History Anime / CatSoup

* CuteKitten: The only real cute thing about them is their appearance. Otherwise they're CreepyChildren.
* DarkIsNotEvil: The woman who sees Nyatta's arm back to his body also has a bunch of cats and cat pieces strewn about her place of work. According to the short film's commentary, Yuasa described her as "nice" despite all of the grotesque imagery, and that place was where cats in general get seen back together.

* CuteKitten

* ShoutOut: The cruel treatment towards the pig is a callback to the original Nekojiru manga, where the characters were prejudiced against pigs for some reason.

* EarCleaning: Nyatta's father does this to him early on in the movie. Seeing how Nyako just ran all night and he tries to get back his sister, this scene could be considered a HeartwarmingMoment.

''Cat Soup'' (a.k.a. ''Nekojiru-Sou'') is a multiple award-winning short film directed by Tatsuo Sato and inspired by the work of the late manga artist Chiyomi "Nekojiru" Hashiguchi.

It centers around a family of anthropomorphic cats, specifically two kittens: the [[IllGirl terminally ill]] Nyako and her younger brother Nyatta. After Nyako dies, Nyatta manages to reclaim [[OurSoulsAreDifferent half of her soul]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksitigarbha Jizou]]. This brings her back to life, but leaves her braindead. Determined to return his sister to normal, he goes on a surreal journey through [[SpiritWorld the land of the dead]] [[ToHellAndBack to retrieve the other half]]. [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs Or something.]]

* BlackComedy: Especially the Father Time scene. Special mention goes to an animation of people being executed by terrorists in reverse.

* CessationOfExistence: [[spoiler:Nyatta's family, the world itself, and you, all die in this fashion.]]

* EarCleaning: Nyatta's father does this to him early on in the movie. Seeing how Nyaako just ran all night to try and get back his sister, this scene could be considered a HeartwarmingMoment.

* FantasticRacism: The Cats are racist toward the Pigs. In the movie they beat the pig who saved them from the flood by taking them unto his boat. In the show, Nekojiru Gekijou, the Cat children are taught to be racists by their parents.

* MatureAnimalStory

* CreepyCrossdresser: In the original doujinshi, Nyako was a little boy whose family could only afford the girls' clothes, so he had to wear those instead. In the {{OVA}}, Nyako is a girl.

''Cat Soup'' (a.k.a. ''Nekojiru-Sou'') is a multiple award-winning short film directed by Tatsuo Sato and inspired by the work of manga artist Nekojiru.

* VillainProtagonist: A less outwardly villainous example than most, but it's still noticeable. Nyatta may be trying to bring his sister back to life, but he repeatedly displays cruelty against others, ''especially'' the pig.

It centers around a family of anthropomorphic cats, specifically two kittens: the [[IllGirl terminally ill]] Nyako and her younger brother Nyatta. After Nyako dies, Nyatta manages to take back [[OurSoulsAreDifferent half of her soul]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksitigarbha Jizou]]. This brings her back to life, but leaves her braindead. Determined to bring his sister back to normal, he goes on a surreal journey through [[SpiritWorld the land of the dead]] [[ToHellAndBack to retrieve the other half]]. [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs Or something.]]

* JustifiedTitle: Nyako and Nyatta do find themselves in a cauldron of water, making it cat soup.

* BlackComedy
* BloodyHilarious

* GainaxEnding

* MindScrew

* SurrealHorror

* TimeStandsStill
* ToHellAndBack

* AutoCannibalism: The Pig ends up being served some of its own fat, by Nyako.

* CarnivoreConfusion: Nyako befriends a pig, [[CatsAreMean butchers him alive]], and [[ITasteDelicious shares his meat with him]].
* CatsAreMean: Nyako is pretty vicious to anyone who isn't a family member.
* CessationOfExistence: [[spoiler:Nyako's family, the world itself, and you, all die in this fashion.]]
** Subverted when time stops; Nyako breaks off and stomps on a person's teardrop...whatever ''that's'' supposed to mean.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:After the quest is over, Nyako's family disappears one by one, and then...]]
* EarCleaning: Nyako's father does this to him early on in the movie. Seeing how Nyaako just ran all night to try and get back his sister, this scene could be considered a HeartwarmingMoment.
** Actually, he's cleaning his ears because he found Nyako half-drowned in the tub. While Nyako was half-dead, he spirit-walked outside his body and noticed Jizou taking his sister's soul, took it back, and when his father revived him by pulling him out of the bath, he still had the soul. To add insult to injury, Nyako's dad is so drunk he doesn't actually even notice Nyako is still unconscious while he does so; Nyako only wakes up just before the mother runs in to announce the death of Nyatta.
* EmptyShell: Nyatta [[spoiler:before Nyako finds the other part of her soul.]]

* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai: There's a scene where Nyako imagines samurai cutting up a fish until there's nothing left of it but its head, bones, and tailfin (that it somehow is able to walk on). Then it swims in the water and ends up on the beach... it's supposed to be symbolic.

* FreeRangeChildren: Nyako, a kitten, is able to travel (with his brain-dead older sister for company) to some utterly bizarre and very dangerous places -- and his parents don't seem to even notice.

* IllGirl: Nyatta
* ImAHumanitarian: The pig finds it hard to resist Nyako cooking his own flesh and eventually decides to [[ITasteDelicious have a piece.]]
* LetsMeetTheMeat: Nyako and the pig.

