Her and her cat: Makoto Shinkai and Naruki Nagakawa

she and her cat

she and her cat

she and her cat is the novelization of the animated short Kanojo to kanojo no neko (1999), presented by the Japanese film director Makoto Shinkai, creator of works such as 5 centimeters per second o Your Name. The literary version was published by Kanzen in 2013. This featured Shinkai as a scriptwriter; however, the book was written by Naruki Nagakawa.

Title she and her cat It was the first solo short for filmmaker Makoto Shinkai, who performed all creative and technical roles within the production. Thanks to his small short film lasting just five minutes, he won the DoGa CG Animation Contest Award in 2000, which opened the doors to the world to make him one of the best animators in the field.

Synopsis of she and her cat

a sea of ​​words

Just like in the original short, she and her cat begins when a young Japanese woman named Miyu rescues a kitten found in a cardboard box. One rainy spring day, Chobi was trying to survive outdoors when she appears and takes him home. The moment the cat is exposed to the heat of his human's roof, he begins to profess tender feelings for the one who saved his life.

While Chobi becomes the narrator of a brief summary about his life with Miyu and his love for her, the human protagonist talks about her professional and sentimental conflicts. This It is a love story told twice, but it is not the only one that exists within the book. One of the particularities of this work is that it is about four stories that seem to be independent, but that will come together at certain points of the plot.

“First Flowers”

first flowers is the title of another story that emerges from the first narrative. On this occasion, the stories that are told are those of Reina and little Mimi, her cat.. These characters appear sporadically throughout the original plot, so readers are somewhat familiar with them. Unlike Miyu, who is a very composed young lady, Reina is temperamental.

The sometimes erratic behavior of the protagonist—who is Miyu's art classmate—is rooted in a dysfunctional family and a complex and painful past. Similarly, Mimi is a street kitten who has suffered the ins and outs of a life of homelessness. Together, both narrators learn to count on each other and cope with the environment.

"Drowsiness and Heaven"

With this story another change of direction is suffered. On this occasion, the voices that tell their story are those of Aoi and Cookie. On the one hand, the first is a girl who suffers from agoraphobia because of the tragic events of her past. To help her overcome these traumas, they give her Cookie, a kitten that, over time and despite the reluctance of the first protagonist, sneaks into her heart.

Little by little, Aoi manages to overcome those events that torment her thanks to the company of her cat. At the same time, the young woman and her pet meet Reina and Mimi, which intertwines the stories to return at some point to the main story.

“Body body temperature”

body temperature is the fourth and last story within She and her cat. This follows the life of an old lady named Shino. The woman lives alone until, one day, she adopts Kuro, a cat. He has been hanging around the streets for a long time, wondering what life will be like for domestic cats, since he is friends with all the aforementioned furry companions, and knows their stories.

By the time Shino and Kuro meet and their friendship develops, the reader has the opportunity to see how all the stories are intertwined thanks to the cats. At the same time, this provides an ending full of tenderness that not only represents love for animals, but also the purity of the most loyal affections embodied in the form of a pet.

A story with eight voices

Naruki Nagakawa's pen makes she and her cat an endearing book written with sensitivity and a marked subtlety very typical of Japanese culture. Beyond the stories of all the protagonists, the work represents how the most innocent of loves causes four women to improve as human beings thanks to the company of a kitten.

This is a powerful message: cats are great friends, part of the family and even a refuge when the world falls apart.

On the art of Ella and her cat

The cover that reached the West by the hand of the Duomo publishing house was made by the illustrator Tahnee Kelland. It shows a young woman holding the figure of a cat that she cannot see. Instead, the silhouette is covered by beautiful flowers. According to the artist, This work represents the loss of a loved one, and is named Missing Piece in My Heart.

The original Japanese version of the cover of she and her cat shows Miyu enjoying coffee and cuddling Chobi. Although both covers stand out for their beauty, the original tends to neatness and perfection, while the later version speaks of a feeling characterized by the ethereal.

About the authors

Makoto Shinkai

Makoto Niitsu was born in 1973, in Koumi, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Graduated from Chūō and Osaka Universities, This is a Japanese director, manga artist, writer, producer, voice actor, and animator.. He is internationally known for productions such as Travel to agartha (2011), The Garden of Words (2013) The time with you (2019) o Suzume no Tojimari (2022)

Throughout his career, Shinkai has received highly positive reviews for his work. your tape Your Name (2016) established itself as one of the highest-grossing films in the Japanese portfolio, thus achieving international notoriety, as well as adaptations to the manga and a series of light novels tasked with expanding the universe of the source material.

Naruki Nagakawa

Naruki Nagakawa

Naruki Nagakawa

Naruki Nagakawa was born in 1974, in Aichi, Japan. In this screenwriter and Japanese writer known by lend your pen to to adapt materials like video games, anime and manga. Likewise, he is famous for encompassing a wide variety of genres and audiences in his work. Among his best-known works are Scared Rider Xechs (2010) Shiroi Majo (2014), y Prince of Stride (2016)


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