IMew

iMew is a comedy webcomic drawn and written by Nekonny and co-written by Curran. Previously hosted by The Katbox, it is now part of the Kemono Café webcomic community.

Plot


The comic begins with the protagonist, Sammy, being flagged down by her friend, Lydia, after their first day back to college. The two plan a meetup, but Sammy decides she needs to change her clothes and check her mail first, and thus heads back to her dorm. Once there, she finds that a package for her has arrived, and excitedly brings it inside, greeting her cat, Eddie, in the process. She quickly opens the package to reveal her new phone, a fake Chinese iPhone called the "iMew". She tests it out, calling Lydia, who is happy to hear about Sammy's new device. Lydia reveals that Raf, who is Sammy's crush, is set to arrive at her dorm with food, and the two end the call with Sammy feeling a little flustered. Following this, Sammy isn't certain whether she successfully hung up the phone, and thus begins tapping on it furiously.

In the midst of Sammy's frustration, she hears a voice emit from beside her. Curious, she looks to her side and realizes the voice came from Eddie. She's shocked that he's suddenly gained the ability to speak, but Eddie reveals that it's her ability to understand him that's changed. She discovers that her ears have turned into big cat ears when she realizes she can feel and move them atop her head, which causes her to completely freak out. She hears a knock on the door and realizes Raf has arrived, which causes her to freak out even more. She decides the only thing she can do is find some way to hide her ears and let him in, so she does just that, rummaging through her closet and answering the door while wearing a large cowboy hat.

Once Raf was let inside, Sammy let him see the phone, hoping that he could help figure out how it works. He looks through the manual only to find that it's all in Chinese, thus he wouldn't be of much use. Despite this, he tries tinkering with it anyways, just as Lydia arrives. Lydia questions Sammy on her odd choice of apparel while Sammy tries to come up with an excuse. As the two are talking, Raf hits a button on the iMew that causes Sammy to grow a cat tail, which tears straight through the back of her pants and is so long that the tip reaches the top of her head. The new sensation of it behind her leaves her speechless, and she quickly sits down in an effort to hide it. Lydia notices that something is wrong by the look on Sammy's face, and tells Raf to leave the room, thinking it has something to do with him.

Once Raf has left, Lydia confronts Sammy. Being more comfortable with Lydia and being out of options, Sammy decides to reveal herself. She throws off her hat, revealing her feline ears, and raises her tail so that Lydia is able to fully see it. Lydia initially stares in disbelief at Sammy's new cat appendages, but quickly regains composure, and learns that the phone is to blame for the odd changes. Sammy begs her to fix it, but in her attempt she only causes Sammy to change again, this time making her breasts grow several sizes larger. soon after, however, she figures out how to undo the effect, but Sammy stops her while her breasts are still two sizes bigger than they originally were. Eddie protests, but Sammy silences him, and Lydia thinks she's crazy for talking to a cat.

A small amount of time passes and Sammy begins to become hysterical about slowly losing her humanity. Lydia tries to console her, but it's short lived, as Eddie chews on and breaks the cable to the phone charger, which adds a new time limit: they now must get Sammy back to normal before the phone dies. They attempt to search for a charger online but come up empty, thus the two girls decide that they have to search around town for a store that might sell them. Before leaving, Lydia tells Sammy that she'll need a new outfit, prompting her to leave and change it. She comes back in a T-shirt, a cap that covers her ears, and short skirt, where her tail is kept secure with a belt. The duo finally head out, leaving a note for Raf explaining their departure.

Sammy and Lydia head off to the mall and check every phone and electronic store they come across for a charger, but ultimately find nothing. Feeling defeated, they start heading towards the exit, but Sammy unexpectedly bumps into someone on the way. It is revealed that the person she ran into is her rival, Lori, and her pet ferret, Curran. Lori chastises Sammy, which Sammy meets with equal aggression, especially after Curran tries to run under her skirt. Both Curran and Lori take an interest in Sammy's phone for a brief moment, which prompts Sammy to explain what it is, but this just causes Lori to insult her further about it, before taking Curran with her and leaving. Sammy fumes about the confrontation, but quickly gets back on track when she realizes that her phone's battery is starting to die.

