Short manga serial of Hideo Azuma that features the first Neko-Mimi (cat-ears) in history, Sham Cat. (further details in the rest of the desc.)
Serialized in Weekly Shonen Champion.
Descriptions for each chapter:
- Chapter 1 - **Sham Appears**
An odd cat who can speak human language comes running into
the apartment of a ronin student boy. The cat also turns into a bishojo!
- Chapter 2 - **Cutting a Tail, and a Great Transformation...!?**
Ban (The last name of this ronin student) goes to his part-time job, but Sham, wanting attention, follows him around after.
- Chapter 3 - **Dig Up Shadows, Nyan Nyan!!**
All living things have a great weakness. You'll know right away when you dig up their shadow...
Sham displays her mysterious ESP, and an enemy bearing an existential crisis draws near.
- Chapter 4 - **When You Want to be Popular, This Scent...**
Ban falls in love with Ranko, the idol of Ajima Prep. He tearfully wishes,
"I want to be popular for once!!" Sham easily succeeds in granting this.
- Chapter 5 - **A Reassuring Ally Appears!!**
Tomorrow is the entrance exams at last, yet Ban isn't doing well and becomes frantic.
He is able to fall asleep from Sham's ESP, but Sham's fleas start to rampage...
Sham Cat was collected into Azuma's **Absurdity Diary** (不条理日記, Fujouri Nikki), a compilation of short SF one-shots and serials which were parodies of popular SF works and it was released the same year. Absurdity Diary won the 10th Seiun Award for Best Comic also within the same year.
Azuma mentions that Sham Cat is intended to be a parody of Shambleau by female American SF author C. L. Moore (part of the Northwest Smith series of short stories). But in addition to this, one could also observe two key influences in Sham Cat.
Sham Cat, both the character and the manga, is Azuma's composite of two series, [Urusei Yatsura](https://mangadex.org/title/6b9206b3-5c0f-4cf8-a0cc-d2c9e1aa4df9/urusei-yatsura), and its female lead, Lum, and [The Star of Cottonland](https://mangadex.org/title/6bc9f38a-9a36-4a3f-9a70-4d465e9d597f/the-star-of-cottonland) with its lead, Chibi-Neko, both of which were being serialized around this time, and Azuma himself professed to very fond of Urusei Yatsura from its very first chapter (source: QuickJapan, issue 71).
The compositions, tone, flow, plots, and characterization of Sham Cat parallels Lum and the early chapters of Urusei Yatsura, with additional elements being from Chibi-Neko.
Hideo Azuma's lasting influence with Sham Cat can still be seen to this day. What frequently, and erroneously, is referred to as the 'Anime Cat Girl' are all modern day Sham Cats. One could humorously say that we have many different breeds of Sham Cats today.
