Love it or hate it, there's no denying that Makoto Shinkai's Suzume left us with questions. Some of them concern the anime movie's cats. So, what are the cats in Suzume?
Spoiler Warning: This article includes spoilers for Suzume, so proceed with caution.
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The True Nature of Suzume's Cats
In Makoto Shinkai's newest film, the main character, Suzume, picks up a cat statue only for it to turn into a real cat.
Her new furry companion, Daijin, is actually a keystone. So, what does a keystone do?
In Suzume, keystones protect abandoned doors lest a supernatural worm responsible for earthquakes goes free.
Upon learning this, Suzume tries to get the cat, Daijin, to become a sealing stone again. Unfortunately for her, Daijin has other ideas.
Deciding that he would much rather stay with Suzume, Daijin turns Souta into a chair and transfers the keystone's responsibility to him.
Is Daijin Evil?
Even cat lovers will admit that our furry friends can be selfish. But is Daijin outright evil? We think not, but he's complex for sure.
So, why would Daijin turn Souta into a keystone if he wasn't evil?
Cats don't abide by human rules and morals, even less so if they're deities.
Fans of Daijin think that he liked Suzume and wanted to spend time with her.
As a supernatural being, it's possible that Daijin simply doesn't understand or care about what's fair in terms of human morality.
It's possible that he doesn't view his behavior as too different from a regular cat inconveniencing its owner.
Of course, being a deity comes with responsibilities, so Daijin's actions have some serious consequences.
Does Daijin Die in the End?
In the end, Daijin realizes that insisting on being Suzume's cat will lead to her or Souta being sealed instead, so he sacrifices himself to prevent this.
In reclaiming his keystone position, Daijin is no longer the cat we knew. In that sense, he dies.
At least, since he's a supernatural being, his "death" isn't a straightforward one.
Rather, it's a return to his original function, but this doesn't mean that his fans like it.
One thing is for certain; Daijin has supporters. Especially amongst those who didn't appreciate the romance between Suzume and Souta.
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Why Did Sadaijin Possess Tamaki?
Towards the end, it's revealed that Sadaijin, another cat-formed keystone, possessed Tamaki, Suzume's aunt. His reasoning seems complicated.
In the climax, Sadaijin makes Tamaki voice her resentment about all she had to sacrifice to raise Suzume.
Given that this is all minimally explained, viewers might think that Sadaijin is evil too.
Others suggest that while Tamaki and Suzume cared about each other, their frustrations with each other were real.
As such, they had to be addressed for them to finally open up and work towards a more meaningful connection.
Given that Sadaijin guards the world against earthquakes, and that Suzume's mother was an earthquake victim -- which led to her living with Tamaki -- some fans view this scene as cathartic, despite its harshness.
Overall, some fans argue that Suzume's supernatural elements, including the cat guardians, are a bit convoluted and could have been more fleshed out.
That being said, we all love furry companions in fantasy adventures.
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