You know, since I Watch Stuff broke the trailer for Cat Shit One earlier this week, it’s been all the rage on the internet. Even Ain’t It Cool had a story about it today, and, by the way, whoever noonespecial is (besides, well “no one special”), you’re awesome! This guy went into the talkback of their Cat Shit One story and posted a link to our site! Dude, you totally take home the no prize today!
Anyway, most people think that the trailer is something of a joke, and that it can’t possibly be real. Camels playing the bad guys? Sounds pretty racist. Well, it is real, I assure you, and based off of the manga of the same title, published as Apocalypse Meow here in the states. (out of print, though. Vol. 1 fetches $185 on Amazon)
According to wikipedia:
Apocalypse Meow is a three volume manga series written and illustrated by Motofumi Kobayashi. It was originally published in Japan as Cat Shit One in 1998 by Softbank Publishing, but was renamed for the US release to parody the title of the film Apocalypse Now, which also took place during the Vietnam War. It was published in the UK in 2004 by ADV Manga. It was also released in Poland in 2006, also under the title Cat Shit One. It has been released in France, Belgium and Spain too, as Cat Shit One, by Glénat in 2006.[1]
A computer-generated anime adaptation of Cat Shit One by Studio Anima is in the works.[2] The story will, however, revolve around the Iran hostage crisis, rather than Vietnam.[3] The series is due for release early 2010[4].
The characters in the book seem to be the same as in the movie but, just as the Punisher is an Iraqi vet in the movies instead of a Vietnam one, looks like they action’s been moved to a more modern setting. In the comics (sorry, manga), the Americans are rabbits, and the Vietnamese are cats. Apparently the Americans being rabbits is because “The Japanese word for rabbit is “うさぎ,” which can be romanized as “USAGI.” USA + GI = USAGI.”
Want to see the trailer again? I wish I could show it to the wife and see her horrified expression one more time, but I think that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.