Upon exiting the mall, Lydia comes up with a new plan. Realizing that having the phone translated would be very beneficial, the two get on a bus that heads to Chinatown. During the bus ride, Sammy gets a call from Raf and, without thinking, she answers it. Lydia shouts at her to stop, and Sammy immediately remembers the situation they're in, hanging the phone up, covering her mouth in distress. Thinking she managed to avoid any calamities, she calms down, lowering her hand to tell Lyida that she's okay. It instantly becomes apparent, however, that the phone caused another change, as she now has the teeth, mouth, and nose of a cat, and thus, a full feline muzzle. Lydia is horrified by how catlike Sammy's face looks now, and is only able to stutter out a remark about it. Initially Sammy doesn't realize what changed, and doesn't know how to react. She then looks into her reflection on the bus window and sees her new muzzle, which makes her burst into tears. The two girls start to panic, but are suddenly interrupted by a couple of strangers on the bus that are dressed up in catlike costumes. The strangers compliment Sammy on what they think is her costume, and it causes both Sammy and Lydia great confusion.

The two calm down and finally get off the bus, entering Chinatown. When they arrive, they realize that there's an event going on that is essentially a celebration of cats, with many people showing up in costumes. With her feline face already impossible to hide, Sammy takes advantage of the situation and throws off her cap and belt, revealing her cat ears and tail for everyone to see, under the guise that they're just part of another costume. Sammy gains a more positive attitude and it becomes apparent that her mind is beginning to change as well, as she gets excited over the many cat related things the festival has to offer. Lydia tries to keep her focused, but she can't help but run off and steal food from the fish stand. Annoyingly, Lydia grabs Sammy by her shirt and drags her away towards the phone shop, forcing Sammy to, reluctantly, take the situation more seriously.

Once inside, they meet a masked figure, who greets them in Chinese. The man takes the mask off, revealing himself as one of the phone shop's employees. Sammy happily greets him, hoping that he can help, and hands him the phone while trying to explain the issue. The salesman recognizes the phone, but does not understand the request, which leads to him causing Sammy to change even further. Just as she thinks she's getting back to normal, she becomes even more of a cat, now sporting fur all over her body, whiskers, claws, pawlike hands, and even her hair becoming a little shorter. Having changed so much so quickly, Sammy becomes furious, hissing at the salesman. He gives her back the phone and tells her he needs to find an updated card for it, and that she should come back later. With time to spare, Lydia suggests checking for more technology stores, but Sammy objects, running back off into town with the intent of having more fun with cat-centric events.

While back in town, the two girls hear about a cat costume contest, and Sammy immediately wants to enter. She leaves her phone with Lydia and runs off again. Arriving at the contest she sees that, much to her surprise, Lori is also there and competing. The two make eye contact, glaring angrily, as the contest carries forward. Meanwhile, Curran sneaks over to Sammy's bag, which Lydia has left unattended on the ground while watching the event, and steals the phone from within, running off with it. The contest eventually draws to a close, and the winner is revealed to be neither Lori nor Sammy. The two bicker, blaming each other for their loss, but Sammy ultimately walks away, ready to head back to the phone shop.

When investigating her purse, Sammy realizes that the phone is missing and starts to freak out. She searches through her entire bag, but can't find it anywhere. While looking around, however, she notices Lori walking towards the bus stop with Curran, who has the iMew in his mouth. Filled with rage, she bounds after them on all fours, running through people on her way. She attempts to pounce on them once she's close, but only manages to hit the bus' door face first. The bus pulls away and Sammy holds her face in pain. On the bus, Lori discovers that Curran has stolen a phone, and takes it from his hands. She's perplexed by the phone's language and tries to figure out how to change it in the settings. Lydia comes up with a plan and starts calling the phone, but it's too late, as Lori has already begun messing with it, causing Sammy to change further and further. This time Sammy shrinks to half her original height, with her feet turning into full paws, her hands becoming more feline, legs becoming completely feline, hair becoming even shorter, and her breasts shrinking and becoming feline as well. Her skirt and shoes also became too big for her, thus leaving her in nothing but her shirt.

Lydia pauses in complete dismay, seeing her friend in a barely human state. Sammy only realizes what's wrong when she peers down her shirt and notices her much more catlike front, which causes her to become completely hysterical. Meanwhile, Lydia manages to respond to Lori, who tells her she can come get the phone at her place, before hanging up. Calming down once more, Lydia feigns confidence and tells Sammy the plan to go pick up the phone. Sammy questions her on where Lori's place is and Lydia confesses that she doesn't know, but that Raf might because he and Lori used to date. Sammy becomes angry because she still has a big crush on him. The two continue on to the dorms, with Sammy small enough to ride on Lydia's back.

