[[quoteright:253:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/NekoRamen1_8161.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:253:[[HotBlooded Hey! Order Up!]]]]


->''" [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin A cat makes the ramen.]]"''
--> -- '''Back of the first volume'''

''Neko Ramen'' is a very SliceOfLife manga by Kenji Sonishi, which ran in ''Monthly Comic Blade'' from 2006 to 2012. It resembles what it may be like to walk into a friendly ramen shop where [[Series/{{Cheers}} the chef knows your name]] and order. But your chef is kind of an idiot. And also a cat.

[[LargeHam Taisho,]] the titular Neko to his counterpart Ramen shop, is determined to show the world, and his [[StraightMan straight man, Tanaka-San]], that besides the fact that...

* He is a cat.
* His father models for cat calendars.
* [[FollowInMyFootsteps He was expected to turn out just like his old man(cat).]]
* He originally wanted to be a sushi chef.
* And has multiple failed careers as a driving instructor, doctor, athlete, artist and horse race gambler behind him...

...he is in fact [[{{Determinator}} a truly great ramen chef.]]

Tanaka-San believes his ramen is adequate at best.

Originally a Japanese Flash Animation, now a Japanese full-length feature film. With puppets.

Compare ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' with Snoopy, or most newspaper comics with sapient animals. Unrelated to ''Anime/CatSoup''.

!! This series features examples of:
* CharacterDevelopment: Surprising for a comedic strip. Taisho is shown to be a TragicHero when we learn his back story, and StraightMan Tanaka gets just enough character development to show that more than just a straight man, he's genuinely kind.
%% * {{Chiaroscuro}}: In the first episode of the anime.
* FurryConfusion: Some cats appear to be sapient while others aren't. This leads to some weird situations, like [[spoiler:Taisho keeping his former human girlfriend's cat as a pet.]]
* UnreliableExpositor: Taisho's stories often end up not being quite true, especially the "friendship bowl" story.
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