Maru’s Got a Brand New Bag

For Maru, every paper bag is a portal to a magical world made just for him, full of rainbows and sushi and lollipops and sushi and perky elves who make sushi. So naturally Maru wishes to spend as much time in this wonderful place as he can, no matter how many times you pull it away. At last, Maru becomes so absorbed in this fantasy that it even itches when he does, which is pretty much time to call it quits.




I want to go there, Andrew Y.

You already voted!

21 thoughts on “Maru’s Got a Brand New Bag

  1. 6rabbits October 14, 2017 / 10:08 am

    Ha! He had to come out to scratch!?
    I think Maru is seriously nuts! Even another cat–Hana–can’t figure him out!

  2. Ffleur October 14, 2017 / 10:32 am

    Maru: I’d like to be alone with the bag
    Hana: You are so weird

    • Wuyizidi October 14, 2017 / 1:43 pm

      Maru: I’m not weird, I’m special.

  3. julie October 14, 2017 / 10:53 am

    Mugumogu clearly cut a hole in the bottom of the bag for Maru. She wrote that Maru “insisted”. How does he let her know?

    My Caturday mystery.

    Also, I originally typed “Caturdsy” instead of “Caturday” and the iPad did NOT autocorrect to something else. So “Caturdsy” is a word now. Maybe it means “reminiscent of Cat poop”. As in “…the new Queso at Chipotle tastes caturdsy.”

    • debg October 15, 2017 / 2:32 pm

      When Maru was little, mugumogu filmed a delightful video where she had cut a hole in the bottom of the bag and His Thickness promptly stuck his head inside the business end. He trotted around their home happily for hours that way. It was hilarious.

      • Dana October 15, 2017 / 3:06 pm

        “When Maru was little……” LOL!

        Or: “When Maru was the size of a normal cat….” ?

  4. allein ? October 14, 2017 / 11:21 am

    It’s a Starbucks bag…maybe he’s trying to tell Mugumogu that he needs his coffee.

    On a side note, I should watch Maru videos while listening to news more often (listening to the WTF Just Happened Today? podcast from the past few days). It makes it all a little easier to take.

    • Laura October 15, 2017 / 9:29 pm

      I’ve been subscribed to that newsletter for months now, and sometimes listen to the podcast instead. It all depends on if I can stand to hear the full detail of the news, minimal as it is. Some days I just can’t, so I glance at the headlines and call it enough. As short as it is, even that brief coverage of the news is often too much these days. It makes me crazy that the whole world is laughing at us….:(

      Maru is balm for my soul at times like this! The world may be going crazy, but Maru still is dependably in love with his bags and boxes!

      • allein ? October 15, 2017 / 10:27 pm

        I know how you feel :-/

      • Catwhisperer October 16, 2017 / 11:45 am

        I would like a magic bag to put over my head until 2021.

  5. Andrew October 14, 2017 / 11:32 am

    Fave part is when he tried to scratch with the bag still on XD <3

  6. dubravkamcvmd October 14, 2017 / 12:03 pm

    Maru has a complex emotional life – until he has an itch.

  7. Smartypants October 14, 2017 / 4:39 pm

    Hana is the best sidekick – she checks every now and then to be sure he’s not stuck, then just leaves him to it!

  8. Not That Mike The Other Mike October 14, 2017 / 7:05 pm

    Andrew Y. sent a follow-up video in which Maru tires of the fantasy world inside the bag and just decides to wear it like a shirt.




    • debg October 15, 2017 / 2:36 pm

      OMG–ghost kitty on Maru’s bag! Do you think mugumogu is famous in Japan for being Maru’s hoomin?

  9. Michael October 15, 2017 / 3:40 am

    After a recent video I commented that Mugumogu used a static camera when some panning would have been useful, so I should note that here she was very active with the camera, following the action successfully. More imagination, better result (to my mind).

    We have a debate as to whether Hana is a calm sidekick or baffled observer; I vote for baffled. After all this time you’d think she’d be used to Maru’s peculiarities but to me she seems confused.

    In the bonus video, when the bag gets hung up on something and Maru walks out of it, he looks up at Mugumogu as if to ask “Why did you let that happen?” — like it was her fault.

    Why does a Japanese Starbucks bag have so much English on it?

    • Alice Shortcake October 15, 2017 / 4:33 am

      EVERYTHING in Japan has English on it!

  10. N. Fritz October 15, 2017 / 6:24 am

    Anyone else desperately want to synchronize this song https://youtu.be/rnDEr9R0snU to Maru’s video and Mike’s headline?!

    • Ricky's Mom October 16, 2017 / 6:29 am

      First thing I thought of. I don’t need to walk around with headphones on; I have an inner soundtrack going on almost all the time!

  11. Katie October 15, 2017 / 9:45 am

    This made me nostalgic for the original “Maru walks around with bag on his head; likes it” video – it was my first introduction to the wacky world of Maru!




    • debg October 15, 2017 / 2:33 pm

      Yes, that’s the one I described above! Such a wonderfully weird kitty.

Comments are closed.