The Cat and the Dragon
Japanese light novel series
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The Cat and the Dragon (Japanese: 猫と竜, Hepburn: Neko to Ryū) is a Japanese light novel series written by Amara and illustrated by Mai Ōkuma. It was originally posted as a series of stories on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from September 2013 to June 2014, before being published in print by Takarajimasha since April 2016. A manga adaptation illustrated by Izumi Sasaki began serialization on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web manga website in September 2017, and has been compiled into twelve volumes as of November 2025. An anime television series adaptation produced by OLM is set to premiere in July 2026.
| The Cat and the Dragon | |
First light novel volume cover | |
| 猫と竜 (Neko to Ryū) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Fantasy[1] |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Amara |
| Published by | Shōsetsuka ni Narō |
| Original run | September 6, 2013 – June 18, 2014 |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Amara |
| Illustrated by | Mai Ōkuma |
| Published by | Takarajimasha |
| Original run | April 22, 2016 – present |
| Volumes | 9 |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Amara |
| Illustrated by | Izumi Sasaki |
| Published by | Takarajimasha |
| Imprint | Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Comics |
| Magazine | Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web |
| Original run | September 22, 2017 – present |
| Volumes | 12 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Jin-Koo Oh |
| Written by | Mitsutaka Hirota |
| Music by | Takahiro Obata |
| Studio | OLM |
| Original network | Tokyo MX, BS NTV, ytv |
| Original run | July 2026 – scheduled |
Plot
Many years ago, a dragon hatched inside a cave where a family of cats lived. Encountering the baby dragon, the cats decide to raise it as one of their own. As years passed and the cats left him behind, he grows and vows to protect them. However, after seeing cats that were killed by humans for their fur, the dragon takes revenge, killing the adventurers who killed the cats. However, after an encounter with another cat, who reminded him of his past, he develops a cat-like form.
Characters
- Nekoryū (猫竜)
- Voiced by: Takehito Koyasu[2]
- A dragon with an attachment to cats due to being raised by them. Initially angry at humans for killing cats, he changes his mind after a fateful encounter, after which he changes to have a cat-like appearance.
- Mama-nyan (ママにゃん)
- Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue[3]
- Shirotae (シロタエ)
- Voiced by: Fūka Izumi[3]
- Kurobane (クロバネ)
- Voiced by: Show Hayami[3]
- Haibuchi (ハイブチ)
- Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama[3]
- Chiikuro (チークロ)
- Voiced by: Maki Kawase[3]
- Kurotama (クロタマ)
- Voiced by: Shinnosuke Tokudome[3]
Media
Light novel
Written by Amara, The Cat and the Dragon was originally posted as a series of stories on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō from September 6, 2013, to June 18, 2014.[4] It was later acquired by Takarajimasha who began publishing it with illustrations by Mai Ōkuma on April 22, 2016. Nine volumes have been released as of November 26, 2025.[5]
| No. | Title | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Neko to Ryū (猫と竜) | April 22, 2016[6] | 978-4800253019 |
| 2 | Neko to Ryū to Bōken О̄ji to Gūtara Shōjo (猫と竜と冒険王子とぐうたら少女) | January 7, 2017[7] | 978-4800265647 |
| 3 | Neko no Eiyū to Mahō Gakkō (猫の英雄と魔法学校) | July 13, 2018[8] | 978-4800285508 |
| 4 | Ryū no Omiai to Soratobu Neko (竜のお見合いと空飛ぶ猫) | February 10, 2020[9] | 978-4299002501 |
| 5 | Ryū to Akuma to Haha Neko (竜と悪魔と母猫) | August 6, 2021[10] | 978-4299019677 |
| 6 | Ōji to Ryū to Shichieiyū (王子と竜と七英雄) | November 12, 2021[11] | 978-4299022509 |
| 7 | Nekojarashi Hata to Sumeragi Ryū e no Okurimono (ねこじゃらし畑と皇竜への贈りもの) | January 20, 2023[12] | 978-4299038722 |
| 8 | Ibun Shichieiyū no Tabidachi (異聞 七英雄の旅立ち) | April 12, 2025[13] | 978-4299067128 |
| 9 | Bōken Neko no Kikan to Ōto no Nichijō (冒険猫の帰還と王都の日常) | November 26, 2025[5] | 978-4299073631 |
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Izumi Sasaki began serialization on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Web manga website on September 22, 2017.[14] The manga's chapters have been compiled into twelve tankōbon volumes as of November 2025.[15]
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 20, 2018[16] | 978-4800279866 |
| 2 | June 23, 2018[17] | 978-4800284365 |
| 3 | March 6, 2019[18] | 978-4800293053 |
| 4 | April 11, 2020[19] | 978-4299004147 |
| 5 | November 24, 2020[20] | 978-4299010698 |
| 6 | August 11, 2021[21] | 978-4299019264 |
| 7 | April 13, 2022[22] | 978-4299029348 |
| 8 | February 15, 2023[23] | 978-4299039583 |
| 9 | September 22, 2023[24] | 978-4299047076 |
| 10 | June 13, 2024[25] | 978-4299055804 |
| 11 | April 3, 2025[26] | 978-4299066749 |
| 12 | November 21, 2025[15] | 978-4299073235 |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on National Cat Day on February 22, 2025.[27] It will be produced by OLM and directed by Jin-Koo Oh, with series composition handled by Mitsutaka Hirota, characters designed by Rie Nishino and Chiaki Kurakazu, and music composed by Takahiro Obata. The series is set to premiere in July 2026 on Tokyo MX and other networks.[2][28]
Reception
By April 2025, the series had over 1 million copies in circulation.[27]