Becoming a new parent is one of the most exciting things that can happen in life. Full of worry and awe at what this little human learns about and gets interested in on their own. But some parents like to share their love of certain things with kids so that they can bond over similar interests.
The anime industry is huge and has lots of shows that are considered mature or inappropriate for kids. Luckily there are some shows like Chi’s Sweet Home that are perfect jumping off points. Though Japanese may not be a child’s first language, the show is easy enough to understand so that knowing what’s being said isn’t a requirement to know what’s going on. All four seasons of Chi’s Sweet Home “New Address” are available to watch right now on Crunchyroll.
Chi’s story focuses on her many adventures with her new family, the Yamadas -- from moving to a new apartment that allows small pets, to getting outside and discovering the world around them. The story is encapsulated in short episodes that run with the manga. Each episode of the anime is based on a single chapter of the manga. The manga is also an excellent tool to get children to start reading there are omnibuses that have been translated to English of the manga. Chi's Sweet Home's manga is a great starting place for young readers, and it can assist them in learning some vocabulary as well as Japanese honorifics. This is a great approach to education since the anime is in Japanese, kids can follow along with the stories in the manga in English and know what's going on. Or they can just sit back and watch a cute cat on the TV.
There are a few more reasons why Chi’s Sweet Home is the perfect anime for kids to start out with. The first is probably the timing of each episode. Each episode is around three minutes and includes a very catchy theme song. This is especially helpful for those who are in a time crunch or have children with short attention spans. One can let the episodes run and kids will get excited when they hear the theme song.
All the characters are drawn in a very soft, cute style, including the humans in the show. Because the show is designed to be cutesy, it will draw kids' attention to it. Almost entrancing them, like watching a real cat play. The adults ar well-rounded characters who love cats. The mother and father are technically side characters, but they're so well-developed that fans often forget that. The main characters, Chi the cat and Youhei, have a wonderful onscreen relationship. Kids can emulate this and in turn learn how to care for a cat as a pet.
The expressions on Chi’s face are both hilarious and telling. These expressions will help children identify emotions not only in the show, but also with others as time goes on. One of the things that some kids struggle with is identifying emotions based on how faces may look. So that alone would be worth putting this on for the kids and seeing how they do when learning all of Chi’s emotions.
Chi’s Sweet Adventure is a more recent adaptation of Chi’s Sweet Home. This anime did receive an English dub and can currently be watched for free on Amazon Prime Video. There are two seasons currently available to stream. This CGI version of the original show has a longer runtime but still shorter than the average anime which usually clocks in at twenty-four minutes with opening and ending themes.
Either versions of the show, Japanese or English, will quickly become a favorite in the household. Everyone will like this show, Grandma, Mom and even grumpy old Dad. It’s hard not to get attached to the cute little kitten named Chi. And, it’s going to be something that everyone can bond over. No adult themes, no politics, and no fan service. This anime is as straight-forward as it gets, and it’s one that families will cherish for a lifetime.