This is review number two hundred and seventeen. This anime is still part of the Spring 2013 lineup. I think I am halfway through excluding the ongoing ones. The anime I’ll be reviewing is Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko or “The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat”. You can also call it HenNeko since mentioning the name is a hassle yet light novels seem to have a fetish with long names. It’s like a conspiracy. This is a twelve episode anime about a really perverted guy and a kuudere falling in love or something. It’s cute and among one the best in the lineup, in my honest opinion. Let’s read on.

Story

Youto Yokodera is a perverted high school boy that shameless proclaims his love for girls. He seems to be an automatic liar though that covers up his shameless love to prevent others from seeing it. This is not OK for Youto. So when he heard of a cat that grants wishes by giving away what you don’t need to someone else, he decided to try it out. At the top of the lone cedar hill, where the cat statue is in, he meets a girl named Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi who visited the statue hoping to better hide her honest feelings since she often blurts it out. It’s been a problem for her since her honest emotions is preventing her for enjoying her life. The cat statue seemed to shine brightly though when it heard the wishes of the two but they dismissed it as nothing. They were surprised the next morning though when Youto would act upon his perversion very blatantly in public and Tsukiko would successfully become a full pledged kuudere. The wish worked but it seems that it worked too well. The two now plan to get things back to the way they are.

Taking the Pants Off

HenNeko is one the biggest surprises of the Spring 2013 lineup. I think I am halfway done with the list and I was ready to wrap things up. I didn’t expect this show to be so hilarious and very entertaining. The premise is pretty solid. You have a very perverted guy seemingly involved with a bunch of girls. The addition of a stone cat that grants wishes gave this a refreshing twist though. It’s really not the most remarkable premise there is, but the execution of it all and the way the characters just give life to the show made the whole thing pretty damn entertaining. There are a few flaws here and there but this show is pretty solid. You really just have to try the first episode to see the beauty of the anime. The way it establishes the premise and intrigues the audience with it was pretty amazing. I was instantly hooked. The first episode seemed to be a worrying sign for the anime as well though because the progression of the story is surprisingly fast. It’s all good though just to see the main character play with a girl’s belly button.

The story of the anime is a pretty simple one. The idea of a perverted guy acting on his perversion while a cute girl suddenly became a kuudere had a lot of promise in it. Their wishes proved to be too effective and now they want to get back what they’ve given away. They decided to fix Youto’s problem first since they think that the cat statue gave his false bravado skills to this high class girl in their school. I’m sure the plot is familiar at this point. As the anime progresses, Youto becomes closer to Tsukiko as they try to get back what they lost while he also slowly get closer to the girl that owns his bravado, Azusa Azuki. Things get pretty personal for Youto as he slowly learns about the girls and the road towards a resolution seems to a tough choice for this guy. The slapstick comedy and the cute moments he has with the girls are pretty fun to watch though. It’s really what grabbed me when I saw the first episode. There was this nice balance of Ecchi, Comedy and Romance in the story that feels like a little more build up will result in some pretty decent pay off. On just the first episode alone, you have Youto teasing a tsundere while acting on his perversion and then you also have this cool heart to heart with a kuudere that I just find pretty intriguing. It just screams awesomeness and I seriously want more. There is a problem with the story though. It has a worryingly fast pacing.

I don’t want to spoil much but the premise of the anime about Youto and Tsukiko regaining what they lost is nicely resolved early on in the first half. This was a pretty brilliant premise and it had a cute love triangle that seems appropriate enough to stretch to the twelve episode limit of the anime. They decided to conclude it pretty early on which was pretty questionable. The reason is fairly simple. This is not a love triangle. This is a harem. Obviously, there need to be more to introduce the other girls and the current premise cannot satisfy that. So the story is actually divided into little arcs and each arc concerns a girl. I think there are four arcs in the anime concerning different girls. This may sound a bit confusing and honestly, this was done by a certain Spring 2013 anime as well that ended in disaster. This anime was able to maintain balance because of one important element: Supernatural. Mainly, each arc revolves around certain important wishes that pretty much launch the story for each arc.

I was honestly concerned with the Supernatural aspect of the anime at first. I’ve seen it done before and it usually makes more of a mess with the story rather than improve it. This was not the case in this anime. The cat statue that grants wishes actually held the anime together even though it was hurriedly shifting from one arc to another. The balance was nicely maintained despite the status quo abruptly changing as the show progresses. Of course, the amazing characters also saved this show. There are four arcs in this anime but let me explain the overall story first. This anime is about Youto being involved with some girls. Since certain wishes affect him in a way, he always seems to feel responsible and think of a solution out of the problem. This involves being with the girls and having a close relationship with them. This eventually blossoms into something more and Youto would slowly find himself building a harem. This was a very indirect harem though. The girls never gather and do stupid fan service just for the sake of it. The story about the wishes takes precedence and Youto usually teases a girl when he gets the chance.

