Neko Ningen

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Japanese: ねこにんげん

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 1

Chapters: 7

Status: Finished

Published: Jul 9, 2020 to Dec 19, 2020

Theme: Anthropomorphic

Serialization: Kurofune pixiv

Authors: Parari (Story & Art)

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Score: N/A¹ (scored by - users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #52279²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #48557

Members: 131

Favorites: 1

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Ranked #52279Popularity #48557Members 131

MangaKurofune pixivParari (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /1

Chapters: /7

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Synopsis

Hachisuke is a cat humanoid living in a world where humans and cats coexist. But Hachisuke is withdrawn and has difficulty being loved by humans. After all, cats are still treated as cute "objects" for humans. See the world through Hachisuke's eyes as he tries to fit into modern society and endure the prejudice that comes with being different.

(Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

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BackgroundNeko Ningen was published in English as Cat Man by Seven Seas Entertainment on April 29, 2025.

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Reviews

Dec 3, 2025

GaBeRockKing

Recommended

I found Neko Ningen/"Cat Man" looking through one of the furry/anthro stacks and in retrospect that mislead me pretty badly about what kind of story I was going to be reading. This isn't a "Beastars" or a "Brand New Animal" where the fact that many of the characters are animal-people actually matters-- this is one of those stories where the animal-people are aesthetic stand-ins for a particular kind of humans. As a result my feelings about Neko Ningen are a little mixed... but then again, it's just seven chapters long. If it was 70 I might be more hesitant to recommend it, but I guarantee ... you're not going to regret reading something so short. So go and do that! Come back and read my review after-- my analysis won't take much less time to read anyway, and there's no way you're going to regret reading something seven chapter's long. One Piece, this ain't.

...

Alright, you're back? Then let's get into it.

As you might have realized, this story is a feminist fable (using "fable" in a value-neutral sense) that transposes how women feel about workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, and other topics of feminist interest into a world where cat-people are discriminated against by humans. Through this transposition, it succeeds at honestly portraying the complexities of how different women react and respond to those topics, and despite a very short runtime manages to pack in a surprising amount of character development for a surprising amount of characters. That space-efficiency is, I think, this story's biggest strength-- where a longer work might have felt like a screed, or a less-dense work might have felt insubstantial, Neko Ningen manages to be readable to a non-feminist without compromising on its ideals. I have to laud the technical competence of the storytelling-- and the art, too, but I'll get to the later-- and for that reason I badly wanted to give it an 8 or even a 9 out of 10.

However...

Neko Ningen's technical competence means I can't bear to call it anything less than "good". But while I can't complain about the amount of introspection the characters do within the narrative, the lack of introspection on a meta-level make it hard for me to actually enjoy this work. As I mentioned earlier, this story is very much a "fable." The evil get punished, and the virtuous triumph. Insofar as this work is concerned, there is an objective, capital-G Good, and it is exactly the feminist ideology the author is trying to promote. Every character flaw is caused by insufficient feminism; all positive character growth is associated with becoming more feminist. (Well, cattist. Whatever. You get where I'm coming from.) I don't blame the characters for this, because that all makes perfect sense within the context of the world built within the work-- but it's very obvious that the world of the work was specifically constructed to enable exactly this kind of uncomplicated fable plausible. Because of that obviousness, this story fails hard at actually being a persuasive to anyone not already inclined to agree with its ideological premises. Perhaps I'm being a little unfair in asking for even more complexity in a story that's 7 chapters long and already sort of packed... perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this work... perhaps my problem is that I live in a different cultural context than the author, and their arguments were never meant to generalize... but this definitely feels like a missed opportunity. The author otherwise managed to avoid the usual failure cases of ideological fables-- there's no sneering condescension or portraying-you-as-the-virgin-and-myself-as-the-chad. But one mistake is as good as a hundred when you're trying to sway someone to your position, and the mistake Neko Ningen makes is completely failing to address why anyone might have a reasoned, rather than reflexive, opposition to any of its point.

Again, I think you should read this work. Maybe you'll find something different-- maybe you *are* the target audience, and this will be a straight nine-out-of-ten. But as impressed as I was by the character work and handling of theme, Neko Ningen's argument for its thesis was neither interesting or convincing. For that, I have to give it a 7/10, and no higher.

As an afterthought, I do want to acknowledge the art. Neko Ningen is minimalist but not simplistic, in a very pleasing way. There's an intentional focus on the themes and characters that would have perhaps been lost with mor distracting art, and there's one scene in particular where the artist adds more detail than usual that really pops as a result. Every character has a distinct visual design, and it feels like the mangaka made a concerted effort to include all the art that was necessary, and nothing that wasn't. Overall I wasn't stunned, or anything, but I would definitely actually characterize the art as a strength.

