Chainsmoker Cat
Japanese manga series
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Chainsmoker Cat (Japanese: ヤニねこ, Hepburn: Yani Neko) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by NyanNyanFactory. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine since February 2023. An anime television series adaptation produced by Bibury Animation Studios premiered in July 2026.
| Chainsmoker Cat | |
First tankōbon volume cover, featuring Yaniko Sato (above) and Oya Otani (below) | |
| ヤニねこ (Yani Neko) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | NyanNyanFactory |
| Published by | Kodansha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Young Magazine KC |
| Magazine | Weekly Young Magazine |
| Original run | February 20, 2023 – present |
| Volumes | 13 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Taku Kimura |
| Written by | Takashi Aoshima |
| Music by | Keiichi Suzuki |
| Studio | Bibury Animation Studios |
| Licensed by |
|
| Original network | |
| Original run | July 3, 2026 – present |
| Episodes | 7 |
Plot
Set in a modern-day world where cat-people, known as "beastfolks", co-exist with humans, the series follows the daily misadventures of Yaniko, a beastfolk who lives in a small apartment building in Nyagamihara (based on Sagamihara), Japan, and is addicted to smoking, regardless of the damage to her environment, her psyche, or her family. The series also features her interactions with her oddball neighbors, each with their respective issues, and their cranky human landlord who tolerates their antics.
Characters
- Yaniko Sato (佐藤 ヤニ子, Satō Yaniko) / Yanineko (ヤニねこ)
- Voiced by: Yūko Natsuyoshi[2] (Japanese); Rebecca Wang[3] (English)
- A freeter with a morbid addiction to cigarettes, but no financial literacy or everyday skills. Almost all money Yaniko receives goes towards buying new cigarettes, and when she cannot buy new packs, she often resorts to reusing spent cigarette butts or salvaging loose smokes off the street. Her need for nicotine often leads her into absurd and humiliating situations, and her attempts to quit never last long.
- Oya Otani (大谷おう也, Ōtani Ōya)
- Voiced by: Tetsu Inada,[4] Yui Tsukada[5] (young) (Japanese); Michael Sorich[3] (English)
- The landlord of the apartment building where most of the main cast lives. Despite his intimidating appearance and gruff demeanor, he is a caring man, though he is often the victim of his tenants' actions. He has a dog-like sex doll in private, and he often experiences erections due to certain things happening while he is around female beastfolks.
- Imoko Sato (佐藤 妹子, Satō Imoko)
- Voiced by: Rina Honnizumi[6] (Japanese); Reba Buhr[3] (English)
- Yaniko's younger sister who is a respected and responsible high school student. She often takes care of Yaniko's well-being despite her constant frustrations.
- Yakuko Etsushimaru (越司丸 益子, Etsushimaru Yakuko) / Yakuneko (ヤクねこ)
- Voiced by: Misato Matsuoka[4] (Japanese); Colleen O'Shaughnessey[3] (English)
- A beastfolk who has looked up to Yaniko as her senior since her high school days. Among all the residents of the apartment, she is the one Yaniko hangs out with most often. She secretly uses harder drugs in her apartment, including marijuana, though she always vehemently claims to be sober. It is also implied that she is an ex-convict. Despite this, Yakuko is much more social and well-adjusted in her life outside of her drug use.
- Hameko Easygoing Anal Angel (ゆるふわ＊天使 ハメ子, Yurufuwa Anaru Tenshi Hameko) / Hameneko (ハメねこ)
- Voiced by: Yurie Funato[4] (Japanese); Lauren Landa[3] (English)
- Yakuko's high school classmate who is a gamer and runs a livestreaming channel, "Hame Channel". Born without a legal last name due to being a pure beastfolk, she decided to register Easygoing*Angel (ゆるふわ＊天使, Yurufuwa*Tenshi) as her last name. However, a city hall worker mistook the asterisk symbol for anus, hence giving her a rather awkward last name. Hameko gets easily angered and flustered when things do not go her way, and has a tendency to urinate when stressed.
- Kaoruko Nishi (西 薫子, Nishi Kaoruko) / Kansaineko (カンサイねこ)
- Voiced by: Ayaka Shimizu[4] (Japanese); Lauren Amante[3] (English)
- A college student, fellow smoker and amateur comedian from the Kansai region who is one of the more put-together members of the apartment building. While passionate about making others laugh, she lacks genuine talent in comedic delivery and her attempts at humor often lead to awkward reactions. Kaoruko speaks with Kinki dialect; in the English dub, she speaks with a Southern accent.
