History WesternAnimation / SagwaTheChineseSiameseCat

* AnAesop:
** In "Sagwa the Stray", Dongwa nearly learns the hard way that there's more to being a leader than ordering everybody on what to do. A good leader needs to lend an ear to what others have to say, or they may miss out on potential ideas.
** "Cats of a Different Class" teaches that sometimes it's the simple things in life that are best. Just because something looks good or fancy doesn't necessarily mean it's comfortable or enjoyable.
** "The Competition" teaches how playing pranks can have serious consequences that affect not only the victim but other folks, too.

* BleachedUnderpants: Kamiko Taka, who voiced Ling in "Dongwa's Best Friend", has a IMDB page mostly comprised of adult videos.

Produced in a collaboration between Creator/CineGroupe and Creator/SesameWorkshop, which brought us ''Series/SesameStreet''. According to some sources, CinéGroupe has confirmed that they are planning a reboot of the series.

* RingAroundTheCollar: Brutally invoked with Sagwa; an episode showing her without her collar puts her heavily into UncannyValley. Averted with Dongwa earlier in an episode showing him without his collar though.

* OutnumberedSibling: This is probably why Dongwa is the only one of the kittens who's anxious for a social life outside the palace. Indeed, the only other male he's in regular contact with (apart from the cook) is his father.

** In the episode "The Cat and the Wind", Mama tells a story to the kittens about Ming-Yao, an ancestor who can actually draw things that can come to life. [[spoiler:Mama actually has this sort of power as revealed at the end of the episode.]]
** ArtAttacker: In that same episode, the evil emperor wanted Ming-Yao to draw ferocious storms so he can destroy his enemies. Ming-Yao, however, didn't really like this at all.

** The Cook was female in the book, male in the series.

* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: One might assume this about Sagwa and Sheegwa (with Sheegwa being the more girly looking because of her pink collar), but they're neither tomboys nor girly girls.

* GrossoutShow: "Stinky Tofu" involves Sagwa getting really disgusted by the eponymous food.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: In "Sagwa's Good Deed", Sagwa risks being late for dinner in order to give food to Fam, whose family normally doesn't have enough to eat. For her kind and selfless act of essentially feeding the poor, Sagwa's titular good deed is rewarded. ...with Mama Miao [[WhatTheHellHero scolding her for being late]] and saying Sagwa shall have plain rice for dinner tonight. ([[JustifiedTrope To be fair]], her mother [[DramaticIrony didn't know]] at the time, and she does make a point that she would be having shrimp if only she was on time for dinner.

* RainRainGoAway: "Sheegwa and the Blizzard".
* RebelliousPrincess: Ba-Do for self-assertion, Luk-Do for her own amusement. Neither has a huge case of this trope, however.
* TheResenter: Sagwa becomes this for a while in "Princess Sheegwa" and "Too Close For Comfort".
* RichBitch: Tai-Tai.

* ToyShip: Dongwa and Hun-Hun are into each other and sometimes do things together.

* [[GratuitousForeignLanguage Gratuitous Chinese]], putting it several years ahead of ''WesternAnimation/NiHaoKaiLan'' in that the language used was Mandarin. It was in the theme song, "Hao peng you, Hao peng you. Sa Gua shi wo de hao peng you, Sagwa you're my best friend," and also used regularly within episodes. The characters wrote calligraphy, so viewers got to both hear it spoken and see it written.

* LaserGuidedKarma: This happens to Dongwa in several episodes where he's a Jerkass like "The Favorite", "Not So Purrfect Paitent" and "Fraidy Cats".

* NoEnding: The episode "Up, Up, and Away" ends with Fu-Fu carrying Dongwa over a sunset, with no explanation what happened afterwards. Though we assume they made it out okay.

* NoFourthWall: The "What About You?" segments on the PBS airings of the show.

* NoNameGiven: The Reader of the Rules remains just that in both versions.

* SeriesContinuityError: Sagwa mentions she just discovered the attic in "Sagwa's Lucky Bat", despite it already having appeared in two episodes and being mentioned in the third by this point. It's worth noting that a similar mistake occured in ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'', another show from Sesame Workshop. It's likely that the episodes weren't aired in the order they were written, leading to continuity errors.

* VagueAge: Everybody except for the youngest generation.
** The pilot mentions that the Magistrate and Tai-Tai have been married for thirty years, which would mean they must be at least in their upper forties.

* WhiteVoidRoom: In "What About You?"

* AbortedArc: One could say this about any one-off character who has potential to be a recurring character. A good example would be Fam, who is introduced early on in the series in "Sagwa's Good Deed" as a part of Sagwa's circle of friends, only to disapear afterwards and being DemotedToExtra, not getting another cameo until late in the show's run.

