Mii-kun's Residence

Mii-kun’s Residence

Manga Chapter 7-5

TV Episode 37

Manga Chapter Summary:

Tetsuro comments to Maetel on how lonely things currently feel in this part of the universe. Maetel tells him most people close the blinds here, although with his strong resolve, he can withstand it. Tetsuro realizes there’s another passenger on board the train car, a silent long haired woman with a cat in her arms. The Conductor announces their next stop as Mii-kun’s Residence, with a stop time of 38 hours.

Tetsuro says the planet looks awfully lonely as they approach it. No whistle blows as the 999 approaches the station; Maetel claims it is to avoid frightening the inhabitants. The 999 passes by flowery fields and arrives at a station that Tetsuro claims looks like a toy. The other passenger gets up and off the train, telling the cat in her arms to not be afraid. Tetsuro notices both of them are crying. As they get out of the station, Tetsuro says it smells good here and the weather is right. Maetel claims this is the nicest and easiest place in the universe to reside at. Tetsuro soon spots a variety of animals around them.

The hotel looks like one made of children’s blocks. As they head through the halls, Maetel says she recalls the room from her childhood. Tetsuro doesn’t have such memories as he grew up in a busted shack with a tin roof and logs for walls. He is still fond of those days though as its when his mother was alive. Maetel realizes there is no room service and Tetsuro heads out in the hall to find a vending machine, but soon finds a giant tiger in front of him. The tiger chases after Tetsuro, and a snake soon joins in as well! Tetsuro makes it back to the hotel room and tells Maetel he isn’t feeling well so she won’t go out to get food herself.

Tetsuro tries to go to sleep that night only to hear a lot of growling, howling, meowing and hissing. As he talks to himself, various animals look in his room from outside the window. The narrator explains that during the night the area was filled with the sorrowful cries of animals. When Tetsuro wakes up the next morning, he looks outside and sees a bunch of animals following Maetel. Tetsuro rushes out to save her and is stopped by the passenger from before.

Maetel explains to Tetsuro that the animals here are great friends of humans and aren’t dangerous. The passenger claims that the animals made so much noise because they were crying out for their owners. The deaths of these animals have separated them from their owners and they gather in this place. She explains that when she passed away, her master built a splendid grave for her and cried for her. From that day forth, she made it her mission to bring all pets separated from their masters by death to this planet.

She passenger reveals her name as Mii-kun. She was a cat during her life, and given that name as she was strong like a male. We cut to the 999 leaving the planet silently. Tetsuro tells Maetel that if he were to lose a pet someday, his heart could rest easy. Mii-kun’s Residence fades away after the 999 leaves the planet. Maetel claims some say the planet is a reflection of the hearts of children whose pets have passed away. The narrator explains that any traveler who has lost their pet to death has occasionally come across Mii-kun’s Residence, although its actual location is a mystery to all. It might exist nowhere else but in our hearts.

TV Episode Summary:

The episode doesn’t cut anything from the manga chapter and adds some new scenes. At the start of the episode, we have a brief shot showing many other 999 passengers on other cars, who lower the blinds.

The planet is called Mii-kun’s Mansion of Life rather than just Mii-kun’s residence. Shortly after Tetsuro and Maetel enter the hotel we have a flashback to Tetsuro and his mother and him bringing her some food he found outside.

Shortly after they get to their hotel room, Maetel speaks more of Mii-kun and that she brings various animals to this planet. We see her bringing the kitten she was carrying with her to join some other animals outside. Maetel asks Tetsuro where he thinks his deceased parents are now. Towards the end of the episode, we have a flashback to when Mii-kun was a cat. Mii-kun is the pet of a young boy. We see the boy bullied and Mii-kun attacks the bullies, causing them to flee. A few days later she became weak and passed away. Tetsuro hears of this from Mii-kun by separating from Maetel to talk to her and he nearly misses the 999’s departure as a result.

TV Episode Cast:

Tetsuro Hoshino – Masako Nozawa

Maetel – Masako Ikeda

Conductor – Kaneta Kimotsuki

Young Boy – Yoshiko Matsuo

Jimmy – Akiko Tsuboi

Boy A – Keiko Han

Boy B – Satomi Maijma

Narrator – Hitoshi Takagi

This has got to be the strangest set of credits I’ve seen in the series thus far. Tetsuro’s Mother is instead named “Jimmy” and Mii-kun, despite being the central character for this episode is uncredited.

Non-Spoiler Analysis:

A rather quiet, mostly action-less chapter this time as the 999 approaches Mii-kun’s Residence. This planet is in fact revealed to be a place where the souls of dead pets have gathered. Mii-kun, while humanoid in appearance was once a cat herself, and wanders the galaxy, bringing back the souls of pets to this planet. I’ll admit as someone who never owned a dog or a cat (the most I had was a hamster for a short time period, while I was an adult) that it is a bit hard for me to have the same level of love for a pet, but I certainly know many who treat them like they are a member of the family. The shorter lifespans of cats and dogs means most of those who have them have to say goodbye to them long before they pass away themselves. As such, at least in this fictional story it is a bit settling to see that there is a place for them to gather and exist peacefully. The episode makes me wonder if Maetel once owned a pet, as you kind of get the impression that only those who owned pets who have passed away can sense the planet (and it disappears after they leave). We also get a very rare mention from Maetel of her childhood.

Mii-kun’s Residence looks rather toy-like in nature with both the station and the hotel and the hotel really looks unlike any we’ve seen to this point with flower wallpaper all over the place. I wonder if Mii-kun being a cat originally had something to do with it? It comes off as something a child created rather than an adult. The chapter does give us some comedic moments when several of the animals chase after Tetsuro and peek in on him at night. While overall not much happens in this chapter I don’t mind the breather with a rather quieter than usual storyline.