Yokodera Youto is a master at hiding his true nature. He realizes that this creates a problem because he can’t honestly say what he thinks. Hearing rumors of a statue of a cat that can remove an undesirable personality trait, he finds it and prays for its façade to be removed. Unfortunately – every wish comes at a price, and the unwanted traits are transferred to someone else.
After realizing that expressing his thoughts without thinking is not good for him, Youto decides to regain his lost traits by trying to find the person who took them over. Unfortunately, a rumor he heard about a wish-fulfilling statue quickly spread, causing a lot of harm to people unaware of the consequences. Youto through this must restore everything to normal not only in his life, but also in the lives of others.
Table of Content
Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. (2013) – Audiovisual design
Video
J.C.Staff studio is responsible for the animation. However, the original author of the character design for the source material in the form of a light novel was Kantoku. Anyway, I reviewed an artbook dedicated to the characters some time ago, and it was actually thanks to him that I decided to watch this anime. The review is available here.
It may not have been the studio’s prettiest-looking series, but overall it still held a high standard. Both in terms of detailed drawing and animation itself. The whole thing is certainly distinguished by detailed character design strongly modeled on the original, which I wrote about above. The backgrounds also look great. Especially those covering the scenery.
Audio
In the main roles appear such names as Ogura Yui, Tamura Yukari, Kaji Yuuki and Ishihara Kaori. Generally speaking – a stellar cast. Of course, each of them did an unbelievably good job playing their characters, but Ogura Yui as Tsukiko (an emotionless heroine) impressed me the most.
The soundtrack blended perfectly with the events depicted, but it was not something I would return to after watching the series. The song used in the opening is very catchy, although it required several listens to make it likeable.
Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. (2013) – Plot and Characters
Introduction
The entire plot of the series is based on dealing with the consequences of inconsiderate wishes. The main role here is played by a deity in the form of a cat figurine, who has the power to take away unwanted character traits and pass them on to others who need them. Thus, after watching the whole thing, I can conclude that the very title of the series (Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko, or Hentai Prince and the Cat Who Never Smiles) is probably the most misleading title I’ve seen.
A quick look at the plot and characters
The beginning is fairly typical of romantic comedies. Youto takes a strong interest in female curves, peeping at the changing clothes of his female colleagues at the sports club. He is caught in the act, but, as usual, he manages to wriggle out of the whole situation quite efficiently. The boy realizes that he won’t last long, taking on more and more masks depending on the situation. As soon as he heard a rumor about a cat figure that supposedly can remove unwanted character traits and pass them on to others, he decides to try his luck.
At the site she meets a girl named Tsukiko, who came there for the same reason. She wanted to get rid of excess emotions. To their surprise, their wishes are granted, but they soon realize that the character traits taken away from them were an inseparable part of them and they are unable to live without them. So they decide to get them back at all costs.
From that point on, I was completely caught off guard, as I was expecting a rather laid-back romantic comedy coming from Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. This, however, was not the case. Already from the end of the first episode comes a really interesting supernatural plot, which turns the lives of the characters we are introduced to upside down. The main characters – Yokoder Youto, Tsutsukakushi Tsukiko, her older sister Tsukushi and their school friend Azuki Azusa.
Each episode is about struggling and learning to accept ourselves. The series also shows directly that not everything we want turns out to be good for us. Anyway, this becomes painfully apparent to the characters themselves, who time and again have to deal with the consequences of their reckless wishes. The situation is complicated by the fact that there are other cat figurines with similar powers, albeit with much more influence on the reality around them. A series of unfortunate events slowly leads them to a small catastrophe.
The icing on the cake is the final chapter of the story shown in the anime adaptation consisting of the last two episodes. I didn’t expect that Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko would surprise me again and be able to evoke emotion.
Other remarks
The whole mysterious setting and general atmosphere in this series reminded me a bit of Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai. Maybe it’s not the events themselves, but the vibe of the story and the way the main characters deal with their problems.
Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. – Evaluation and summary
I was expecting a completely different type of story and was quite surprised by the end of the first episode. The fact that the whole thing was very much to my liking is probably clear. I was glad to find another gem. It’s a pity that these twelve episodes were only a small part of the whole story presented in the light novel. It’s even more of a pity that the adaptation of the rest I’m unlikely to see again, since it’s been ten years since the premiere of the first season, and the publication of the source material ended in 2019, so there’s nothing left to advertise. Of course – exceptions used to happen and some series got a continuation after many years, but here I do not have high hopes.
In addition to the plot itself, the directing, the work of the voice actors and the characters, I enjoyed the great balance between the comedy plot, drama and romance. Twenty minutes of each episode felt more like five minutes. My score: 8.5/10.
Which translation do I recommend to watch Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko. (2013)
- Doki – superb translation, which I can recommend in good conscience (as usual with this group).
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