Who is Yanineko?
Yanineko, written ヤニねこ, has the official Japanese personal name 佐藤ヤニ子. The profile lists the character as beastfolk, age 21.
Yaniko Sato is the English rendering used on this site; the official anime profile gives the Japanese name 佐藤ヤニ子.
Yuko Natsuyoshi performs the character in the Japanese anime cast.
See every official credit in the characters and voice cast guide.
Official name, English rendering, and cast credit
Yaniko Sato is the English rendering used on this site; the official anime profile gives the Japanese name 佐藤ヤニ子.
Yuko Natsuyoshi is credited for Yanineko in the Japanese anime cast. This credit identifies the original-language performer; it does not by itself confirm a dub or a language option on every service.
Yanineko first appears in Episode 1, which is the best point to open the episode guide when you want context without skipping ahead.
Keep exploring
Where to go from this character
Jump to the first-appearance episode, the full cast guide, or a closely connected character without returning to Google.
Episode
Chainsmoker Cat Episode 1 Recap and Review
Rent, work, cigarettes, and a room photo turn into one crisis.
Cast guide
Chainsmoker Cat Characters: All Names & Voice Cast
Eight core profiles, supporting cast additions, aliases, and Japanese voice actors.
Character
Yakuneko (越司丸益子): Character & Voice Actor
Yakuko Etsushimaru, Yanineko's 20-year-old junior and neighbor, introduced as friendly company with a past the official profile leaves deliberately hard to read
Background
The official profile lists Yanineko as a 21-year-old beastfolk character whose Japanese personal name is 佐藤ヤニ子.
Yaniko Sato is the English rendering used on this site; the official anime profile remains the source for the Japanese spelling.
Episode 1 introduces her through rent pressure, part-time work, and a request from her younger sister Imoko.
Her official profile places her in the apartment building shared with Saori and Landlord Otani, so home problems quickly become neighbor problems.
The name details help separate three useful search terms: Yanineko is the character alias, 佐藤ヤニ子 is the official Japanese personal name, and Yaniko Sato is the English rendering used by this guide.
Those details describe the same lead character, not separate characters or a confirmed alternative English release name. The official profile and cast page remain the place to verify the Japanese identity and role credit.
For a new viewer, the three-name reference makes it easier to move from an English search result to the same character on the Japanese anime site. It also avoids confusing the title Yani Neko with Yanineko's personal identity.
Her listed age, species, first appearance, and Japanese cast credit belong to the character profile and staff material. They give a concise starting point before the story details in Episode 1 explain why rent, work, and the apartment matter.
Personality
Yanineko is impulsive, stubborn, and skilled at turning a small problem into an apartment-wide crisis.
The comedy treats her smoking as a source of consequences rather than an aspirational habit.
Her confidence often arrives before a practical plan, which is why the people around her keep challenging her excuses.
The contrast between a cute character design and an adult routine of rent, work, and a neglected room is central to her scenes. It explains the tone without turning the character's habits into a recommendation.
Her mistakes do not exist in isolation. The people around Yanineko can object, set limits, or ask her to deal with the result, which keeps the series grounded in relationships rather than treating every bad decision as a free pass.
Role in the story
Her relationship with Imoko reveals that family concern sits underneath the gross-out comedy.
Landlord Otani gives her choices practical stakes through rent and apartment rules.
Episode 1 makes her the route into the series: the rent notice, her shift at work, and Imoko's request all point at the same living situation.
For a spoiler-light introduction, Episode 1 and the cast guide give the essential family, apartment, and voice-cast context without jumping ahead to Yakuneko's story.
Imoko, Otani, and Saori each show a different side of that routine: family concern, housing responsibility, and life in the same building. Their profiles are better next steps than a later episode recap when the goal is to stay close to the premiere.
Yuko Natsuyoshi voices Yanineko in the Japanese anime cast. That credit identifies the original performer, while regional audio and subtitle choices need to be checked on the licensed service available to the viewer.
The Episode 1 guide is the best first stop for viewers who only know the character from the premiere. It introduces Yanineko without relying on later characters, then links naturally to Imoko, Otani, and the full cast reference when those names become relevant.
Readers looking for the performer can use the Yuko Natsuyoshi page, which keeps the role credit separate from unsupported claims about dubs or releases. Readers looking for the whole ensemble can use the cast hub, where the official names and first appearances are listed together.
Read the Episode 1 guide for the character's introduction in story order.
For the closest family route, read the Imoko character guide.
Voice actor and first appearance
Yuko Natsuyoshi voices Yanineko (佐藤ヤニ子).
Yanineko first appears in Episode 1. The episode guide places the character's introduction in context.
Continue with the companion character guide for the closest cast connection in this part of the story.
Meet the rest of the cast
Open another profile to compare names, ages when listed, voice actors, first appearances, and story connections.
Frequently asked questions
Who voices Yanineko?
Yuko Natsuyoshi voices Yanineko in Japanese.
How old is Yanineko?
Yanineko is 21 in the official character profile.
When does Yanineko first appear?
Yanineko first appears in Episode 1.