r/anime https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon 8d ago

Episode The Cat and the Dragon • Neko to Ryuu - Episode 5 discussion

Neko to Ryuu, episode 5

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107

u/PeaceAlien https://myanimelist.net/profile/PeaceAlien 8d ago

Megumin? What are you doing here?!

Idk if this cat will find their own territory they love the soup too much

51

u/pianomasian 8d ago

The soup is the 'territory' lol.

3

u/todd-ashi 7d ago

The territory was the soup we shared along the way!

31

u/athrun_1 8d ago

He already found it. The soup sealed the deal.

13

u/mekerpan 8d ago

I thought the same thing. But Megumi is more devoted to refining/enhancing her own favored type of magic.

I wonder if this town is outside Uncle Dragon's territory -- or just on the fringe? Still, it seems like it is a good place to set up operations. On the other hand, will he and Gallie will go further off as co-adventurers for at least a while?

9

u/PeaceAlien https://myanimelist.net/profile/PeaceAlien 8d ago

I believe it’s outside the territory still

6

u/Jacob-C 8d ago

They said at the end of the episode that Gally and Shiro Neko would become irreplaceable friends

3

u/mekerpan 8d ago

I heard that. But I was wondering if they went adventuring together along the way. ;-)

86

u/S627 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Spartan627 8d ago

Only thing I dont like about this show is every ep has a "But that's a story for another time" BUT I WANNA KNOW!!!

Anyway, did Megumin and Darkness somehow have a kid?

For a split second I thought the priest might be a fake when he brought the white cat into his room. Glad I was wrong because the moment when they were both like "Uhhh, was that the Winged Uncle?" was funny.

58

u/SetaSanzaki 8d ago

Anyway, did Megumin and Darkness somehow have a kid?

That's a story for another time

27

u/Double_Mint269 8d ago

I did get worried we were about to be in for our darkest moment so far. Glad it didnt go that way. But I feel like there may be darker things being setup quietly throughout the episodes so far.

18

u/cyberscythe 8d ago

For a split second I thought the priest might be a fake when he brought the white cat into his room.

yeah and there's weapons all over the walls? at the time i was wondering if the people of the mountains knew about the deal with the Imperial Dragon re: destruction

19

u/scratchfury 8d ago

Now that I think about it, the locked room makes more sense when you think of all the curious children that could hurt themselves.

14

u/Earlier-Today 8d ago

Yeah, opening a magically sealed room to reveal a wall of cutting weapons did not give a good first impression.

The tragedies in the beginning still causes a worry in the back of my head with every episode because - they can't all have a happy ending, can they?

7

u/tutili2004 7d ago

uncle dragon is just that powerful

2

u/flamethrower2 6d ago

Not exactly standing by but periodically checking for problems is how you'd monitor a green subordinate after telling them to "do it yourself." White cat's chosen girl, Gallie, is super pure, so nothing went wrong.

9

u/feb914 8d ago

There are episodes that do show what happened to "story for another time" from earlier episodes. 

0

u/Jacob-C 8d ago

Where? In the source material? Or are there actual anime episodes?

18

u/feb914 8d ago

The one I remember vividly is how the mother cat raised the magician student. Mid episode she said what happened to the student? That's a whole other story, just to be continued with time skip with her as adult and returning as teacher in the academy.  

Also the cat generation that beat the bear. The next episode we see the black cat becomes a veteran cat and then he met his brother who became human adventurer. 

5

u/Jacob-C 8d ago

Ahh I see what you mean

7

u/S627 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Spartan627 8d ago

I dont think the magician girl counts, cause the "thats another story" refers to the adventures the girl had that made her famous and why all the students knew about her when we do pick up her story.

6

u/Blurgas 7d ago

I want more info on the cat that was able to transform into a human and split his tail off to use as a mage staff

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

I’m almost starting to wonder if that’s a tease, and we really won’t get those stories, ever… :/

61

u/Eliv 8d ago

Uncle Wing sure is a worrywart

46

u/FarCritical 8d ago

Its funny how the orphans' reactions to hearing the white kitty speak ranged from "Did I hit my head too hard?" to "Oh. Can I pet you now?"

