Chi’s New Address

The Yamada family can no longer imagine life without their adorable kitten Chi, but there’s still one major problem- their apartment doesn’t allow pets! Realising that things cannot continue as they are, the Yamadas move down the street to an apartment complex where animals are permitted. Now, Chi must adjust to her new surroundings and make friends amongst the local feline population.

Way back when I reviewed Chi’s Sweet Home, I mentioned that another 104 episodes of our favourite kitten wouldn’t go amiss, and happily, my wish was granted in the form of Chi’s New Address, the continuing and equally cute adventures of Chi and the Yamada family.

Much as I loved the first season, my one nagging annoyance about the whole thing was that Chi was being kept in an apartment where cats weren’t allowed- a story twist that was amusing at first, but clearly had a finite lifetime. Fortunately, this issue is addressed right at the beginning of this season, with a fortuitous ‘it could only happen on TV’ house moving. From then on, the series settles back into its customary level of entertaining cuteness, whilst throwing in enough originality to ensure that the format doesn’t feel tired even after another 104 episodes.

One key feature of the new series is that it features a much larger cast- not so much in terms of people (although there are some recurring human characters), but in the form of new animal friends for Chi. Her new apartment complex boasts a wealth of animals, including a fussy Persian cat, an overenthusiastic dog and a somewhat creepy rabbit, with several episodes given over simply to introducing them all. In the outside world, Chi also finds herself interacting a lot more with other cats, including Tama, a streetwise female cat who thinks Chi reminds her of her sister and Fuji-san, a venerable elder feline who speaks in riddles that all other cats interpret as great wisdom. In general it’s amusing and entertaining mix, although as in season one the capacity for the odd poignant moment is still very much in evidence.

As far as music and visuals go, Chi’s New Address is much the same as the first series- which is to say that it’s cute, low key and appropriate to the series.

Final Thoughts

Having already got the formula just right in the first series, there was no real need to change anything here, and indeed, Chi’s New Address delivers more of the same without feeling old or tired. Maybe it’s just the cat lover in me, but if anything, it felt like it ended too soon.

Tier: Gold