I’ll be discreet about the arcs since they’re pretty important to the brilliance of the show. The first one is about the wish made on the lone cedar hill cat statue. Youto and Tsukiko met and they made their wish. The decided to get back what they lost and what Youto needs is conveniently with Azusa Azuki. The cat statue seems to take what you don’t need and give it to someone else who does need it. When Youto discovers Azusa has what he gave away, he decided that the only way to retrieve it is to convince Azusa that she doesn’t need a false bravado. His methods are crazy insane though and really hilarious to the point where you would even question his motives. Of course, Azusa’s reason for needing the cat statue’s help is also brought up and things get a bit personal for Youto and Azusa.

The second arc is about Tsukiko and her sister. Her big sister seems to have a massive hate for her and she thinks that she deserves it. Youto thinks that sisters shouldn’t be like that though and decided to intervene. This would all culminate in Youto discovering the weird family setup of the sisters and being forced to live with them. Things aren’t what they seem in the Tsutsukakushi household as certain bonds get progressively insane with the cat statue adding fuel to the fire. This plot point had a decent buildup since it was nicely introduced at the first few episodes along with the first arc. Youto being close to Tsukiko opened this arc and his involvement with the big sister build it up for the eventual climax.

The third arc is the “bunny” arc. I want to be discreet with this one. The anime introduced this one on the second half of the anime along with a new girl. This girl seems to know the cat statue and its strange powers. She decided to have some fun with it as she forces Youto to play along. Her childish acts get way out of line though and Youto decided to stop her before she does some permanent damage. The new girl isn’t the only thing bothering him though as his relationship with Azusa and Tsukiko is heavily spotlighted as well. The fourth arc is about Youto’s relationship with Tsukiko. She seems to be worrying over something and Youto is concerned about it. This has the typical wrap up since it’s the final arc but the involvement of the cat statue added some needed fun to it. The plot is pretty simple but the anime did a good job of making it intriguing until the end.

Usually an anime with four arcs told in twelve episodes can get pretty damn confusing. The anime did have some slip ups here and there. The progression of the arcs felt a bit forced at times. It seems like it was cramming too much that a clearer presentation of the arcs is compromised. A lot of things happened in the anime that made it a bit hard to follow. One crazy thing happens on top of the other that does get overwhelming at times. The lack of explanation behind the cat statue also made it hard to appreciate the arcs. The cat statue seemed to be glossed over just like how Kokoro Connect denied explanation for the alien plant monster that harasses the kids. The one thing that made HenNeko easier to watch though is because the wishes themselves add a lot to the plot despite the lack of explanation for the cat statue. It often wouldn’t matter what the cat statue is about when you see it granting some crazy wishes. The pacing is still undeniably fast as well. Some of the conflicts in the anime are too good to end in just two or three episodes so I often felt a bit concerned how the anime will handle the rest of the episodes. It ends conflicts way too quickly and starts another with the same hectic pace. The mystery aspect concerning the arcs is also compromised. They don’t have the decent buildup it deserves so its revelation doesn’t have much of an impact. There are certain points in the story where Youto is trying to figure out who made the wish and the reveal was pretty lukewarm simply because the pacing was too fast. It doesn’t get convoluted but the anime was clearly sabotaging the story to make the characters look good and they did a great job if it.

The characters are the biggest appeal of the anime. They really carried the show especially when things got a bit overwhelming. As long as you focus on the familiar romantic buildup of the characters then you can easily enjoy the anime. Youto is the typical lead character for anime with a harem. He is the concerned guy that goes out of his way to help a girl and they eventually fall head over heels for him. He is also the idiot type that seems to innocently lead a girl on and doesn’t realize that his adding way too many girls in his collection. The thing that sets him apart though is his perversion. It’s not as severe as you’d expect but it’s enough to make him interesting. He teases the girls in the anime and he often finds himself in pretty perverted situations that he can’t help but admire. There was enough fan service in the anime to make you laugh and not turn you off which is pretty awesome. His relationship with the different girls is what makes this anime interesting though.

The other main character is Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi. She is the girl that wishes she doesn’t express her emotions honestly all the time. She also claims to not be tasty and maybe wait for two more years for stuff to grow in. She’s cute. It was the fact that she is a kuudere that made her pretty special though. She gets a lot of screen time with Youto and she obviously likes him. She can’t properly express her feelings though and, when you’d expect her to blush and cry in shame, she’d just say “I see” with a pretty normal reaction. It’s often a bit of a guilty pleasure to see her twirl her hair just to know that she is pretty happy since her face can’t properly express it. I wish other kuudere can be as entertaining as her. Her relationship with Youto is pretty interesting. As the anime progresses, things gradually become more intense yet there are certain hurdles that keeps it going to the right direction. The appearance of the others girls is easily one of those hurdles.