* TheAce: Sagwa is considered by far the best of the kittens when it comes to calligraphy, and frequently receives praise for her natural skill at it.

* AnAesop: In "Sagwa the Stray", Dongwa nearly learns the hard way that there's more to being a leader than ordering everybody on what to do. A good leader needs to lend an ear to what others have to say, or they may miss out on potential ideas.

* AnachronismStew: "Cool Fu-Fu" has Fu-Fu being given sunglasses to wear by the other rebel bat flyers... even though the show takes place in Qing Dynasty China.

* ArtInitiatesLife: In the episode "The Cat and the Wind", Mama tells a story to the kittens about Ming-Yao, an ancestor who can actually draw things that can come to life. [[spoiler:Mama actually has this sort of power as revealed at the end of the episode.]]

* CatchPhrase: "I've been inspired!" The Foolish Magistrate frequently says this, usually in an [[ManChild adult child]] frame of mind to the annoyance of all around him.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: In one episode, Sagwa inherits a ceremonial collar passed down to the eldest daughter of each generation, one that is worn out and smells awful due to age. For this, she is mocked by the alley cats and later by the sleeve dogs, who steal the collar just to spite her when she tries to rid herself of it. Coming to realize its value, she takes it back and promises to always wear it, at which point Mama reveals that as an heirloom it's only meant to be worn when the occasion calls for it. As it turns out, if Sagwa had sat still for just a few moments more when Mama tried to explain to her earlier, she could've spared herself a lot of grief.

* CoveredInMud: Happens to one of the magistrate's daughters after slipping in it. Also happens later in the same episode to the three daughters and the visiting magistrate's sons during a mud fight.

A [[SixtyFiveEpisodeCartoon 40-Episode Cartoon]] Creator/{{PBS}} series set in 19th century China. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the title says]], it's about a cat named Sagwa. It is based on a children's book called ''The Chinese Siamese Cat'' by Creator/AmyTan. Sagwa and her family live in the palace of an [[NoNameGiven unnamed magistrate]], where her parents serve as his scribes; the calligraphy they write with their tails is much better-looking than the Magistrate's sloppy handwriting, and the kittens are learning the art as well. When they're not practicing their calligraphy (or their friend Fu-Fu the bat isn't cleaning his cave), they enjoy exploring, playing games, and hanging out in the palace's attic (which they nickname "the clubhouse").

* [[GrossoutShow Grossout Episode]]: "Stinky Tofu" involves Sagwa getting really disgusted by the eponymous food.

* ThemeTuneCameo: The theme song is actually sung within the body of the first episode, albeit directed at the magistrate instead of Sagwa.

* RealityEnsues: After Dongwa hurts his leg, he can't jump up to his own bed, so he switches with Sagwa until he gets better.

Produced in a collaboration between CinéGroupe and Creator/SesameWorkshop, which brought us ''Series/SesameStreet''. According to some sources, CinéGroupe has confirmed that they are planning a reboot of the series.

* JerkassWoobie: Tai-Tai goes through this in "Wedding Day Mess".
** Dongwa also goes through this in "Time For Everything" and "My Fair Kitty"

** Most of the alley cats don't have a name. The ones who do are known to the Miao kittens: Fam, Wing Wing, Jet-Jet, Hun-Hun, Lik-Lik.

* NonindicativeName: Sagwa is not actually a Siamese cat, as the story explains. She was originally a white kitten but fell into an inkpot, and since that kind of ink isn't easy to remove, she ended up with the markings of a Siamese cat. [[note]]This is surprisingly accurate - the drawings depict the cats with very fluffy tails, meaning that their breed is far more likely to be a Himalayan. The Himalayan, also known as a "Pointed Persian", is a Persian cat with Siamese coloring, and so it is certainly possible for two Himalayan cats to produce a fluffy white kitten. It's also hinted that Yeh-Yeh might be a Scottish Fold.[[/note]]

* SeriesContinuityError:
** Sagwa mentions she just discovered the attic in "Sagwa's Lucky Bat", despite it already having appeared in two episodes and being mentioned in the third by this point.
** It's worth noting that a similar mistake occured in ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'', another show from Sesame Workshop. It's likely that the episodes weren't aired in the order they were written, leading to continuity errors.

* AnachronismStew: "Cool Fu-Fu" has Fu-Fu being given sunglasses to wear by the other rebel bat flyers... even though the show takes place in Qing Dynasty China.
** "[=Catsitter=]" has the three daughters learning to ride a very modern-looking bike.