Normal service continues here. The premiere of Red Cat Ramen was plenty appealing, a feast for fans of cats and ramen (like me) and nothing changed this week. Of course it wouldn’t be enough if all this show had was cats and ramen – not for long anyway. Fortunately the writing is quite sharp and the humor so far very effective. There’s a nice balance here between the staff being very recognizably cats, and still being restaurant workers with groupie regulars. As I noted last week, if a place like Ramen Akaneko were actually possible it would be a monster hit here.
With Tamako back for her first dinner shift the first order of business is incorporating her into the production line. Hana is the big obstacle here unsurprisingly, and while she’s mostly doing it to be difficult (hard to imagine for a cat I know), she does have a point – the whole “cat ramen” cachet is the main currency the shop trades in. Bunzou wants Tamako on sink duty (Hana refuses to dirty her paws), so Sasaki-nyan goes out to “Donki Hoode” for some work equipment, in the form of cosplay options.
After Hana vetoes the traditional cat suit and the nekomimi maid uniform, it’s a “stagehand” cosplay that’s eventually agreed to (with cat ears added for effect). Indeed the regulars are somewhat put off by seeing a human working front of the house (jealousy may have something to do with that), but Tamako quickly proves her value on dishwashing duties. She still makes time to give Hana a good brushing after the doors close, though.
Next up it’s assisting Krishna with noodle duty. And the tiger quickly comes to marvel at just how handy opposable thumbs are (I still wonder if that elephant in the room is ever going to be addressed). Soon, though, trouble arrives in the form of an obnoxious YouTuber who correctly sees this oddity as a goldmine for views. Krishna figures it’s time for her to fulfill her other main job, but here Tamako steps up and takes control of the situation. She’ll later note that in her “old job” she had a lot of experience with DBs like this guy, which certainly seems like a bit of foreshadowing.
Tamako correctly warns that a freak like “Tenpiru” would love nothing better than to have a talking tiger walk into shot. She does however give an unwise suggestion about calling the cops while she goes out to stall for time (fortunately Sasaki takes matters into his own toe beans). Tamako’s plan – give Tenpiru the most boring content possible and hope he’ll lose interest. And her robotic incantations are certainly less telegenic than Bunzou just about popping a vein in his anger. But this is a stubborn SOB, and it’s not until the arrival of Miki (Kuroda Takaya) – a lawyer who looks like a yakuza – that matters are brought under control.
There was more plot here than in the first episode, and if pressed I might say I slightly preferred the more quirky and observational style of the premiere. Still, this was another solid effort for a show that’s starting to look like it might be the biggest overperformer of the season (though it’s early days yet). My gut is telling me that Ramen Akaneko has emotional depth it hasn’t tapped into yet, but there might be enough here to keep up with it even if that turns out not to be the case.
