Nyan Koi Review

Full Review

Pro: Animation, main love intrests, cats

Con: Side characters can become to cliched and tiring, the ending is not the best

Final Thoughts: All in all, Nyan Koi was a diamond in the rough in terms of the harem genre for me. Ok let’s get one thing straight I am not a fan of harems. The setup I always get is one spineless guy and a bunch of overly gorgeous girls waiting on him hand and foot for some ungodly reason. In the meantime you get loaded with fan service, frequent misunderstandings and a busload of female stereotypes that can sometimes get downright degrading. With all this in mind and the fact that Nyan Koi is in fact a harem, why did I enjoy it? Why did I not really hate all the clichés and not mind the fan service as much? Why do I give this a three star rating out of five, versus tons of other harems that receive 2 or less? Well here is my best attempt to try to explain why I think that is. I don't think it’s strong enough to sway most harem haters, but it certainly is more tolerable than say 95% of all other harems out there. However I would not go as far to say that every anime fan should check this out. There are a lot unchecked boxes that this show does not attempt to fill, but even so if you are a bit of a harem fan (and have a thing for cats) there is absolutely no reason why you should not check this out.

Story: For this review I am not going to bother to go into too much of the "story" because honestly the premise is not what draws you in, it’s the way they tone down and tone up certain elements that most harems fail to recognize. This show knows it’s a harem, goes about telling it simply while becoming pretty entertaining in the end. It does not go too into the drama instead it focuses on the romance and/or comedy. We do not get three to five romances undeveloped instead we get a main developed one, that of course being Mizuno and Junpei. Strangely enough our main character's name being Junpei means one who is pure and or genuine and I'd say that a good way to describe this anime overall "genuine". No relationship can be more genuine than our main one between Mizuno and Junpei.

As far as relationships to root for, I'd say this one puts up a pretty good show. Mizuno is kind of your typical good athlete, cute, smart perfect girl, but the show also gives her some cute little quirks like being into cats (how appropriate) and yakuza bosses. It’s a very small quirk for sure, but they do play up these elements to make it come across a little more believable. It’s one thing to say she’s good at sports and school; it’s another to actually take the time to show it. I think this is something most harems miss. As for her "relationship" with our spineless lead they actually devote more time to develop it, and not in a degrading way, but in an almost genuine way. Sure there are stupid misunderstandings and convenient trips and falls, but they play in much better and almost make you hope for them. These two did not start out loving each other. They show when they first met which was very enjoyable to watch not just from a comedic standpoint, but from a development stand point, at least in my eyes. They don't go on dates together "alone" they are essentially conveniently in the same class and pass by each other on the street. But here’s the thing, THIS IS USUALLY HOW RELATIONSHIPS START. The story plays with that element which shows self-realization. These two are extremely pure and innocent in their nature versus the crazy supporting cast. The show frequently pokes fun at this contrast as if our two mains are in their own little world. The ending is not all that great for 12 episodes, but it could have been a whole lot worse. (and trust me I have seen a lot worse)

The comedy is not Ranma 1/2 funny, but will induce a good chuckle or two each episode. Some episodes provide more comedy than others for sure though. The fanservice is prevalent, but not..."as bad" as it could be at least for my standards.

Characters: Character wise the main cast is just, ok. The mains Junpei and Mizuno work much better when they are together and Kana can get a little too (childhood friend/tsudere) generic. The supporting cast excluding the cats can be quite intolerable at times, but thankfully they really don't get too much focus. I am really glad this harem set is rather small compared to say Nisekoi which tries to get you to love all 10 girls in some way.

Art: Animation works surprisingly well especially in the first few episodes. The comedy scenes are smooth, slick and more expressive which defiantly helps some of the slower moments.

Sound: The music is pretty generic, but the opening theme's lyrics are (not going to lie) quite corny, but still cute and I could not bring myself to hate it even though many people may say otherwise.

Final Score: 3 stars

Recommendations:

Love Hina/My Bride is a Mermaid/Narue no Sekai

#nyankoi #review #3stars #fall #2009