- Aruko Sakai (酒井 アル子, Sakai Aruko) / Aruneko (アルねこ)
- Voiced by: Shiori Izawa[4] (Japanese); Victoria Grace[3] (English)
- Kaoruko's roommate, a fellow college student who is sometimes mistaken as a elementary school student due to her short stature. She is an alcoholic, spending most of the day drinking and sleeping in her room, to the point of affecting her academic performance. She also often wanders off to distant places when she drinks outside her home.
- Saori Tatsuno (辰野 沙織, Tatsuno Saori) / Ochinpo Tatsuro (おちんぽ達郎) / Mankasu (マンカス)
- Voiced by: Riko Akechi[4] (Japanese); Chantelle Barry[3] (English)
- The only human resident in Otani's apartment building, as well as a fellow smoker. She works as a hentai manga artist under a pseudonym, though her manga does not sell well. Yaniko sometimes acts as her unofficial assistant.
- Yomuko Kaku (賀来 詠子, Kaku Yomuko) / Jikakineko (字書きねこ)
- Voiced by: Niina Nakabayashi[7] (Japanese); Natsuki Henderson[3] (English)
- Imoko's classmate who dreams of becoming a professional writer. She frequently visits the apartment building where she asks Tatsuno and Yaniko for advice, though she often claims her work is written by her "friend" due to insecurity, and she spends more time on social media than she does with her creative writing.
- Kazushi (カズシ)
- Voiced by: Minoru Hirota[5]
- The yakuza-esque editor-in-chief of Nyan Magazine, in which Tatsuno's work is serialized.
- Lani (ラニ, Rani)
- Voiced by: Mariya Ise[8] (Japanese); Sarah Natochenny[3] (English)
- The chief of Alpha Tribe, a local primordial beastfolk tribe that cultivates tobacco. She has two tails akin to that of a nekomata.
- Nazuna Kujou (九条 ナズナ, Kujō Nazuna) / Penpenneko (ペンペンねこ)
- Voiced by: Yū Kobayashi[9]
- A homeless beastfolk who lives in a tent near a river. Claiming to be one with nature and often speaking in an aloof, philosophical manner, she is very sensitive and emotional in private. After her original tent is swept away by a flood, she squats in the yard of Otani's apartment building. It is later revealed that she actually comes from a wealthy industrialist family, but she ran away to seek freedom.
- Shizue Sato (佐藤 静江, Satō Shizue)
- Voiced by: Yumi Hara[10]
- The widowed mother of Yaniko and Imoko. She herself is a chain smoker as well, though she manages to hide her habit from Imoko.
- Shunran Nishi (西 春蘭, Nishi Shunrun)
- Voiced by: Mashiro Kentarō[5]
- Kaoruko's younger brother.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by NyanNyanFactory, Chainsmoker Cat started in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Weekly Young Magazine on February 20, 2023.[11] Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes, with the first one released on August 4, 2023.[1] As of August 6, 2026, thirteen volumes have been released.[12]
In February 2025, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it had licensed the series for English publication, with the first volume released in December that same year.[13]
Volumes
| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 4, 2023[14] | 978-4-06-532350-2 | December 9, 2025[15] | 979-8-89561-435-8 |
| 2 | November 6, 2023[16] | 978-4-06-533630-4 | March 17, 2026[17] | 979-8-89561-436-5 |
| 3 | February 6, 2024[18] | 978-4-06-534615-0 | June 16, 2026[19] | 979-8-89561-437-2 |
| 4 | May 7, 2024[20] | 978-4-06-535598-5 | September 15, 2026[21] | 979-8-89561-438-9 |
| 5 | August 6, 2024[22] | 978-4-06-536546-5 | December 15, 2026[23] | 979-8-89561-439-6 |
| 6 | November 6, 2024[24] | 978-4-06-537452-8 | March 30, 2027[25] | 979-8-89765-594-6 |
| 7 | February 6, 2025[26] | 978-4-06-538464-0 | — | — |
| 8 | April 28, 2025[27] | 978-4-06-539491-5 | — | — |
| 9 | August 6, 2025[28] | 978-4-06-540533-8 | — | — |
| 10 | November 6, 2025[29] | 978-4-06-541400-2 | — | — |
| 11 | February 6, 2026[30] | 978-4-06-542531-2 | — | — |
| 12 | May 20, 2026[31] | 978-4-06-543541-0 | — | — |
| 13 | August 6, 2026[12] | 978-4-06-544480-1 | — | — |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on February 2, 2026. The series is produced by Bibury Animation Studios and directed by Taku Kimura, with Takashi Aoshima writing the scripts, Riki Matsuura designing the characters, and Keiichi Suzuki composing the music. It premiered on July 3, 2026, on Tokyo MX and other networks.[2][4][a] The series is being released in two versions: the uncensored "Evil Dragon Unleashed" cut, that "respects the work's directorial intent" on some of the episodes, and the clean "On-Air" cut for the terrestrial TV broadcast. The uncensored version is airing on the premium TV network AT-X, as well as selected Japanese streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, AnimeFesta, and Anime Times; the latter two carries both the clean and uncensored versions.[33] The opening theme song is "Nanmonee" (なんもねえ; lit. 'Nothing at All'), performed by Wasureranneyo, while the ending theme song is "Kemuri to Blue" (煙とブルー; lit. 'Smoke and Blue'), performed by Necry Talkie.[34]
