TikTok 'Anime Is Cats' Video Now Going Viral; Fans Ask If This Makes Them a Furry

TikTok "Anime are Cats" videos are now going viral. Because of this theory, many fans are now confused if this makes them furry.

TikTok 'Anime Are Cats' Videos Now Going Viral

(Photo: SEBASTIAN WILLNOW/DDP/AFP via Getty Images) Visitors of the Leipzig book fair walk past an advertisement of a Manga comic strip on the fair's opening day 17 March 2005 in Leipzig, eastern Germany. Until 20 March 2005, more than 2000 exhibitors from 30 countries will present new publications.

If you search #cats, #anime, #animecats, or #animemodeledfromcats, you will see numerous videos explaining that anime characters are modeled after cats.

One of these viral videos was posted by Jimmy Maio (notjimmymaio), which generated over 4 million views, 440,000 likes, 10,000 shares, and 2,000 comments.

@notjimmymaio Cats #greenscreen #cats #anime #japanese ♬ PRETTY BOY FLOW - STURDYYOUNGIN

Since many anime fans admire many characters (some even have crushes), they are now asking if their admiration or romantic feeling for anime characters make them furry.

Aside from TikTok, the "Anime are Cats" theory is also trending on YouTube and other social media platforms.

Many online influencers also question themselves if they are furry since they like many anime characters, such as Mikasa from "Attack on Titan," Vegeta from "Dragon Ball," and Naruto from "Naruto Shippuden."

However, you need to remember that the first creators of anime didn't confirm if their characters were based on cats.

@arisadraws #VoiceFilter Its been cat girls all along #anime #animegirl #drawing #cat #funny #fypシ #japan ♬ The Lonely Tree - The Lonely Tree

If this is the case, then where did the "Anime are Cats" theory come from?

Where 'Anime is Cats' Theory Came From

(Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images) People wearing face masks walk past an advertising poster featuring manga characters on January 12, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 2,198 new coronavirus cases today, the highest daily figure since September 4th, though the number of people hospitalized with severe symptoms in the city is four.

The "Anime for Cats" theory came from Hantani Sadahiko, a Japanese programmer who loves cats.

It all started when Sadahiko answered the question "Why, in Japanese anime, do none of the characters look Japanese?"

He said that it is because anime characters are cats.

"The goal of manga anime was neither Japanese nor Caucasian. The theory that if you pursue 'cute,' it resembles a kitten is influential," he explained.

Sadahiko added that no matter where you look at it, anime characters have nose profiles that are not human.

The Japanese programmer added that since animators want to create anime characters that are cute, they make their appearances similar to felines.

He even provided illustrations to prove his theory, which is quite intriguing. You can visit his official Quora post to see the comparisons between cats and anime characters.