Iroha Okuda

Neco-Ban Cats In Your Life is a short and quiet story about a grumpy old man, his sleepy granddaughter, and the many, many cats that show up in their country home. Ibu Masato frowns away as a proud, retired man with a bad back and a chip on his shoulder about his wife and daughter leaving him at home. He barely speaks out loud, but through narrative voiceover we hear his obsession with time, his grievances with being bored and alone, his concern for appearances, and his crabby curiosity about all the cats running amuck in the house. Through a small, ridiculous turn of events, he ends up stranded on his roof with no way down. The myriad helpless facial expressions the veteran actor rolls out during his attempts to get back down are absolutely hilarious. Who knew an old man on a roof could be so funny?

In Mahoro, the fictional suburb of Tokyo, Tada works as a general problem solver for hire. One day, former classmate Gyoten appears unannounced. Both men are over 30 years old and divorced. With no explanation, Gyoten suddenly asks to spend the night at Tada's home. Eventually, Tada accepts Gyoten as his assistant and together they become involved in various cases concerning an assortment of people from different walks of life.