“Cat Shit One” (released in the US as “Apocalypse Meow”) is a three-volume manga which started its release in 1998. The first series was followed by a sequel manga set in the Cold War, “Cat Shit One 80”. In 2010, the setting was changed again to Afghanistan for a 20-minute, fully 3D CGI animated pilot. At this time, it seems the studio, Anima, is trying to get enough funding to continue the series.

“Cat Shit One” is the name of a Special Ops Recon Team made up of three USA GIs (“Usagi” Japanese for “Bunny”) and several American trained Vietnamese Montagnards (Degar). With their R&R usually cut short, their backup often taken out by the VC, and helicopter Evac frequently impossible due to too much tree cover and foliage, the battle hardened team, headed by Sgt. Perkins (Packy/Perky), Sgt. White (Rats), and radioman Botasky (Bota), engage in a variety of missions, from information retrieval and scouting, to search and rescue, and combat.

“You think we’re just helping the evil government of this country?”
“Maybe. But, the North are little better than the terrorists themselves …”
“Can’t even tell your friends from your enemies, huh?”

The Americans are bunnies, the Vietnamese are cats, the French are pigs, the Koreans are dogs, the Aussies are 'roos, the English are rats, the Russians are bears, the Chinese are pandas, and the Japanese are monkeys. It’s a whole comic of anthropomorphic ethnic stereotypes, filling this historical fiction of the Vietnam War. The characters are, themselves, racist, and use derogatory slurs; and they do so in a very casual, realistic way, as people sometimes do when in situations of mutual distrust and danger. The animal-human surrogates allow the author, Motofumi Kobayashi, to take a hard eyed look at his cast. The badass bunnies smoke, drink, whore-around, and kill; but these actions appear differently when done by munchkin-critters, and become almost…cute.

CAT SHIT ONE