Apocalypse Meow is a three volume manga series written and illustrated by Motofumi Kobayashi. It was originally published in Japan as
Cat Shit One in 1998 by Softbank Publishing, but was renamed for the US release to parody the title of the film
Apocalypse Now, which also took place during the Vietnam War.
The original manga follows three American soldiers in the Vietnam War named Bota, Perky and Rats. All three are in the recon team called Cat Shit One. Each mission (or chapter) shows the daily activities of the reconnaissance group in Vietnam. There are sections of the manga which give brief history and truths behind the war, such as the types of weapons used by different countries and the activities of forces in the war.
In
Cat Shit One '80, the story continue to follow the three main protagonists as they became involved in various Low intensity conflicts in the 1980s. Perky, now a member of the elite Delta Force, was attached to the Special Air Service and was involved in various SAS operations while Rats and Bota were invovled with the US operation in Afghanistan against the Soviet invasion.
The Animated version seems to take in an
Alternate Timeline, with the events occurring shortly after the 1991 Gulf War, and taking place in the Middle East
[1]
.
And in case you haven't noticed by now, they're rabbits.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: A country or ethnic group is normally depicted as a specific animal. They are either a play on words, a reference to WW 2, or based on stereotypes.
- Rabbits represent the US (U.S.A. G.I.="Usagi", "Rabbit" in Japanese)
- Cats represent the Vietnamese
- Pandas and Bears represent China and Russia respectively.
- Rats and Kangaroos represent the UK and Australia.
- The French are Pigs, the Germans are Foxes, the Argentinian are Cows, Koreans are Dogs, Japanese are Monkeys and the Middle East as a whole are represented as Sheep, Camels and Goats.
- Big Damn Heroes: Rats and Chico pull this one.
- Deus Ex Nukina: Played with and then Subverted, hard.
- Eagle Land
- Everything Is Better With Monkeys: Adverted.
- Kaiju Defense Force: The JSDF joines the CSO Recon Unit for training purposes. Things don't go well.
- Killer Rabbit: The American forces.
- Market Based Title: Apocalypse Meow.
- One Man Army: Perky, Bota, Rats and Chico all get their One Man Army moments.
- Petting Zoo People: And how...
- Power Trio: Perkings, Rats and Botaski.
- Red Scare: One of the main forces driving the conflict.
- Sixth Ranger: Chico, who becomes vital to the team as the series progresses.
- Shown Their Work: From the weapons to the political forces behind the Vietnam conflict -and- the sentiment of the US Civilian population towards the conflict, this series is eerily accurate.
- Noteworthy for its footnotes for extra depth.
- Spy From Weights And Measures: CSO's CIA contact spends most of his time at french resort as a tourist.
- Take Me To Your Leader: Played with. With Perky and Bota captured by the VC and Chico MIA after an ambush, Rats goes on a solo rescue mission only to be captured by a tribal group. He is taken to one of the tribal leaders only to find out its Chico, who managed to escape the skirmish and has been nursing his injuries since.
- The Vietnam War
- What Do You Mean Its Not For Kids