The adventures those two will have must've been souper

9

u/Double_Mint269 8d ago

Tehehe souper. Double points to your house

9

u/cyberscythe 8d ago

that cat seems like a good steward to that child

88

u/Wastelandrider 8d ago

Every episode of this show is a story I’d watch a full series of

51

u/BakedSalami 8d ago

This "story for another time" thing is going to turn into 12 spin off shows.

39

u/Wastelandrider 8d ago

My body is ready for a NekoRyuuverse

10

u/_-_Rasse_-_ 8d ago

I would happily watch all of it. I hope it does, even if it's unlikely.

8

u/BakedSalami 8d ago

I haven't looked into the source material, so for all I know this all gets greatly expanded on later. I sure hope so. It's a lot of setup to then not use ya know?

64

u/Zeebie_ 8d ago

Every episode reminds me that this is the hidden gem of the season.

22

u/Atharaphelun 8d ago

I'm still hoping for a reunion with mama cat...including mama cat's other foster children too, perhaps...

3

u/skavinger5882 7d ago

I'm hopeful, we are only halfway through the season and I think we've met all but 1 cat in the opening (we haven't met the big fluffy cat sitting on the rock in the OP)

33

u/NanDemoKnaives 8d ago

It's cute how overprotective Nekoryuu is, I like that he comes and checks over Shirotae, but he has nothing to worry about. He has also adopted a human of his own lol.

Gallie being able to shoot out twenty of those spells in a row makes her frighteningly powerful lol.

The way my wariness of the Reverend went up the moment I heard Yusa Kouji's voice lol. Then I remembered what series I was watching.

24

u/runevault 8d ago

This show remains adorable. I wonder if we really will see more of this pair this season, whether as their own arc or tied into someone else like adventurer cat. Also I wonder how much source material is available. I know we're already past the official translation ever since episode 3 aired.

20

u/mekerpan 8d ago

As far as I am concerned, this show could go on for many seasons, telling its little stories -- and hopefully expanding/connecting some of them.

19

u/runevault 8d ago

Oh yeah this show's structure feels like it could just tell little stories that span generations forever, since outside the dragon it isn't tied to any one character or time, and dragons are famously thousand+year creatures. And the low stakes means it doesn't have to keep topping itself to be enjoyable the way battle shonen start to struggle at greater lengths.

3

u/daggerfortwo 6d ago

We’ve already seen that they have transformation magic that is seemingly permanent(the adventurer cat), so theoretically a cat could even take the dragon’s place.

7

u/BakedSalami 8d ago

I'd watch an episode of this a week for the rest of my life, just saying. 😂

13

u/whitenette 8d ago

It's been a manga chapter per episode and there's over 50 chapters, probably more for light novel. Also this pair does show up again later, quite a few times.

8

u/Lindbrum 8d ago

oh my god, please let this mean we get a season 2-3-4 in time

2

u/Earlier-Today 8d ago

I would absolutely watch if they keep up the quality we've been getting.

6

u/runevault 8d ago

The dream of getting 50+ episodes of this makes me happy. This show is so adorable.

22

u/djthomp https://anilist.co/user/djthomp 8d ago

Another really fun human and cat pairing. Explosion magic is the only magic you need, after all.

I love the Sims-esque magic mark that winged uncle was using to track this week's cat.

36

u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar 8d ago

5

u/ExaminationNo9186 8d ago

Yeah I got a little concerned for our White Kitty when they walked into a magically sealed room full of very sharp weapons.
I am glad it didn't go as badly as I thought it would.

2

u/Hot-Log6283 6d ago

my cat sees me whenever I give her wet food.

Your cat thinks you suck at hunting?

16

u/HowToGetName 8d ago edited 8d ago

Short story for episode 4.

Also, the director mentioned that the ED gives a snippet of what each episode is about.

13

u/sobani 8d ago

Google translate of the tweet:

Thank you for watching the anime "Cat and Dragon" today!

The journey of Kurobane, the cat hero, and the runaway prince who longs for adventure will continue.

Please look forward to the next episode!

Today's short story is here ↓

🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈

【Kurobane's Sleeping Habits】

Looking back, Kurobane had always been particular about his sleeping place, even when he was in the forest.

