Chi, home sweet home, title in English Chi, sweet home, is an anime based on a successful manga written and illustrated by Konata Konami, which has a kitten as its protagonist. The animated series aired with the first episode on March 31, 2008, immediately gathering wide consensus from the public. The anime is co-produced by Hakuhodo Dy Media Partners and Madhouse Studios. The 104 episodes, directed by Hamasaki-Masukara, are all almost three minutes long, adapted in the Italian version in 26 episodes of 10 minutes each broadcast by the channel Ka-boom on digital terrestrial, every day at 08:30.

The story has as its main protagonist a kitten of a few months who has lost her mother. The kitten, who was walking with her mother and her siblings, gets distracted to follow the flight of a bird, loses her mother and remains in the bay of the world she still doesn't know well. Fast cars with giant tires and growling dogs scare the little girl to death. Desperate, the cat asks all the animals she meets if they have seen her mother, but no one knows how to answer her. Terrified by the confusion of the city, she runs away and weeps discouraged on a lawn. Shortly thereafter, a child trips and falls to the ground right in front of her. The two exchange a complicit glance, from that moment on they will become inseparable friends.

While the two puppies find immediate empathy, the mother of Youhei, this is the name of the child who, seeing the cat, decides to take her home with them. Once in the apartment, even the father immediately becomes attached to the little girl but, unfortunately, in the condominium it is forbidden to keep dogs and cats. Youhei's parents therefore they think of a solution to give a definitive accommodation to the cat they call Chi. Mom calls all her acquaintances, scrolling through her address book to the end, but doesn't seem to find anyone until she dials the last number on the list. A young woman says she wants to take care of Chi.

Little Youhei is sorry to have to give up his little friend, but fate is on his side. The woman, in fact, at the last minute claims that she can no longer take care of Chi. The mother and father, also relieved by the news, then decide to keep the kitten with them, being careful not to be discovered by the condominiums. Thus begins the amusing gags of the cat who discovers a whole new world, made up of interesting and surprising things, at least for her, less so for the mother who is forced to stem Chi's enthusiasm. The first test for the new cat family is that of the bath. The mother and father work to wash the kitten who is literally terrified of water and the hairdryer.

Hilarious is the moment in which Chi plays with little Youhei's colored marbles, which bounce around the room creating an incredible chaos. To make the cat's stay at home more pleasant, the father buys toys for cats in a nearby pet shop. Coming back home, he shows them to Chi who, however, does not seem to be very interested. The little girl, on the other hand, prefers to play with a simple plastic bag, blocking her sweet eyes and making big leaps of happiness. However, it is time to pay a visit to the vet. The thankless task falls to the father who, putting the cat in a picnic basket, tries not to attract attention inside the condominium. Little Youhei will be the one to save in extremis a situation that seemed lost, given that a condomina, stopped to chat with her mother, seemed to have heard a meow as the father went out with the cat in the basket.

The meeting with the vet is traumatic to say the least and the irony flows inexorably between the mimic expressions of the cat, especially when her temperature is measured. From that moment, and for a few days, Who will be terribly offended with the father, guilty of having brought her to that strange and dangerous place, but the tensions are dissolved when the cat finds, as maximum amusement, that of nail on dad's expensive pants. The adventures follow one another between funny skits and hilarious gags, all well blended in a skilful blend of tenderness and good feelings.

The drawings of the anime, perfectly conforming to the manga, except for the colors (the manga has a few very soft colors), they are really sensational. All the characters express their feelings with the typical expressions of Japanese anime, with clouds, wide open mouths and wide eyes. Really hard to resist the laughter in certain scenes. The dialogues they are balanced, perfect even for the little ones, absolutely devoid of unsuitable words and with some allusions, difficult for children to grasp, which make even the most adult public smile. The narration is smooth and interesting, when one episode ends you can't wait for the next one to begin. The character of Chi is so well characterized that one immediately becomes attached to it. The world, seen from a kitten's perspective, is surprisingly realistic. A tender story, which teaches respect for animals and the importance of looking after them with affection.

All characters and images in the cartoon are copyright © Konata Konami, Hakuhodo Dy Media Partners and Madhouse Studios. they are used here for cognitive and informative purposes.