During the bus ride, Sammy changes yet again, with her hands becoming complete paws with no opposable thumbs and her body getting even smaller, due to Curran messing with the phone off screen. The two arrive and are greeted by Raf, who doesn’t recognize Sammy and thinks she’s just an odd looking cat. Lydia brushes his confusion to the side, and the two leave the room to discuss Lori’s whereabouts.

Sammy is left alone with Eddie, who compliments her feline appearance. Sammy responds angrily, stating that it’s only her body that’s changed. Eddie disproves this by talking about Tuna, which Sammy instantly gushes over. With Sammy in a feline mindset, Eddie is able to persuade her to remove her shirt, leaving her completely naked.

Now having knowledge of Lori’s address, Sammy and Lydia join up again, leaving Raf and Eddie back at the dorm. As they begin walking, the two discuss their plan, but in the middle of it, Sammy begins meowing. Lydia discovers that Sammy is no longer capable of human speech, and the two realize that they need to pick up the pace.

Arriving at Lori’s house, Lydia tells Sammy to wait outside while she goes in to get the phone. Sammy spots Curran in a window on the second floor, however, and uses her new catlike abilities to climb up a tree to get closer. All the while, Curran keeps chewing on the phone, causing Sammy to change even more. She begins naturally walking on all fours as her hair vanishes completely, making her indistinguishable from any other cat, physically and behaviorally. This doesn’t bother her, however, as she’s too focused on confronting Curran.

The two small animals start to fight with Sammy quickly becoming victorious. The victory is cut short, as Lori walks in and sees a defeated Curran and an angry Sammy who is tearing apart her thesis. Furious, she chases both Sammy and Lydia out of the house, throwing the phone to them in the process.

Realizing that Lydia and the cat are in cahoots, Lori and Curran chase after them, taking a motorcycle to follow them once they get on the bus. Arriving back in Chinatown, Lydia and Sammy split up, with Lydia going to the phone salesman with the phone, and Sammy distracting Lori and Curran in an alleyway. Sammy is cornered while Lydia tries to rush the salesman to upgrade the phone’s card.

Moments before getting caught, the upgrade is installed, and Sammy is turned back to normal right in front of Lori. Lori is stopped in her tracks, becoming befuddled at how Sammy appeared in front of her. Lydia hears Sammy calling and runs to go get her, finding Lori completely dazed and Sammy in the alleyway, still naked and covering herself with a piece of cardboard. Lydia is able to get her a cat outfit from one of the vendors at the festival. Time passes and Sammy, now human, reflects on the event, confessing that she still uses her phone, now that it’s in English. She uses some of the settings to her advantage, but confesses that it has its bugs and glitches every once in a while.

Cast


Sammy

Sammy, short for Samantha, is the primary protagonist in iMew. After receiving her new phone in the mail, Sammy ends up inadvertently transforming herself while trying to figure out how to use the phone despite not being able to read Chinese. Although serious in her efforts to turn back into a human, Sammy tends to wonder off in favor of sales or food. Through her confrontations with Lori, the readers learn that Sammy is a legal major. Sammy calls Curran a rat instead of a ferret.

Lydia

Lydia is Sammy’s best friend. Lydia tends to be the more serious of the two, often helping Sammy get out of trouble. Lydia has been known to hook Raf up with various women, specifically Lori and Sammy. Lydia is an avid painter.

Eddie

Eddie is Sammy’s pet cat that first reveals Sammy’s cat transformation. Eddie causes the time concern over Sammy’s transformation after biting the charger cord. Eddie playfully teases Sammy about being stuck as a cat, taunting her with tuna fish. Eddie constantly complains about Sammy being a cheap when it comes to his food.

Raf

Raf is a male acquaintance to Sammy, Lydia, and Lori. Raf initially brings pizza over to Sammy’s house for a party but is left to house sit for Sammy while she deals with her transformation. Lydia often tries to hook Raf up with Lori and then Sammy. Raf is knowledgeable when it comes to cameras. Raf once assisted Lori with her homework.

Lori

Lori is Sammy’s arch rival and a legal major in college. Lori believes herself to be more fashionable and modern than Sammy when it comes to her attire and gadgets. Lori is neutral when it comes to Lydia. When pushed too far, Lorie goes berserk. Lori owns Curran, her pet ferret.

Curran

Curran is Lori’s pet ferret. Curran loves shiny items, especially Sammy’s new phone. Curran also enjoys running up Sammy’s skirt and stares at Sammy’s body.