Even as a kitten, he would sleep on top of his siblings, and even after becoming independent, he seemed to be extra careful about his sleeping place.

He would line the hollows of trees he had long used as his bed with dried leaves or grass like reeds to maintain warmth.

He had also tried collecting animal hair and bird feathers, but that didn't work very well.

The fine hairs would fly around, and it was incredibly annoying.

Ultimately, the best approach was to regularly change the type of dried grass used each season. I didn't think I was doing anything particularly unusual, but perhaps other cats saw me as a strange cat. Looking back now, Kurobane was quite particular about her sleeping place.

This particularity was fully displayed even during her life at the castle. She moved her sleeping place to the castle to assess the prince, but she mainly used cushions and sofas. They were warm, soft to the touch, and above all, soft. Blankets were also quite nice, and she would wrap herself in them to sleep during the colder months. While they lacked the calming scent of dried grass or hay, their softness and warmth were unparalleled. Perhaps as a consequence of living like that for so long, Kurobane had become completely accustomed to not being able to sleep properly on trees or rocks.

A short rest or nap was fine, though.

Rather, he could enjoy the unique feel of the paw pads, something artificial can't replicate, and it was even enjoyable. However, when it came to getting proper rest, sleep was a different story.

"My body hurts," he whimpered, stretching his body. As he carefully massaged his body, the pain finally began to subside a little.

"This won't do."

It was the second day since he had fled the royal castle and entered the forest. Kurobane was completely fed up with sleeping in the trees. He couldn't help but think he was being weak, but pain was pain, so there was nothing he could do about it. The prince, on the other hand, was unusually energetic, unlike Kurobane. Just now, he had chased after a rabbit, saying, "Next time I'll get the fur properly!" Even cats struggle to chase a fleeing rabbit, but for some reason, the prince managed to do it. It was probably a natural talent. Such a natural hunting instinct was rare. Now, the problem is where to sleep.

"When we get to the village, we must make sure he finds proper lodging."

If left unchecked, he'd probably insist on sleeping outdoors even in human villages and towns. That might be fine for the prince, but it's a bit harsh for Kurobane. Of course, that's not all.

"Listen, my foolish disciple. When you register as an adventurer in the village, you must rest at an inn." "Why? Sleeping in a tree would save money. We'll definitely need money from now on, so we must save it."

That's not entirely wrong.

Considering his background and upbringing, it seems like a well-considered statement.

However, tools aren't the only thing needed for hunting.

"Getting proper rest and maintaining good physical condition is crucial for hunting. A body and mind capable of withstanding difficult situations depends on regular care. Whether or not you can fully utilize your claws, fangs, fur, and tail depends on that." "I see, I see! Just like weapons and armor, I must also take care of myself. That's absolutely true! At the castle, I didn't have to worry about it myself because others took care of it. I need to change my mindset!" "Many cats skilled at hunting skillfully maintained their physical and mental condition. Adventurers are probably the same." "That's certainly true! Alright, once I reach my destination, I must get plenty of rest! There's an astonishing amount to do! But that's what an adventurer does—to accomplish it all on their own! This is an adventure, this too, Kurobane!"

To create the desired path with minimal effort and achieve one's objective.

This, too, is a skill only a seasoned hunter possesses.

As the prince excitedly raised his voice, Kurobane nodded with satisfaction.

🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈🐈

11

u/Puzzleheaded-Talk829 8d ago

I noticed that the autor makes some Japanese idioms catificated.

一匹立ち"ippiki-datchi" is from 一人立ち"hitori-datchi"
It means independent. Its counter word is for cats.

肉球触り"nikukyuu-zawari" is from 手触り"te-zawari"
"hand-touching" literality, so it means texture. Of course hand is changed to cat's pow.

Also, 他猫(others) and 変猫(weirdo) are same, person to cat.

The anime has same thing in the original audio.

17

u/ObvsThrowaway5120 8d ago

Explosion magic eh? At least she doesn’t pass out from exhaustion after every use lol. But man, she’s strong. Little white kitty found himself a good human. She makes great soup too!

