dog characteristics. You mentioned dogs are pack animals, but they are also loyal, subservient, dependent, etc. Those characteristics are not really that good for comedy anime, or anime where animal characters fit in. They would be great for a more serious anime, but those do not tend to use characters with animal characteristics.

    So that leaves cats that are more playful, naughty, independent, mysterious, and other characteristics that are more sought after for anime characters in less serious roles.

    That’s my take on it. Cat characteristics just fit better on the type of anime that can present characters with animal characteristics. Dog characteristics would be great for more serious anime, or dramatic anime, but those would be weird with dog-people :P

    • Yumeka says:

      You have a point that dogs usually play a follower role while cats often act as “foil” characters, which could make them more interesting. Their curiosity is also emphasized (as is the case with Chi and Aria). Actually one of the few examples I’ve seen of a dog being a villainous characters is in Ginga Densetsu Weed, but that’s only because all the characters in that anime are dogs so one of them has to be the bad guy XD

  9. Hm, how about Dog Days? I think there are a lot inumimi titles.

    • Yumeka says:

      A few other commenters above mentioned Dog Days. I haven’t watched it so that’s why I didn’t know it had actual dog-girls. I can’t think of any other dog-girls though…

  10. Relic says:

    What about the cat in Suzuka!? That cat is the reincarnation of Suzaka’s late love interest afterall!(pure speculation on my part) I think dogs are funnier, take KIKI’s Delivery service for example and Ein’s mushroom hallucinating fantasy lol!

    • Yumeka says:

      I only listed dogs and cats from anime I’ve seen – I haven’t seen Suzuka.

      Dogs tend to be funny in a clumsy way while cats tend to be funny in a snarky/hapless way (talking cats at least), like Jiji and Sakamoto (from Nichijou).

  11. kadian1364 says:

    The difference I see between the species is not the number, but in the prominence of their portrayals in anime. Dogs are solely mute companions. They’re always by the side of their human masters and only bark to communicate. Cats can become characters. Between Sakamoto-san, Nyanko-sensei, the Sailor Moon cats, Doraemon, etc., cat characters are featured center stage, and often control the action. Ein and Pochi (from Welcome to the Space Show) are the only anime dogs I can think of that have their own identity and “voice”.

    • Yumeka says:

      That’s a good point about dogs typically being portrayed as loyal, and often mute, companions while cats are often given more proactive roles. I think this is probably due to cats’ mysterious, curious, and often naughty nature which makes them more dynamic as characters. This could also be why talking cats are more common than talking dogs.

  12. Bryce says:

    You forgot Alexandar (also from FMA). Interesting post though.

  13. Shizuo says:

    Interesting article :D

    Hmmm, where is Tsubasa “Cat” Hanekawa (Bakemonogatari) and Sakamoto-San/ Taisho (Nichijou) ?

    • Yumeka says:

      Thanks for reading.

      I didn’t include Hanekawa because she’s not actually a cat (she’s a human possessed by a cat demon). I guess she would be a cat-girl but the list on the post is only for actual cats.

      And yes, I did forget Sakamoto. Someone else pointed that out too ^^,,,

  14. Cirris says:

    Shampoo from Ranma 1/2 turns into a cat because of the cursed springs. Does that count?

    • Yumeka says:

      I thought about Shampoo too, but she wouldn’t count since she’s a human that sometimes turns into a cat under certain conditions, not actually a cat.

  15. Marow says:

    Hm, interesting observation now that you mention it. But cats rock, so it’s only natural that they have a bigger role~~ :D

  16. Marina says:

    Yay for a fun read! Thanks for sharing, Yumeka :)

    Favorite dogs/cats include:
    (Cats) Nyanko-sensei of Natsume Yuujinchou, Aria-shachou of ARIA
    (Dogs) Holo of Spice and Wolf, Ein of Cowboy Bebop

    I’m familiar with a lot of the ones you and others have mentioned, but they didn’t make quite an impact on me compared to the ones above >.<

  17. Yama Inu says:

    Great article, I always love others insight into anime cats and dogs, there are a few things I could add though…

    I wish you would include Buyo, Kagome’s cat in Inuyasha, since she is a regular cat and not a demon like Kirara (don’t get me wrong, I ADORE Kirara!)

    A few nameless cats played brief parts in Wolf’s Rain, and Blue herself was considered a dog by some characters.

    The series InuKami! is about inukami (dog god) tamers who are partners with demon dogs that can turn into humans.

    Inubaka is a series about a girl who works at a petstore, I’ve never read it but dogs are supposed to be a focal point to the story.

    If Horo from Spice and Wolf counts as a dog girl, than Nozumo from Kanokon may count too. She is a wolf demon, and has a wolf tail and ears. Her older brother is a wolf boy too.

    Wolves do figure into Japanese folklore, but they do tend to be overshadowed by the mischief causing kitsune. Also, the tanuki (raccoon dog) is another one that is a trickster type seen from time to time in anime. While not a companion dog, they are in the dog family, similar to foxes.

  18. Alfred F. Jones says:

    What about the Hetalia Nekotalia cats?

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