The rest of the girls are pretty interesting as well. There is the tsundere, the loud girl and the big sister that also gets a chance with Youto. The interaction among them and the guy is really fun to watch. Each of them is different and the level of teasing that goes down between each girl is special in its own way. I am a bit sad that some of them aren’t properly featured as other girls but it is expected since the story was too compacted. The girls did a great job at their individual arcs though and the anime was smart by making sure every scene they are in is worth the watch. You can also bet that you can never tire watching the characters since the anime was smart by making sure each relationship progresses enough to keep it interesting.

The cat statue is an interesting character as well. The anime never properly explained its existence but it’s pretty clear that it was nothing more than a plot device. This was an important part of the anime though because it adds mystery to the various arcs and it made every relationship more personal. Figuring out the basics of the statue is also half the fun. Well, at least for it was. You never seem to understand exactly what the cat statue is about and the anime kept avoiding the topic but the various bits and pieces is there to help you figure it out. Don’t worry though. The anime explained the cat statue later on in the anime. I’m glad they did because things got pretty crazy as the anime progresses.

I love this show despite the rocky progression. It looks like JC Staff is slowly building back their lost momentum. Little Busters is a miss back in Fall but if they keep producing great stuff like HenNeko then I’m sure they can bring back their glory. The landscape has greatly changed though from when Romance anime from JC Staff was potent. The heavy invasion of Light Novels made this studio lost its footing but it won’t be long till they bounce back if they keep embracing great works like HenNeko. This is a great show that proves that a good balance of the various elements can make a hurriedly paced anime turn into an engaging one.

Sight and Sound

I love Kantoku’s original character design. The way he emphasizes on the details of his characters made them really stand out. He takes the conventional “moe” look and just adds a lot of detail in one character that they pretty much gain a personality from the looks alone. The female characters of the anime are all pretty incredible. They still possess a certain archetype and I see that as a nice way to familiarize with the characters. They all have the standard big head and big expressive eyes. Like I said, it’s the detail work that makes awesome. From their hair style to their different outfit, the characters are really great eye candy that I really admire. Haruko Iizuka nicely translated the light novel looks for the anime though. The amazing detail work is lost though but the cuteness of the characters is nicely retained throughout the anime. The bright color palette and the constant blushes of the characters was a nice touch from the anime. The characters all had different body types and I love the variety of it all despite the familiar looks of the characters. Youto looks pretty ordinary though. Most lead characters don’t have much going on for their looks. He has a simple hairstyle and an even simpler body template that doesn’t really catch the eye. It’s the animation work for this bastard that makes him stand out.

Animation is pretty decent. The way the characters move are all pretty nice and the constant blushing of the characters was a nice touch. A lot of them fidget about and act all nervous from time to time and the anime did a great job of capturing their personality while they do so. The cuteness was nicely contained and they made sure their eye candy fanciness was pronounced all throughout. There aren’t a lot of standout animations though except for the playful banters of the characters which are all pretty great. The added effect concerning the statue cat was also a nice touch. The animation was consistent all throughout and that’s really the best part of it for me.

The fan service is pretty great. The simple scenes of the characters showing off their body were pretty nice. I love Azusa in her bikini. The constant touching of the characters was also cute. From simple hugging to rubbing a certain sensitive girl’s belly button, it does get pretty rowdy from time to time. The standard Ecchi things like boob grabbing and falling on top of a girl is also present in the anime but it doesn’t overtake the anime. There’s just enough to truly call our lead a pervert but not enough to call the anime full on Ecchi.

The anime’s OP is “Fantastic future” by Yukari Tamura. This is a pretty energetic song. I love it. The song itself is a bit romance but it’s the constant repeating of words in the lyrics that made the song grow on you. The verse is pretty simple but it has a build up for the chorus that I do like. The chorus then hits with cute lyrics and Yukari’s bubbly voice. The OP sequence features shots of Tsukiko and Azusa being cute. There are also shots of their school uniform, mostly the skirt and the exposed belly button as they sway around. The adorable faces are also highlighted which was a nice touch. The OP also had all the characters and a small summary of the events of the anime.

The anime’s ED is “Baby Sweet Berry Love” by Yui Ogura. I love this ED. It’s now one of my favorite ever. The song itself is pretty normal. It’s just a cute song with sugary lyrics with a suggestive message. It is very catchy though and you can’t help smiling while you hear it. It doesn’t compare to the adorable ED sequence though. It features Tsukiko dancing and lip-syncing the song. Her other self appears as they do the song together. It has cute shots of Tsukiko being “moe” but also nicely transitioned animation as she dances along with the song. It’s pretty flashy but you can still see how cute she is as she dances the song. It’s pretty awesome.

Overall Score

7/10 “The brilliant characters and their colorful interaction made this anime pretty great despite the fast pacing that did ruin the good thing the anime had going.”

This is a really entertaining anime. The story was crammed a bit but the wonderful balance of the anime really made a difference and the engaging characters also carried the show pretty well. If you love harem anime with all the girls getting decent turns with the guy then you’ll love this show. If you love simple romance anime then this show won’t disappoint. If you enjoy Comedy with a touch of Ecci then this show is for you. It’s a really great one. I recommend it.