Medialink licensed the series in Asia-Pacific, streaming it on its Ani-One Asia YouTube channel.[35] Netflix began streaming the series outside of Japan on July 2, 2026.[36] OceanVeil is also streaming the series uncensored.[37]
Episodes
| No. | Title [38] | Directed by [38] | Storyboarded by [38] | Original release date [39][a] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "I'm a Chainsmoker" Transliteration: "Nyā ga Yani Neko Nya" (Japanese: ニャーがヤニねこにゃ) | Taku Kimura | Taku Kimura | July 3, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko spills tar juice on herself and her landlord. Yaniko accidentally spills cigarettes from a new pack on the ground. Yaniko tries to work at a few part-time jobs but her chainsmoking angers her employers. Yaniko is forced to live on a few hundred yen and six cigarettes for a week. Yaniko calls her sister, Imoko. Yaniko uses multiple nicotine patches at once. Yaniko blows a smoke ring in the shape of a heart. Yaniko's smoke reminds the Landlord of his abusive father. Yaniko takes a bath and falls asleep naked, making herself sick. Imoko visits Yaniko's apartment in a hazmat suit to nurse her back to health. Yaniko has a nightmare about a doctor visit that makes her promise to quit smoking to Imoko, only to get inspired to smoke again by seeing the Milky Way. | |||||
| 2 | "My Juniors" Transliteration: "Nyā no Kōhaitachi Nya" (Japanese: ニャーの後輩たちにゃ) | Kōsuke Hirota | Ryūhei Aoyagi | July 10, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko has a hallucination of a talking cigarette while going through withdrawal. Yaniko bums a smoke off her neighbor, Yakuko, who insists she is smoking a normal cigarette. Yaniko walks in on Yakuko while she is injecting herself with an unknown substance. Yaniko and Yakuko come across a fortune-teller in an alleyway, who predicts that Yaniko only has five years left to live. Yakuko looks up to Yaniko, but is humbled when Yaniko later wakes her up to beg for cigarette money. Yaniko hangs out in Hameko's room, only for Hameko to get increasingly mad at both the game and her. Imoko gets embarrassed by her older sister while walking home from school with her friends. Hameko accidentally livestreams herself eating a bug. Yakuko remembers Hameko as the "Toilet Fairy" from high school while hanging out in Yaniko's room. Hameko visits the city hall to give herself an official surname, "Easygoing*Angel", and includes the asterisk on her submitted form, leading a confused clerk to interpret it as "Easygoing Anal Angel". | |||||
| 3 | "I'm More of a Straight Man Than a Funny Man" Transliteration: "Nyā wa Boke yori Tsukkomi-yori Nya" (Japanese: ニャーはボケよりツッコミ寄りにゃ) | Yusuke Kurinishi | Munenori Nawa | July 17, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko plays soccer with some kids in the park only to be fined by police officers. Yaniko drops increasingly disgusting things on the Landlord's head, but goes too far when she slaps a pair of human-toxic nicotine patches on him. The Landlord tasks Yaniko with weeding the yard to disastrous results. Yaniko finds mysterious talismans in her room and hears ominous noises. Yaniko tries to ask the Landlord on its source, but the embarrassed Landlord, having been interrupted from his session with a sex doll, refuses to explain. Kaoruko attempts to make Yaniko laugh to no avail. Yaniko visits Aruko's room for a free drink. Aruko pukes in her sleep. Yaniko lets out a massive fart inside a broadcast van, which Kaoruko gleefully broadcasts. Yaniko gets stuck halfway through a wall trying to reach a dropped cigarette, and Kaoruko's efforts to free her get misinterpreted as public sex. | |||||
| 4 | "Everyone Around Me Are Weirdos" Transliteration: "Nyā no Mawari wa Henjin Bakari Nya" (Japanese: ニャーのまわりは変人ばかりにゃ) | Munenori Nawa | Munenori Nawa | July 24, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko decides to finish her cigarette before saving a drowning child. Imoko sees a cigarette butt in her burger and is horrified, thinking Yaniko has been turned into a meat patty. In reality, Yaniko accidentally dropped her cigarettes into the food. Yaniko assists her manga artist neighbor, Mankasu, and accidentally burns through a page. A few days later, Yaniko models as a schoolgirl for Mankasu's erotic manga in public, but they are both arrested for suspicious activity. Mankasu gets Kaoruko as a replacement. A group of intimidating older men playing at a mahjong parlor are turned on by Yaniko and Hameko. Aspiring writer Yomuko visits Yaniko to ask for advice on her novel. A rival gangster family shoots chief editor Kazushi at the office of Nyan Magazine to avenge an insult, but Kazushi survives thanks to hiding an issue of Afternyan with a Land of the Lustrous special insert under his robe. However, one of the bullets pierces through and delivers a near-fatal wound, until Yaniko's touch gives him the will to live. Hameko streams life around the apartment, but candid footage of its residents and the Landlord gets her Hame Channel suspended. | |||||