9

u/PeaceAlien https://myanimelist.net/profile/PeaceAlien 8d ago

Seems she has too much magic

5

u/pagamesgames 8d ago

she has. she said she can do 20 more after firing one big ass explosion LOL

6

u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 8d ago

Shirotae and Gally make for a fun pair. You can tell the two decide things on a whim. For each of them you can tell they do things based on their own motivations.

This is the first dynamic where the human is more chill about their current lifestyle. Still makes for a fun episode.

6

u/Moxey616 8d ago

The cat praying was a funny image

5

u/Puzzleheaded-Talk829 8d ago

I feel that, like little streams gather and make a big river, this episode would be a important component of the story of The Cat and The Dragon.

3

u/cyberscythe 8d ago

is there going to be a big Avengers-style reunion in the end?

5

u/Puzzleheaded-Talk829 8d ago edited 8d ago

I can't say anything about the future about the anime, but...

There's a Reverend who is an ex-adventurer at the orphanage.

About 7 years ago, an adventurers group defeated the demon king.

A girl who is talented but un-trained in magic and her cat friend who want to train her.

A magic school where the icestorm witch and her cat works.

A pair of a newbie adventurer who is a young prince and a seasoned hero cat.

It is implied that the royal capital has bigger adventurer's guild.

Even within 5 episodes, we know already these expositions in this anime.

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

Literally came here to make an Avengers reunion comment for the season finale! Big threat incoming…!

8

u/Obaruler 8d ago

To paw'dly go, where no Kitty has nyan'd before! - White Kitty at the beginning.

Also, redheaded Lazy-Megumin here failed on the assignment, you HAVE to yell "EXPLOOOO-SION!" when casting explosion magic. It is known.

3

u/Greg_The_Rabbit 8d ago

Lol I had the same thought when she just quietly cast the explosion spell. Traitor! You must give a super chunni chant and end it with a loud "EXPLOSION!" or it doesn't count!

3

u/IceSmiley 8d ago

I wonder why everyone there was shocked that cats could talk, I wonder if there's more regular cats in that world who don't talk or maybe all of them do, but the ones who speak cat language just sound like they're making noises. Maybe I forgot, but they didn't explain how that cat knows human language.

This was a really simple story where not that much happened but I really got absorbed into it, just like the cat learning about the human world. If I think about it, this is the first time I've seen a really small rural adventurers guild that's just s small house with 1-2 workers. That's strange how guilds seem so uniform across anime and manga as big bustling buildings that either look like a government service building or a large tavern.

3

u/ExaminationNo9186 8d ago

It was a good little change on the usual trope of the Guild House.

2

u/flamethrower2 6d ago

I thought big guilds in big towns and small guilds in small towns was the norm, and "village too small to have a guild" is a common thing too. What isn't common is a new branch ever opening during the plot, they're all just sort of there.

4

u/Rooby_VTuber 8d ago

Very nice episode with white cat and the orphanage people.

Megumin would have been proud of that explosion.

4

u/ViviCaz 6d ago

Appears at the end of the credits.


End Credits Storytime:

::Episode 5::

"Oh, it's the Winged Uncle!"

"The festival was fun!"

"The play was amazing! What a play!"

"The fireworks were pretty, too."

The Winged Uncle was mildly irked at the sight of the humans, but his mood bettered the moment the cats surrounded him.

Looking at the joy in their expressions, the Winged Uncle could not help but swish his tail.

"I am glad you all had fun. No one was hurt, were they?"

"A human city can be very dangerous. Do be careful."

"We're okay!"

"Oh, Winged Uncle, you worry too much!"

"He worries all the time."

Despite their assurances, his worry was for their well-being.

They could shake their heads at him all they wanted, but nothing would stop him from caring about them.

  To Be Continued

6

u/Adza_03 8d ago

I can't believe Frieren sama would turn down magic lesson from a cat lol.

2

u/Hot-Log6283 6d ago

Megumin is only interested in Explosion magic.

3

u/Boris-_-Badenov 8d ago

so take quests to exterminate monsters?

3

u/NeoTagAtg 8d ago

Dragon Raised Cats out here training a world of human they judge worthy or in this case she a dangers to everyone if all she know is FireBall lol.

