Why Tama?

Contains Spoilers

Of all the people and items to make pages out of from Fushigi Yuugi, why in the world make a page devoted singularly towards Tama-Neko, the cat?

Why not?

After all, there are pages devoted to the other characters, pages devoted to Suzaku, pages devoted to various character couplings, a page devoted to the Jewelry of Fushigi Yuugi, even one dedicated to Tasuki's horse! Yet of all the pages on the Anipike, there is only 2 other Tama-Neko-exclusive sites, and indeed the other Tama-Neko pages are just small pages part of a larger Fushigi Yuugi site.

Well, that's one reason. Another reason is because Tama-Neko is my favorite Fushigi Yuugi character. Now, isn't that strange? In a show that's chock full of bishounen, my favorite character is the cat with a bit part? No, not strange at all! (Actually, I have this thing about always liking the cute, little sidekick/mascot...)

Tama-Neko wriggled his way into my heart after all of his endearing actions. He brought Mitsukake to the attention of the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi. He's incredibly intelligent, although many of the characters don't realize this. He's quite helpful, or at least he tries to be, since sometimes the others don't get a clue as to what he's trying to do. He's instantly loveable and most of all, he's kawaii and adorable! What more could you ask for... from a cat?

Tama-Neko isn't very well known in the Fushigi Yuugi world. After all, he's just Mitsukake's pet who gets a few choice scenes and then spends most of his time purring in the background. Yet, the more I look at Fushigi Yuugi, the more I see that Tama-Neko is active in that background. (I once amazed a friend with the image gallery - she said, "I didn't know there were that many pictures of Tama-Neko in the manga!") He is the silent observer, and he's quite observant.

He's not just observant, too. He's smart. Very smart. He catches up on things the others don't get or can't see past. He acts on his own when necessary, and it seems to me he could easily just leave the Suzaku Shichi Seishi anytime, yet he stays. (Loyalty? Devotion? Fish?) And yet he's hardly appreciated by his fellow Suzaku members! Poor Tama-Neko! Fushigi Yuugi wouldn't be the same without his antics and his charm. And it wouldn't be the same if Tama had been another type of animal. (Tama-Inu? Tama as a dog certainly would make the story very different.)

But why is he so smart? Well, that is open for debate. Are cats just naturally more clever? Or is it one of Tama-Neko's special abilities? In my fanfic idea, "Suzaku no Neko" I bring up an interesting proposition as to the origin of Tama-Neko's brains. Still, cats are always seen as clever, skillful beasts in many cultures. Curious creatures, mysterious beings with nine lives. Felines can be bad luck or good luck, depending on the culture and the local superstitions. Black cats are not to be crossed in Western culture, yet white cat statues (maneki neko) beckon customers into stores in many Japanese places. They are independent and answer to no one - unless they decide to. And that can pretty much sum up why this page was made.

I was looking at making a Fushigi Yuugi page for a while, and it took me a while to decide on making on to Tama-Neko. There's plenty of sites for most of the other Shichi Seishi, but I wanted to do something different. Something creative. Something kawaii. So I decided to dedicate this unique page to unique cat that I find quite endearing - Tama-Neko-Chan!