| 5 | "We're Going to a Remote Place" Transliteration: "Nyātachi Hikyō ni Iku Nya" (Japanese: ニャーたち秘境に行くにゃ) | Michiru Itabisashi | Chihiro Kumano | July 31, 2026 | |
|
Imoko confiscates her sister's cigarettes. However, just as she starts to feel guilty, she walks in on Yaniko pulling out a fresh pack she hid in her stomach earlier. Imoko turns down a nice boy named Shu when he confesses his feelings for her. It is later implied that thanks to her sister, Imoko has a preference for those who need to be taken care of. Yakuko has a Pavlovian response to the number 12. The catgirls at the apartment play an old version of The Game of Life, from when beastfolk were more openly discriminated against. Yakuko goes hunting for stag beetles, in which only Yaniko has time to accompany her. Yakuko, Yaniko, and Hameko visit the Tobacco Village, home of the Alpha, an ancient beastfolk tribe that live in the mountains, run by Chief Lani. While Lani explains her tribe's history and customs, Yaniko insults her tribal tattoos. In response, Lani makes the trio jump off their tower while hanging by a vine. Hameko wets herself while falling, earning her the nickname of "Rainbow Maker". Imoko feels too self-conscious after catching a cicada with her catlike reflexes. | |||||
| 6 | "My Summer Begins—And Ends" Transliteration: "Nyā no Natsu ga Hajimatte Owaru Nya" (Japanese: ニャーの夏が始まって終わるにゃ) | Kōsuke Hirota | Munenori Nawa | August 7, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko takes creative measures to continue smoking through the night. Aruko chugs sake and wanders off from the party. She then takes a cab all the way to Enoshima until the Landlord and Yakuko track her down with a GPS device hidden in her hair and bring her back home. While hanging out in Aruko's room, the catgirls find all the things they planted in Aruko's massive hairdo until a lit cigarette sets her alcohol-soaked hair on fire. Yomuko asks Mankasu for advice on time management, but Mankasu notices she spends her time browsing "Nyax". A flashback shows the Landlord and Yakuko chatting with each other while tracking down Aruko. Mankasu gets frustrated with her new temp assistants while trying to hit a deadline. Penpenneko talks about living with nature and gets bitten by a black cat. Penpenneko later takes shelter from the storm in Yaniko's room, but rushes back outside when she sees her tent and belongings have been swept away in the Nyagami River. Yaniko smokes from a sparkler on the beach. | |||||
| 7 | "I, Too, Was Born to Parents" Transliteration: "Nyā mo Oya Kara Umareta Nya" (Japanese: ニャーも親から生まれたにゃ) | Mitsuhiro Yoneda | Mitsuhiro Yoneda | August 14, 2026 | |
|
Yaniko unknowingly summons the Nicotine Demon while she is sleeping, but he becomes so disgusted by her repulsive lifestyle that he returns home. Yaniko gets a temp job scrubbing old factory pipes and ignores the warning not to smoke after handling flammable materials, sparking a huge explosion. Yakuko returns after attending her grandfather's memorial service and suggests to Yaniko on visiting her family. Yaniko shares cigarettes with her mother, Shizue, who tries to hide her habit from Imoko even when the family goes out to see a movie. Imoko saves Aruko from stepping into traffic while she is distracted from her recent diagnosis. Aruko's tremors make the entire apartment building shake. The Landlord accidentally gets stuck outside while he was having another session with his sex doll, and has to rely on Mankasu to get back inside without anyone else seeing him. Yomuko visits Yaniko again to get feedback on her story. The Landlord offers solace to Penpenneko until a gust of wind lifts up her outfit, leading to the Landlord having an erection. Mankasu gets too excited while brushing Yaniko's hair. As a result, Yaniko accidentally becomes bald. | |||||
Reception
The series ranked 12th in the ninth Next Manga Award in the print category in 2023;[40][41] it ranked 13th in the 2024 edition in the same category.[42] The series ranked 18th in Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga of 2024 for male readers.[43]