* MechanicalLifeforms: A bunch of these reside in a mechanical forest where [[spoiler: the flower that contains the other part of Nyatta's soul is found.]]

* RealityBreakingParadox: An [[EpilepticTrees interpretation]] of the ending: [[spoiler:by rescuing his sister from death, Nyako broke the laws of nature and [[NiceJobBreakingItHero consequently erased all of existence]].]]

* VomitIndiscretionShot: Nyako doesn't find the pig's head bumps as good as his flesh.

* FeatherFingers: One scene has a fish walking on its tailfin.

It centers around a family of anthropomorphic cats, specifically two kittens: the [[IllGirl terminally ill]] Nyatta and her younger brother Nyako. After Nyatta dies, Nyako manages to take back [[OurSoulsAreDifferent half of her soul]] from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ksitigarbha Jizou]]. This brings her back to life, but leaves her braindead. Determined to bring his sister back to normal, he goes on a surreal journey through [[SpiritWorld the land of the dead]] [[ToHellAndBack to retrieve the other half]]. [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs Or something.]]

''CatSoup'' (a.k.a. ''Nekojiru-Sou'') is a multiple award-winning short film directed by Tatsuo Sato and inspired by the work of manga artist Nekojiru.

* ShoutOut: The cruel treatment towards the pig is a callback to the original Nekojiru manga, where the characters were prejudice against pigs for some reason.

* ImAHumanitarian: The pig finds it hard to resist Nyako cooking his own flesh and eventually decides to [[ITasteDelicious have a piece]]

* FreeRangeChildren: Nyako, a kitten, is able to travel (with his brain-dead older sister for company) to some utterly bizarre and very dangerous places -- and his parents don't seem to even notice.

* AdultFear - In addition to their daughter [[IllGirl being on the verge of death]], the parents also almost lose their son when he nearly drowns in the bathtub.
* AllThereInTheManual - Nyatta and Nyako are only given names on the movie's websites.
* AnthropomorphicPersonification - The Father Time equivalent towards the end.
* AutoCannibalism- The Pig ends up being served some of its own fat, by Nyako.

* CarnivoreConfusion - Nyako befriends a pig, [[CatsAreMean butchers him alive]], and [[ITasteDelicious shares his meat with him]].
* CatsAreMean - Nyako is pretty vicious to anyone who isn't a family member.
* CessationOfExistence - [[spoiler:Nyako's family, the world itself, and you, all die in this fashion.]]

* CircusOfFear - Nyatta and Nyako go to one just before they start off on their adventures.

* DissonantSerenity - "Big sis, big sis, my arm came off."
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding - After the quest is over, Nyako's family disappears one by one, and then...]]
* EarCleaning- Nyako's father does this to him early on in the movie. Seeing how Nyaako just ran all night to try and get back his sister, this scene could be considered a HeartwarmingMoment.

* EmptyShell - Nyatta [[spoiler:before Nyako finds the other part of her soul.]]
* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs - Technically they're pterosaurs, but close enough.
* EverythingsBetterWithSamurai - There's a scene where Nyako imagines samurai cutting up a fish until there's nothing left of it but its head, bones, and tailfin (that it somehow is able to walk on). Then it swims in the water and ends up on the beach... it's supposed to be symbolic.

* FeatherFingers - One scene has a fish walking on its tailfin.
* FreeRangeChildren - Nyako, a kitten, is able to travel (with his brain-dead older sister for company) to some utterly bizarre and very dangerous places -- and his parents don't seem to even notice.

* [[spoiler:GainaxEnding]]

* {{God}}
** GodIsEvil - Subverted, since he seems to be more apathetic than outright cruel. Considering how his main concern was eating a part of a planet, [[spoiler:even messing with time and space to do so]], this may not be far from the truth.
* GrotesqueCute - A story featuring two little kittens traveling through hell can't get much cuter or more grotesque than this.
* IllGirl - Nyatta
* ImAHumanitarian - The pig finds it hard to resist Nyako cooking his own flesh and eventually decides to [[ITasteDelicious have a piece]]
* LetsMeetTheMeat - Nyako and the pig.

* NobodyPoops - Averted twice, possibly [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory symbolically]]. The [[ContemplateOurNavels first]] time leads to a visual digression on the circle of life and death.

* OminousMusicBoxTune - The ending theme, [[spoiler:to add to the DownerEnding]]. Sato mentions on the commentary track that this was a recording of a ''real,'' custom-made music box.

* SawAWomanInHalf - A pretty horrifying version, to say the least.

* SilenceIsGolden - The only audible speech is [[TheUnintelligible squeaky-sounding gibberish]], although there's a few lines that appear as SpeechBubbles.

* VomitIndiscretionShot- Nyako doesn't find the pig's head bumps as good as his flesh.

* WordSaladTitle - The English title sounds like this -- but it's ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, at least for one scene.

* YouCantFightFate - [[spoiler: Everyone dies. Even ''you''.]]

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cat_soup.jpg
[[caption-width:325:[[TheWalrusWasPaul And the aquoliphaunt was Ringo]]]]

Not to be confused with ''NekoRamen''.

!!Contains examples of:

* CessationOfExistence- [[spoiler:Nyako's family, the world itself, and you, all die in this fashion.]]

* EverythingsCuterWithKittens

* {{Mind Screw}}