Even though they might look alike, Tamala is the anti-Hello Kitty. Poking fun at mass merchandising along with many mature subject matters, this first volume of a trilogy pushes weirdness and audacity as far as it goes. At first, it may only look like a jumble of both cute and sordid situations, and that may be all there is to it, but with the magic of unpredictability, you always want to see what comes next. The surreal world of Tamala, even though strictly computer generated, is filled with so many details you can't hope to catch everything the first time around.

However, for better and for worse, the same can be said about the storyline, which slowly establishes a relation between our heroine, a religious symbol and the world-dominating Catty & Co. While it is always nice to go kick things into high gear, Tol (a congregation of artists in various fields, responsible for Tamala 2010 and its progeny) should have found another approach than the interminable oration of a decaying cat, which seems to go on for hours without answering any real questions. Even if it only is one third of the big picture, some partial closure would have been nice. It is also that at this point in the movie, you are completely desensitized from cursing kitties and mice in bondage. The first times Tamala does her not-so-cute act are hilarious and disturbing, yet you eventually get used to her antics.

The future episodes will hopefully shed some light on the storyline, but as an attention-grabber, A Punk Cat in Space works marvelously well since, love or hate it, it is impossible to remain indifferent to this anime.