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May 2, 2025

FenrirBlack22

Recommended

Spoiler

I highly enjoyed this book not just for the cute anthropomorphic cat characters but how it handled social issues like the types discrimination and prejudice we see everyday in our society. The best way to describe the actions and conflicts in the story is if each character drew a line in the sand or really a circle. There are four main cat characters, a handful of human characters and one minor cat character. Each one deals with the discrimination that comes with being a cat in society differently.
Before I continue, its important to understand how the manga uses the idea of "cat" as a ... stand in for basically any thing that is "different" or the things that people have biases against and how that affects those who the biases are directed too. While the manga doesn't go into a deep exploration of these complex social issues, it is not afraid to be painfully blunt about it either. Things like consent, work place discrimination and harassment, parental expectations, and even our own personal boundaries are examined and laid bare for the reader to see. At times it can uncomfortable to read because of how obviously oblivious the characters can be in this story when they interact with the feline cast.
To better understand how this story handles these topics, let's return to the line in the sand metaphor. Starting with the main character, Hachisuke, whose line is a comfortable distance. Not to close but open enough to let in those he trusts. Early on that trust is broken which serves as a recurring conflict in the story and also a source of personal growth for our main character.
Second character is Makio who is a feline model something very common in this setting which is not necessarily a good thing. He's my favorite character because while Hachisuke is the most relatable and down to earth, Makio isn't afraid to be flexible but while also respecting and protecting his friends. One of my favorite parts of the series is near the end when Makio questions whether or not he should remain as a feline model fearing it will continue to perpetuate feline stereotypes and stigmas but after being reassured by Hachisuke, continues doing it because its not about what others want, its about what he wants. It's his choice. If he is comfortable doing it and being in the spotlight, then the others should and do support him.
Thirdly is the male calico cat named Mike. He has less of a line in the sand and more of a series of dots in a row. He has zero boundaries or respect for the boundaries of others. While this does change, it's interesting to see why he acts like this. Through flashbacks and dialogue we learn he was raised to be a kitten model and being exploited by humans is all he knows. His parents don't believe he can be anything but a feline model despite he has no desire to follow that road but can't bare the thought of disappointing anyone or expressing his own feelings. Similarly to Makio, you want to respect Mike's choice to get along with humans in his own way, it is clear early on in the story that his utter lack of social awareness is actively harmful to himself and has a negative affect on the cats around him.
The fourth cat is Kurono and he has less of a line in the sand and more like a brick wall. Angry, bitter, and easy to lash out he doesn't use hate being exploited and discriminated against humans but looks down on cats who choose to consent to being petted and babied by them. This causes conflict with Mike who is his polar opposite. What makes Kurono interesting is how inflexible he is and how he alienates himself not only from humans but other cats. His bad attitude causes problems and he knows it but doesn't know how to change. In a strange way, like Mike, he also doesn't respect other's boundaries or their choices.
The fifth cat, Muko, is not one of the main four but a secondary cat character who runs a bookshop where several events in the story take place. Strong, independent, and a little sour her line is very small and doesn't have a lot of room for anyone she doesn't agree with. She's quick to point out others social failings, and will not sugar coat her feelings. She can come off as abrasive but being looked down on a feline and female shop owner, her story is not uncommon.
The main human character duo are a good inclusion to the story because they add a unique perspective to the story. Yoshihito is Hachisuke and Mike's supervisor at their job. While he tries his best to be kind to the felines, he comes off as a wannabe "savior" and ally. This tendency to both walk on eggshells and also align himself with the problems with the felines, comes off as uncomfortable to the very cats he's trying to help. A common occurrence in real life which makes it important to be included in his story. The well meaning human simply doesn't know how to respond correctly to problems he can never truly understand. This causes friction with Muko who is quick to point out his failings and put him in his place even when that in of itself isn't helpful or productive. Their dynamic is one of the best in the story because of how honest it is. One who wants to help but tries too hard therefore overcomplicates things and the other who despite her annoyance appreciates the effort.
The second humans is one introduced early in the series and is named Hitomi. After a night of drinking, Hitomi pets Hachisuke believing she has his consent. She ends up scratched by Hachisuke and Hachisuke ends up fired from his brief job at the modeling agency. This causes a rift between the two and traumatizes Hitomi who, as a woman, has had her fair share of harassment, is mortified that she did the same thing to another person. It's with Hitomi that the story stops using allegory altogether at one point and showcases the problems victims of sexual harassment face including victim blaming and finger pointing. Long story short, Hachisuke forgives her and she strives to be more knowledgable about feline culture and their problems. A bit on the nose but points for showing how research and effort go a long way to bridging social gaps and alleviating social injustices bit by bit.
The biggest emphasis the story has is that none of this is easy but at the same time it is easy to respect each other and the boundaries, the lines in the sand we create. Those lines can be too big or too small and that's when its up to us to try to strengthen and break down those walls a little by communicating with each other. That's what I like about this series. Different characters, with different perspectives all communicating and growing to create a better society. The series can be overly blunt with its messaging and some might find the messaging itself mishandled or misguided but for me, I appreciate the story that was being told and the message it was sending the reader.

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