Nyan Koi!

I've had this anime on my hard drive for a while now but I've never really worked up the motivation to watch it until today. Nyan Koi was originally a manga but was serialized as an anime in late 2009. I know I'm a bit late to be reviewing this but my blog intention was never to be reviewing all the latest anime and manga. I just put up animes I watch and see what you guys have to say. Or you could recommend me a anime/manga to review. 

The plot isn't very original and again there are cats involved (oh lawd). The general gist is that the main protagonist Junpei, has a severe allergy of cats and as a result despises them. However one day, he accidentally breaks the local cat statute representing a spiritual guardian of some sort, and he gains the ability to understand and communicate to cats. He soon learns that he was placed under a curse to grant 100 wishes to cats and shall he fail, he himself would be transformed into a cat.

I don't adore or dislike animals but I never understood the obsession with them, the idea just seemed so hypocritical because it tends to only be directed at a specific type. Usually the obsession is caused by media perception and a belief in a deeper bond. Let me tell you now, that pigs have been scientifically proven to be smarter than dogs and are ranked 4th in a scale of intelligence, humans being the first then apes and dolphins. Dogs were only chosen to be a domestic pet because of a combination of luck and appearance. In an alternate reality, we could just as well have pigs as dogs.

Not that I hate dogs or anything, but if I do choose to like one it'll be because of it's independent personality or character trait. I believe dogs, like humans also have individual personalities. Just because you like one dog doesn't mean you like all dogs. It's like saying that because you liked Fred the Caucasian, you instantly assume you like every Caucasian in the world.

But let's not talk about animals and get back to the anime. The story begins with a scene from a dream (again?!) and it's a confession between the protagonist and his romantic interest. If you're not already shaking your head at this point then let me help with this picture.

Yes, that is a hair sticking to his nose

I have no idea where to begin. Can a show really be executed this badly and with such a major turnoff? Well, here you have it. They say a picture tells a thousand words and although I was never one to turn over to silly meaningless quotes for comfort, there really is no other way to explain.

LIKE A BOSS

isthisreallife.jpg

The animation is decent although some things about the character designs irk me. I enjoyed the voice acting of the female protagonist Mizuno, but most if not all the voice acting done for the cats really got on my nerve. Perhaps the idea of cats talking just doesn't sit right in my head.

Anyway, Nyan Koi is your typical light-hearted school romance delivered with an irrelevant side plot just to make the whole experience seem less typical and boring in general. Not the worst anime I've seen for it's genre but there are countless other animes in the same genre that I can list that are better than this one.

BEWARE CUTE ANIME GIRLS

Seems like the only thing driving this anime forward (this genre actually) is a heavy reliance on creating the perfect anime girl with the most unrealistic personality possible in a pathetic attempt to reel in sex deprived otaku virgins living in the basement of their mother's va- house. In case you don't know, otaku is a Japanese term for people with an obsession for anime and/or manga... why are you looking at me like that?! I'm not an otaku!... Ok, maybe I am. But unfortunately this tactic has been overused to the point of irritation that it only served as another aspect to direct my contempt towards.

Another thing that bothered me were the differences in sizes of the character's pupils. The guy's eyes are like dots in a vast ocean of nothingness while the girl's eyes are god damn HUUGGEE. Some scenes are drawn so poorly that it just looks completely out of the ordinary.

cats and "stuff"

Why does the cat have a "M" on it's forehead?

To sum it up, I didn't laugh much, smiled at a few scenes but this was very poor for an anime that is supposed to be part "comedy". Most of the jokes were bland and predictable, nothing I haven't seen before.

Nyan Koi, be happy with a borderline 4/10. This is pretty much my average rating for animes. And as always, I will review again once I'm finished with the series to see if it gets any better.

Rating: 4/10