I am still on my catgirl nostalgia kick, so I decided to look back at more famous nekomimi from the past. This week, let’s take a look at the Puma Twins, Anna and Uni Puma, who originally appeared in the manga Dominion by Masamune Shirow, the creator of Ghost in the Shell. Dominion also inspired multiple OVAs that were popular among American anime fans in the late 1990s and early 2000s. These twins caused quite a stir back then, and you are about to find out why.
Anna and Uni Puma were originally created as “love dolls,” but their AI allowed them to become sentient and take on lives of their own. Sadly for these twins, that life involved crime. They eventually joined up with a gang led by Buaku, and together they found themselves facing off against Leona Ozaki and the Newport City Tank Police. For the most part, the twins were minor villains who specialized in burglary and other crimes. That said, they were also known for their, shall we say, “charm.”
I mostly know them from the second OVA, New Dominion Tank Police, which aired on cable when I was growing up. In this version, Anna and Uni have red hair and are no longer working with Buaku. They are still a pain in the side of Leona and the Tank Police, however. Despite their appearance and original purpose, the twins were also built for combat. They possess superhuman strength, advanced targeting systems, and even the ability to change their size by consuming or expelling water.
In other words, the Puma Twins can do a lot more than just seduce their way out of trouble.
Much to my surprise, New Dominion Tank Police was not the last appearance of Anna and Uni. They also appeared in the little-known 2006 OVA Tank S.W.A.T. 01. And, in a particularly fun bit of nostalgia, the Puma Twins have even made a cameo in the new 2026 Ghost in the Shell anime.
Sadly, you do not see catgirls quite like the Puma Twins in anime as often anymore. They have that wonderfully over-the-top cyberpunk style that I think really deserves to make a comeback. Personally, I think they would fit right in during the current era of Chainsmoker Cats.
Maybe we need more heavily armed cyberpunk catgirls in anime again. I certainly wouldn’t complain!
So what do you think?