Bahamut Animation Crazy Pulls Chainsmoker Cat in Hong Kong After Health Department Notice
Hong Kong viewers can request refunds after authorities said the anime breached the territory’s smoking advertising rules.
Bahamut Animation Crazy removed Chainsmoker Cat for Hong Kong users on Monday after receiving a Department of Health letter citing the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance.
Taiwanese streaming service Bahamut Animation Crazy stopped streaming Chainsmoker Cat (Yanineko) in Hong Kong on Monday and removed it for local users. The move followed a letter from Hong Kong’s Department of Health.
The department said the television anime violated Hong Kong’s Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, which bans smoking product advertisements on the Internet. The service offered refunds to Hong Kong users who wanted them.
The adaptation of Nyan Nyan Factory’s manga premiered on Tokyo MX and BS11 on July 2 at 24:30, effectively July 3 at 12:30 a.m. AT-X began airing it on July 25. WWWave Corporation’s anime platform OceanVeil streams the series as it airs.
The anime has two versions. “Evil Dragon Unleashed” preserves the intended direction of some episodes, while “On-Air” is prepared for terrestrial television broadcasts.
In Japan, “Evil Dragon Unleashed” is available through:
- AT-X, a premium subscription channel
- AnimeFesta
- DMM TV
- Fuji TV On Demand
- Hulu
- Netflix
- Anime Times
AnimeFesta and Anime Times also carry “On-Air.” Another 16 streaming services in Japan offer only that version. OceanVeil streams “Evil Dragon Unleashed.”
The cast includes:
- Yūko Natsuyoshi as Yani Neko, whose real name is Yaniko Satō
- Misato Matsuoka as Yaku Neko, whose real name is Yakuko Koshimaru
- Yurie Funato as Hame Neko, whose real name is Yurufuwa*Tenshi Hameko
- Ayaka Shimizu as Kansai Neko, whose real name is Kaoruko Nishi
- Shiori Izawa as Aruko Neko, whose real name is Aruko Sakai
- Riko Akechi as Tatsurō Ochinpo
- Tetsu Inada as Landlord
- Rina Honnizumi as Imoko
- Niina Nakabayashi as Jikaki Neko
- Yū Kobayashi as Penpen Neko
The production staff includes:
- Director: Studio Lemon’s Taku Kimura, whose credits include Kairyū to Yūbinya-san and Star Wars: Visions’ “Tattooine Rhapsody,” at Bibury Animation Studio
- Scriptwriter: Takashi Aoshima, whose credits include Himouto! Umaruchan and The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
- Character designer: Riki Matsuura
- Music composer: Keiichi Suzuki, whose credits include Saint Young Men and Tokyo Godfathers
- Art directors: Atelier Musa’s Yukiko Maruyama and Shōtarō Yoshino
- Color key artist: Yuiha Ōta
- Compositing director of photography: Hisashi Yonezawa
- Editor: Mutsumi Takemiya
- Sound director: Takatoshi Hamano
- Sound production: Magic Capsule
Rock band Wasureranneyo performs the opening song, “Nanmonee.” Necry Talkie performs the ending song, “Kemuri to Blue” (Smoke and Blue).
Seven Seas publishes the manga in English. Its synopsis describes a comedy in a world shared by humans, catgirls, and similar species.
The story follows Yani, a catgirl whose heavy smoking leaves her apartment smelling of ash and covered in cigarette butts and other rubbish. Her attempts to quit collapse almost immediately when cravings hit, raising the question of whether she can put her life in order or remain a chain-smoking slob.
The original manga features toilet humor, gross-out comedy, and characters who regularly use drugs and/or drink alcohol.
Nyan Nyan Factory serializes the manga in Kodansha’s Young Magazine. Kodansha released its 13th collected volume on August 6, while Seven Seas published the third English volume on June 16.
Sources: South China Morning Post via ANN
