SOUNDTRACK: SATOMI KŌROGI-“Home is the best!” Ouchi ga ichiban (おうちがいちばん) (2008).
Sweet, over the top and not as catchy as one might expect, this is the theme from the animated Chi’s Sweet Home. You can watch all 104 (!) episodes (they’re 3 minutes each) at Crunchyroll. They’re in Japanese, subtitled in English, which is only a shame if your four-year old can’t read.
The show is basically the episodes from the books. And the animation looks just like the books.
The theme song is sung in Japanese, which isn’t the problem–it’s just not as adorable as Chi is.
[READ: June 18, 2012] Chi’s Sweet Home
I saw Chi’s Sweet Home at the library and grabbed books 1 and 2. I didn’t realize that there were 8 books!
Clark loved books 1 and 2 very much (it was quite his obsession for about three days–that’s pretty good for a seven-year old). I wanted to read it too, and I am totally hooked.
Each book is comprised of twenty episodes, each is 8 pages long. And they follow the adventures of Chi, a small kitten. Kanata Konami is renowned for her cat manga, and it’s obvious why. Chi is incredibly expressive–I love the way her feet go crazy when she is excited and the big smile she gets when something pleases her. Of course, her angry face is also precious.
But unlike so many other animal stories, the adventures of Chi are simply the realistic adventures of a little kitten as she explores her new home and her environment. The whole five that I’ve read so far seems to cover about a month, so Chi never grows up (although the family goes through quite a lot in that short time).
Obviously kittens get into trouble all the time, and that is what much of the story is about–she knocks things over, she gets lost, she meets dogs, she gets stuck on tape. It’s very funny. But there is also a more emotional side to things. In the beginning, when the family finds Chi (whose name arrives in a hilarious way), she was lost from her mother and siblings. She spends much of the first book trying to get back to her mother (but of course, she’s just a kitten–and she’s in a house–how can she?). And it’s kind of bittersweet when she begins to forget her mother and falls for the family instead. The other emotional storyline is that the family who has found Chi, is not allowed to have pets in their building. What are they going to do when Chi is discovered? Will they have to give her up?
Later in the series, Chi meets other cats (as well as dogs–the meeting with David is hilarious), like Blackie, whom the family calls the bear cat. Blackie teaches Chi some bad habits, but the interactions between the two are wonderful. As book five ends, there is another emotional tug when a calico cat recognizes Chi from when she was with her mother. So the reader is torn between wondering who Chi really belongs with now. I have to see what comes next! Books 6-8 are on hold at the library.
The only thing I don’t care for is the baby talk in the translation. I know it makes sense since Chi is a baby, but it’s disconcerting to read “Pwease” over and over (and may even be hard for younger readers to read). But it is totally forgiven, because really she is cute.
This is a wonderful series of books, and I look forward to talking with my son about Chi and maybe showing him these animations–I wonder if he likes subtitles.
For ease of searching I include: Satomi Korogi
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