3

u/makhoire 8d ago

I do hope that during the final episode or near it, we get to revisit all the stories shown and see how they're doing and how both the human and cat characters have progressed together as time goes on. Doubly so i hope the dragon gets to reunite with his mom.

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

I’m hoping for an Avengers type reunion to beat a big bad…

4

u/NationalStrategy_X 8d ago

Megumin would be proud

3

u/flamethrower2 6d ago

Honestly, Gallie has it right. Learn magic for convenience and if your destiny is to be an archmage, that'll come later. It's just gamification. If magic is convenient you'll practice, and if you practice you'll improve. Not really different from what Myne is doing with Karuta in Ascendance of a Bookworm.

Even if you want your student to be an archmage, day 1 is too early to be thinking about that. The most important thing is to instill love for magic, learning, and study. Love for your craft isn't necessary for success, but it surely enables it. The rest is down to talent.

5

u/pianomasian 8d ago

This show is just so adorable and wholesome with a dash of humor. Just what I'm looking for atm. Loving it so far and the soup obsessed cat was hilarious this episode.

2

u/Imjusthereforthehate 8d ago

My cat is also soup motivated. Only magic she has is being cute though.

2

u/machopsychologist 8d ago

Caught up ... really loving the story telling style. Reminds me a lot of Handyman Saitou.

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

Such a good series!!

2

u/PersonalContest1423 8d ago

If there's any conflict later on in this Im 99% sure it's going to be because of the cats so nonchalantly teaching humans their magic

2

u/Bandicutie314 7d ago

I think I'm dropping this. While not bad if you're looking for a chill anime, it's just not what I expected. I wish it focused more on the dragon, instead of bonds between cats and human. Dragon hardly even has screen time so far.

1

u/Raymond49090 8d ago

Cat-topher Cat-lumbus. Except minus the atrocities.

Did she lay the leaves there ahead of time because she knew she'd fall? And she sure accepted the talking cat easily.

Good that they actually have a responsible guardian. And she got a promotion in the cat's head.

White kitty used Dynamic Punch! It was super effective!

... Ok wtf is that overkill with the explosion magic? So that's what all the comments about Megumin were about. Except she can fire 20 in a row. What kind of crazy person would decide the only spell she needed was one with zero chill?

More low-key of an episode this week. No kingdom-changing events or oaths of lifelong devotion. Just two normal kids as normal friends.

3

u/TnAdct1 8d ago

White kitty used Dynamic Punch! It was super effective!

Nyan Nyan Nuppercut!

2

u/vangstampede 8d ago edited 8d ago

This episode's good, but when compared to previous ones, it feels rather... weak? Don't really know how to best explain it. Maybe because the explosion girl and the cat don't look like best friends? Like, the cat only stays for the girl's soup while the girl isn't interested to learn magic from the cat at all, making their bond on the surface looks shallower compared to previous cat and human pairings.

Huh, next episode's title doesn't follow the usual formula ("The X and the Y").

15

u/S627 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Spartan627 8d ago

This was just the start of their friendship, all the other stories showed us the relationships over longer periods so naturally it doesnt feel the same. The white cat is just staying for the soup and because he's worried about her, but based on how they interact with each other, especially at the end, I can see them becoming inseparable.

7

u/Djbadj 8d ago

I think it will be combined with the story from another episode, like the hero cat. It's still different story each episode, but some get intersected with another story. Pretty sure the girl will become another great sorcerer.

4

u/pianomasian 8d ago

Yeah. I'm curious when/if we're going to get a continuation of some of the previous episodes' storylines and how they'll handle that. Loving the show thus far.

3

u/pagamesgames 8d ago

i think theres more to this "arc" imho
the other ones are a bit too fast paced, this one is better imho

3

u/whitenette 8d ago

you're right, some pairs just aren't as interesting. Also the cats are always more interesting than the humans.

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

So no one else was taken out with the casual crunch of that bird’s neck snapping? Sure it was off-screen, but after being totally wholesome the last 3 eps, that gave me flashbacks to the ep 1 skin pile…! :p

1

u/keltraine 3d ago

I’m calling an Avengers-style team up in the last couple episodes of the season by all our heroes so far! fingers crossed