A few days ago, the anime was pulled from Animation Crazy streaming service in Hong Kong.
The anime adaptation of Nyan Nyan Factory’s manga “Chainsmoker Cat” (Yani Neko) has been removed from Ani-One Asia’s streaming lineup. A few days ago on 17 August, the anime was pulled from Bahamut’s Animation Crazy streaming service in Hong Kong for violating the country’s Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance that puts a ban on online advertisements of smoking. Moreover, the anime's ninth episode has also been delayed by a week to 2 September in Japan.
Chainsmoker Cat
Premiere date: 2 July, 2026
Animation studio: Bibury Animation Studio
Streaming platform: Netflix
Why was Chainsmoker Cat removed from Ani-One Asia’s lineup?
The official YouTube account of Medialink Entertainment’s anime streaming service Ani-One Asia made an announcement in a post that they were removing Chainsmoker Cat from their roster to comply with the local government regulations across various countries. The post reads:
To comply with local government regulations in relevant markets, Chainsmoker Cat will no longer be available on Ani-One YouTube channels.
We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this arrangement, and would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all subscribers and viewers who love this title for your understanding and continued support.
A few days ago, Animation Crazy also removed the anime from their Hong Kong lineup. Although Medialink is based in Hong Kong, the anime has been removed from all regions where it was available on Ani-One Asia including several countries in South East Asia.
The show features heavy smoking and real-life cigarette brands, which are not compliant with several countries’ laws against promotion of tobacco products.
Moreover, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Chainsmoker Cat anime also revealed that the ninth episode of the series has been delayed by a week, and will now be released in Japan on 2 September.
What do we know about the Chainsmoker Cat anime?
The anime premiered on 2 July, 2026 and stars:
- Yūko Natsuyoshi as Yaniko Satou
- Tetsu Inada as Ouya Ootani
- Riko Akechi as Saori Tatsuno
- Misato Matsuoka as Masuko Etsushimaru
- Rina Honnizumi as Imoko Satou
- Shiori Izawa as Arko Sakai
- Yurie Funato as Hameko Yurufuwa
- Ayaka Shimizu as Kaoruko Nishi
Taku Kimura is directing the anime at Bibury Animation Studio, with Takashi Aoshima handling the series scripts. Riki Matsuura is designing the characters, while Keiichi Suzuki is composing the music.
Additional staff include:
- Art Directors: Yukiko Maruyama and Shōtarō Yoshino
- Color Design: Yuiha Ōta
- Director of Photography: Hisashi Yonezawa
- Editor: Mutsumi Takemiya
- Sound Director: Takatoshi Hamano
What is Chainsmoker Cat about?
The anime is based on Nyan Nyan Factory’s manga series, which began publishing in February 2023 in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine. Seven Seas Entertainment publishes the manga in English, and describes the story as:
Where there’s smoke, there’s a catgirl chainsmoking in this comedy manga! A look at the daily troubles of one catgirl and her attempts to get her life together.
Welcome to Yani’s apartment. Please don’t mind the smell. Yani is a catgirl with a seriously bad smoking habit. Every time she tries to quit, she becomes weak to the cravings and gives in almost instantly.
Behind on her rent and unable to hold down a job, her friends and sister rally around to help her out. But when she’s using her pee to put out cigarette fires, they may just have their work cut out for them.
Will she ever get her life together, or is she doomed to live as a chainsmoking slob forever?