Nyan Koi!
At one time or another we all want to know what cats are saying. Worst. Mistake. Ever.
What They Say:
When cat-allergic Junpei Kosaka damages a statue of a cat deity, the cats don’t just get his tongue, they put theirs in his mouth! Now cursed with the ability to understand felines, Junpei must perform one hundred great favors for cat-kind or face the fate of being turned into a cat himself! (Hey, would you want to spend the rest of your life licking your own backside?) Life quickly becomes a purrfect hell as every cat in the neighborhood starts sending Junpei their list of “requests.” And if the kitties weren’t already whipping him into a catatonic stupor, the women in his life are making things even worse. His sister, mom and the girl he has secret feelings for are all cat-crazy; the local Yakuza’s daughter is playing cat and mouse; the local cat-owning monk’s daughters are acting catty; and Junpei’s childhood best friend is ready to use him as a scratching post! Get ready for the ultimate catfight on the road to purrdition in this cataclysmic complete collection of Nyan Koi!
Audio:
The audio presentation for this release is a significant bump up from the previous monolingual DVD release that we had as we get the original Japanese language track in stereo and a new English language dub, both of which presented using the DTS-HD MA lossless codec. Though the show has a fair number of physical pratfalls and comedic elements, it’s by and large a dialogue driven shown, but one with lots of loud moments and over the top reactions. The mix handles it well, giving it a big feeling when needed, while still handling the regular dialogue well with decent placement and even a fair bit of depth when required. The cat voices are done nicely since they generally feel like they’re properly placed though sometimes it has a less than clear feeling as it seems to be disconnected from where they’re standing. The mix does good with the music as it has the best full feeling and overall the show is about what you’d expect with a clean and clear problem free presentation.
Video:
Originally airing 2009, the transfer for this twelve episode series is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1 in 1080p using the AVC codec. The series is spread across two discs with nine on the first and three on the second. While I had liked the previous DVD presentation, it has a much more vibrant look and feel here with more pop to the colors and a whole lot more of a solid design to it. This is a good bump up from what we had before where there was some noise in the backgrounds. Detail is very well presented here with nothing to note when it comes to the small line work or the quality of the backgrounds. It’s also here where some of the colors really pop with the greens of trees for example. The character animation is where all the quality is though and it’s definitely appealing.
Packaging:
The packaging for this release is done in a standard sized Blu-ray case where the two discs are placed against the interior walls. The front cover here doesn’t go quite the gratuitous route that we had with the previous edition as we get a couple of the lead girls here in their school uniforms, with a cat as well, where they’re smiling and having a good bit of fun. It’s obviously focusing on the physical qualities, but there’s something to be said for the baggy sweater that one of them is wearing. The cover also makes it clear here that the release has a new English language dub, which is good to see. The back cover keeps things simple but very clean and effective as we get a few shots from the show along the upper third along with the episode count, extras listed and a reminder about the dub itself which stands out well. There’s a good bit of character artwork in the middle third next to the solid premise while the bottom third is fleshed out with the production credits and the accurate technical grid. No show related inserts are included nor is there a reversible cover.
Menu:
The menu design for this release is one that goes for some cute fetish material as we get our two leads once again where they’re in their maid uniforms for the school event. The background is a cute grid of various soft pastel colors in a grid with cat pawprints across it in a trail. The menu navigation itself is also really cute as it’s along the right, doubling as the pop-up menu, where it has the episodes by number and title with the number inside a little cat symbol. It’s a quick and easy to use menu that looks cute as well.
Extras:
The only extras included in here are the clean versions of the opening and closing sequences on the second volume.
Based on the manga series by Sato Fujiwara, Nyankoi is a twelve episode series that runs with a predictable storyline but manages to stay fresh and fun throughout. With only five volumes of manga material to work with, and still ongoing as of this writing, Nyankoi offers up some potential to do something fun though you know that it’s not going to be truly brought to a conclusion here simply because of the opening premise. Curses and all that’s associated with it is fairly traditional and marrying that with teenage romance and confusion isn’t all that much of a surprise. What makes it work is that the characters are fun and AIC put together a really good looking production here.
The series focuses on high school student Jyunpei Kousaka who leads a pretty good life and is generally happy, though not without his problems. Living with his mother and sister, his main problem at home is that he’s allergic to cats and lives in a very cat heavily family. His allergies get strong but he’s able to cope simply because he has to. In his school life, he’s your average student who is in love with a fellow classmate named Kaede Mizuno. Mizuno’s an attractive and smart girl who is a bit socially out of step since she’s missing some basic cues given by people and doesn’t quite get that Kousaka is interested in her. She’s a fun character who unfortunately lives in a family who loves dogs while she’s got a bit attraction to cats.
