Have you ever asked yourself: What would happen if kittens were grown from bananas? Of course you have! The anime production studio, Gathering, has also asked this very question and as a result, the best anime idea ever, was born.
“Bananya” – a combination of the words ‘banana’ and ‘nya.’ (‘Nya’ being the Japanese sound for a kitten’s meow.)
On July 4, 2016, Crunchyroll (leading anime streaming website) began streaming this series weekly. Each episode is approx. three minutes long and features the simple hijinks of Bananya and friends with a narrator. Before further ado, I give you the amazing cast of "Bananya"!
Bananya
The main character, Bananya, loves to get into hijinks.
Baby Bananya
Spoiler Alert! Episode 3 is all Baby Bananya’s fault!
Tabby Bananya
It looks like Tabby Bananya has a crush on someone!
Bananyako
Everyone has a crush on Bananyako.
Kenaga Bananya
Every girl’s favorite neko!
Kuro Bananya
From Europe, Kuro is the gentleman of the Bananya bunch.
So what’s so great about Bananya then? Besides the fact that there are literally cute kittens inside of banana peels (which should be motivation enough), each episode is only 3 minutes long, meaning that you have no excuse not to watch it. The art style is clean and the animation is about as cute as you could get. The ending theme is actually really catchy as well. Not to mention, its wacky cast of kittens are sure to have you asking for more.
On a more serious note, “Bananya” is a slice-of-life comedy directed towards younger children. I will say though, that as a college student, it’s still kind of hard to look away! If you’re in to “weird” Japanese things, quirky and funny anime, and cute cats in bananas, you’re sure to love it. As an added bonus, if you’re a Japanese student, it’s the perfect three minutes to turn off the subtitles and practice your comprehension. Since the show is directed at young children, the Japanese is not hard to understand at all.
Fun Facts:
1. You can get Bananya plushies!
2. The voice actor for Bananya and a couple of other voices is Yuki Kaji. Kaji is primarily known as the Japanese voice actor for Eren Yaeger from “Attack on Titan."
3. "Bananya" was/is actually crowdfunded according to this Crunchyroll article.
4. On MyAnimeList.com, "Bananya" already has a rating of 7.1/10
5. Bananya's dream is to become a chocolate-covered banana!
You can watch the first four episodes of “Bananya” on Crunchyroll now for free!
