Spirits & Cat Ears

By: Miyuki Nakayama

Disclaimer: 

This review is based on volumes 1 (chapter 1-4)

Summary: 

Neneko Iizuna is a shy girl with a secret: cat ears. Embarrassed over her feline appearance, Neneko’s retreated from the world. But when she receives a letter asking her to become the miko of an infirmary, she finds herself taking on the unexpected challenge of exorcism!

Is this young cat girl up to the task of taking on the spirits, can she get along with her new co-workers? And how exactly does she feel about being chained up by a leash? It’s an opportunity for new bonds to form!

Review: 

Spirits & Cat Ear follows a young girl named Neneko, who has been shut in for years because she has been possessed by a fox pipe spirit and as a result she has cat ears. Her friends called her a monster which is why she choose to shut herself inside. Neneko is a priestess with the power to expel evil spirits, which is how the fox spirit wasn’t able to fully possess her. In her loneliness, she summons a familiar Shichikage. He shows up as a young man with the power over chains, who also likes restraining Neneko in said chains. One day she receives a letter inviting her to join other priestesses like herself and decides that she wants to go. Her goal is to expel the spirit inside of her and free herself of her cat ears so that she can live a normal life. 

The characters of this series are kind of a mix bag. I think the thing that bothers me is how old Neneko is. She’s 15, but looks and acts like she’s 12. So it’s creepy to me when she gets groped by a drunk female adult and is forced to wear bathing suits/ bunny outfits by Shichikage while he has a collar around her neck. Might just be me, but it just looks odd. Neneko is always overthinking, causing her to panic and freeze up, which only makes things worse for herself. While Shichikage is always saying things to shock her, mostly to snap her out of her overthinking. Like suddenly saying he loves her or picking up and carrying her. He makes outfits (like the bathing suit and the bunny outfit) to put Neneko in and likes restraining her with a collar. It’s kind of a weird dynamic, all of the familiars seem weird for different reasons. 

The art is the saving grace of this series. It is adorable. I wish that Neneko looked at least her own age because of the things happening with her, but the actual design is very cute. It was the reason I picked up the manga in the first place. For any fans of Koge-donbo the art is very similar to that, with the girls having very big eyes. Like most shoujo mangas, the backgrounds are very simple and only give you enough to set the scene. 

Overall Thoughts:

Spirits & Cat Ears is kind of a weird manga to pin down. Like I’ve said if Neneko looked or was a bit older I think this series would work better. She just seems so young that it makes it feel weird. There’s things, like the art, that I do like about the series, but it does feel pretty simple plot wise. Though I did only read the first volume so I won’t judge the plot too harshly yet. It’s really just Neneko’s age that makes this manga a bit rough to read.

I guess I could recommend this manga to fans of Koge-donbo since it does have the same similar feeling for it. Also anyone who is a fan of very cute big eyed anime girls. This series will have evil spirits and exorcists so fans of that might enjoy this series as well. Overall, I have a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to this one. It’s just a bit odd and I see this gimmick of her being restrained getting boring fast. If you have a long list of stuff to read, you might want to skip this one. 

Story: 6/10

Art: 7/10

Characters: 4/10

Overall: 5/10