What throws Kousaka’s life for a loop is when he accidentally knocks of a cat statue outside of a shrine and finds himself cursed by them. The curse works on a couple of levels, the first of which is that Kousaka can understand the cats now. The main cat that informs him of all this is Nyamsus, the family cat. What he learns is that like the hundred ghost stories that are out there, there are also a hundred cat stories. And Kosuaka must deal with a hundred requests for help from cats in order to lift the curse. If he doesn’t, he’ll slowly turn into a cat himself, which is really going to be a problem since he’s allergic to them. His mind races to a visual of seeing himself turning into a cat and sneezing himself to death.
Naturally, he can’t tell anyone of this and the cats come to him continually in order to get things fixed in their lives, whether it’s getting off a diet their master put on them or telling someone that they really care. Or telling the scary lady that she’s holding them wrong and feeling trapped by her affections. Kousaka can understand it all and does his best to try and keep them all at a reasonable distance so he can discuss it with them without kicking off his allergies. And while trying not to look like a loon talking to and understanding cats. And the more he does help, since he doesn’t want to turn into a cat, the more his reputation spreads and more cats seek home out. Some days he can’t get a good night’s sleep or deal without problems at school. And forget a school trip to Kyoto as there are cats there that have heard of him.
Kousaka’s life can’t face just the challenge of solving the problems of cats. No, he has to deal with romantic issues as well. While he’s got the hots for Mizuno, and she has an inkling of interest in him, he also has to deal with his childhood friend of Kanako Sumiyoshi. Initially she’s a really outlandish piece, but she calms down a bit to something more reasonable as she wants to take on Kosuaka as a manservant for herself as she wants to get closer to him, knowing that he’s more interested in her friend Mizuno. Some of the confusion that ensues pushes things a bit with Mizuno and Sumiyoshi trying to not read too much into each others relationship with Kousaka while wanting more with him yet still being friends with each other. And it’s kind of sad watching it since Kousaka really has no interest in Sumiyoshi yet she keeps throwing herself at him.
The series introduces a few other women into the mix as well that causes some confusion along the way. Kousak’s friending of Chizuru Mochizuki is amusing as she’s a college aged young woman who has a part time job as a postal carrier that’s continually lost. Kousaka helps her out at one point and she makes a number of repeat visits to help out at the right time. Also showing up in the series is Nagi, a very male-ish young woman who has been hurt by love and went natural to such a degree that she wears track suits and people are surprised to learn that she’s really a she and not a he. The addition that amused me the most at first, but wore on as time went one, was the twin sisters of Kotone and Akari where Kotone is very much interested in Kousaka and has Akari messing it up from time to time. The pair are cute and Kotone has an amusing personality as she pursues Kousaka at first in a more serious manner.
While Nyankoi hits up a lot of predictable moments and plot points, both with the cats and their requests and the girls with the relationship material, it’s all brought together with a really nice job on the animation production. The characters have a lot of detail to them while making sure they’ve got a bit of height, something that keeps it from looking like a lot of typical high school comedies where they’re reduced in stature just a bit for effect. The show is kept mostly real world when it comes to the designs, with only Sumiyoshi pushing it a bit with her make-up early on. There isn’t anything out of this world with the storyline so the settings are familiar places that are again well detailed and colored, giving it a lived in feeling that you wouldn’t be surprised to see if you visited there. AIC has done a very good job with the look of the show and has even made sure to change up the characters outfits on a regular basis. And outside of some panty shots and the occasional boob-grab, they kept it from being a huge fanservice fest as well.
In Summary:
It’s been a few years since I last saw this series and I’ll admit that it was rather fun to revisit it and sample the dub along the way. I’ve never been a good judge of dubs but there’s a light and fun nature about it here during the areas I listened to it that it made me smile. But the show is one that will do that in general, even though you know it’s not going to get a complete and true ending. The romantic side of the show is fun and the girls outside of Nagi don’t bother me all that much when new ones are added. The humor is cute, the interactions with the cats made me laugh regularly and Kousaka is a fun enough character to pull off being the lead without being a real wimp. He’s not the most outgoing guy, but he knows what he wants and he knows what he doesn’t want. This release definitely does the show more justice with the high definition transfer as it comes to life a lot more and finally getting a fun and enjoyable dub only cements it more. It’s definitely one of those shows that may be familiar, but it does it well.
Features:
Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 Language, English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Language, English Subtitles, Clean opening, Clean Closing
Content Grade: B
Audio Grade: B+
Video Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B
Extras Grade: B-
Released By: Sentai Filmworks
Release Date: December 31st, 2013
MSRP: $69.99
Running Time: 300 Minutes
Video Encoding: 1080p AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen