Mayoi Neko Overrun! Episode 1 - A Tale of Two Chise's

Impressions: When a series starts, the way a character is introduced into the series is very important. It completely dictates the way the audience will view that character for the rest of the series. As an example, let's take Mugi from K-On season 1, since K-On is also airing this season also. In K-On, Mugi more or less stays kind of a side character and doesn't get as much screen time as all the other characters. Mugi first showed up as a character in the first episode of season 1 originally looking to join the choir club. You found out she didn't really know about fast food, and likes eating delicious pastries and sweets. Her behaviors in this episode conveys to you as a reader that you expect her to continue acting this way with possible character development happening as she learns more about the world. If it wasn't already blatantly obvious, you found out she's a super rich ojou sama character that doesn't really like showing off her massive wealth. That's all and good, because you pretty much know how Mugi is going to act from the first episode alone.

Oh Mugi, everyone remembers you and your fries

In Mayoi Neko Overrun, you have a character named Chise, whose first appearance is showing up in a classroom with a school swimsuit on. We, as an audience, see her as a girl who likes cosplay because she barges into the room and wants Takumi, our main character, and Fumino, the main heroine, to dress up in cosplay. Fumino doesn't like this and argues with her. As the argument progresses, Chise eventually get overpowered by such insults as, "You spoiled little brat," "Idiots like you should go to middle school again," and "You little baby," and subsequently loses the argument. During the argument, she also for no other reason than for pure fanservice purposes only, was changing her clothes being surrounded by this drape-thing that was protecting her naked body from being seen. Needless to say, the drape-thing randomly falls down and she embarrasses herself in front of the whole class. After that scene, you see a teary eyed Chise who requests from our protagonist to hold out his hand to her to console her. The main character, being the nice guy he is, takes pity on her and holds out his hand to her's. We now, as an audience, ingrain in our mind that she is nothing but a cosplay loving weak joke character.

Chise shows up in a swimsuit for some reason. Probably to please the lolicons?

She argues with Fumino in this weird drape-like thing? What?

Of course it would fall

She's in tears from what happened in the classroom

With eyes like that, how can you refuse?

...

What the fuck? This is not the Chise I know!

I'm reading the manga and I love all the heroines, and Chise is by far my favorite character in the whole story, but she's completely different in the anime. In the manga, she is a domineering character that uses her power and wealth to get whatever it is she wants. She also hasn't shown any signs after three 60 page chapters for a love of fucking cosplay.

She's not afraid to flaunt her status

She doesn't get what she wants so she punches him the the fucking stomach

She crushes Takumi till he finally gives in and shows his servitude; She is pleased at her dominance

All these panels are from her first appearance in the manga. She doesn't lose arguments to Fumino and she literally makes Takumi her servant. Why they completely changed her is a mystery to me. Just the way she asks for Takumi's hand in the anime and manga illustrates how different she is. In the anime, she's in tears and reluctantly asks for it, in the manga, she fucking commands Takumi to give her his hand. I don't know. Maybe they just decided that having two tsundere characters was too much. Maybe Fumino stole all the tsun from Chise because she's certainly the tsundere of the series by the way she acts. Maybe the anime studio hates loli's. Maybe... nevermind..

In the manga, she doesn't take shit from Fumino either

Unfortunately, her anime otaku persona continues on. After the incident in the classroom, Chise is still lamenting the fact that she can't get people to cosplay. But on the drive home, she sees Nozomi randomly strolling about and ends up taking her home to her otaku filled room of anime pictures, figurines, and cosplay pictures and starts dressing her up like a doll.

What? Why are you still thinking about it?

That's a ton of figurines, she's quite the otaku

She's crazy about cosplay

The next time we see her, she's outside Takumi's house spying on Takumi for absolutely no reason. Well, the reason her maids give is that she's looking for friends to hang out with, but can't really barge in there uninvited. So she kind of just sits there and waits. After falling asleep for a length of time, she overhears that Takumi needs eggs so she runs right in, without any real plan. Takumi, confused about what the hell she is doing there, asks what the hell is she doing there. Her maids also barge in and explain that she was spying on them. Standing there embarrassed, Chise interrupts her maids and orders them to pull out a chicken to lay eggs, because that's what Takumi needs.

Sleeping right outside for no reason what-so-ever. Just ring the doorbell.

Wow, her maids are really helping the situation

She pulled out a chicken to lay eggs for Takumi; One of the dumbest things I've seen in an anime

The chicken lays a single egg, which ends up hatching on the spot into a baby chick. Takumi unimpressed walks past Chise and outside to go buy some eggs from the store. Chise ends up following him and they both walk down the street together. Takumi asks her why she really came to his house. She explains that she's looking for a cat and that her sister usually brings home stray cats. (She should've rang his doorbell and said that in the first place, instead of waiting outside). Takumi says that has nothing to do with him and walks ahead of her leaving her behind.

Wow, that's harsh Takumi

Leaving a girl behind means she's low on the romance tier list

Just then, Fumino runs past them because she's chasing the giant cat she's been looking for the whole episode. Chise joins her because she also looking for the same giant cat (Nozomi) to continue playing dress up with. The chick that hatched earlier and is on Chise's head ends up falling off her, and the most random ass truck is barrelling down the street to crush it. Fumino stops chasing Nozomi and saves the chick by diving out in front of the truck.

Chasing after the cat

I'm surprised the chick didn't die from the fall

Of course a big ass large truck would come from out of nowhere

After this, we get a shot is of Chise doing her best Louise impression and telling Fumino to give up looking for the cat (Nozomi) that she was searching for because Chise sent out all her servant to go look for it. After Fumino gives up, they end up all heading home, and that's the last scene in the ep that we see Chise.

She really does look like Louise in this picture

Conclusion: Sorry for the completely Chise centric post, but she is the biggest reason I'm watching this anime. I'm just so angry that she has a different personality than her manga counterpart. Fumino remains the same though. She was an amazing tsundere in the manga, and is a really good tsundere here as well. Chise however, went from domineering I-can-do-whatever-I-want-because-I'm-better-than-you personality to such a weak weak joke character. Sigh, so kanashii. I don't know how she's supposed to act in the original novels, but I love her manga character. Instead of telling Fumino to give up at the end, she would've ordered the a whole army of helicopters to go look for Nozomi. I wish the anime didn't adapt the whole super rich otaku ojou-sama angle either, because absolutely no one can beat Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku in that department. Well, I'll still watch the series though, because I'm curious how dumb they can make her.

If she were a Yandere, she'd instantly be my favorite character of all time.