Director: Yooichi Ueda,
Starring: Mutsumi Tamura, Aaron Dismuke, Kanae Ito, Tia Ballard, Kana Hanazawa, Monica Rial, Haruka Tomatsu, Brittney Karbowski,
Running Time: 304 minutes
Certificate: 15
With a title like CAT PLANET CUTIES, you can pretty much surmise what the entire series is about. Cute girls that have a few traits similar to cats arrive on Earth from another planet. Anyone with even a passing interest in anime will also be able to correctly guess the tone of the show as well. Indeed it is cute with elements of romance and sci-fi thrown in, with a lot of fan service. When the show gets involved in areas outside of its light-hearted settings, is when it really shines.
An alien cat girl, Eris (Ito/Ballard), lands on Earth and is soon taken in by an Earth boy, Kio (Tamura/Dismuke). While she lives with the boy and learns the ways of Earth, there are also a number of government agencies and the like searching for her. At first the show gives the impression that it may follow a darker route than suspected. The action and violence is put at the forefront in beautifully choreographed sequences. The animation in these early scenes is also stunning in its detail. An opening brawl in the rain seems to treat every drop with as much importance as the punches and kicks being thrown. This level of detail is later confirmed as a series staple when we are shown the perspiration on a cool soda can on a hot summer’s day.
The early action introduces us to a series of female characters that have a connection to the male protagonist. It may be assumed that they are merely harem style love interests, but are quickly revealed to be strong and fierce members of government agencies. They are handy with guns and martial arts. It sets them up as potential antagonists as well as subverting the usual man worship that is on display in anime. Unfortunately it falls straight into that trap. Although the women remain physically strong, they are gradually worn down to emotional wrecks as they pine for Kio. It would have been fine for one of the young women to have feelings, but with all of them looking for love from someone who isn’t all that interesting, we’re distracted from the intergalactic mythology and more pressing concerns.
The show does manage to be a lot of fun with huge amounts of comedy thrown in. A series of little robot cats that can only communicate via placards are used sparingly for visual and slapstick humour. Eris herself is used as comic folly by having a warped understanding of Earth’s customs. It’s an obvious form of humour, but some of the events provide laugh-out-loud moments. She takes a lot of her etiquette from Kio’s secret magazines, resulting in embarrassing but successful faux pas. CAT PLANET CUTIES works as a comedy, romance, and action adventure, but never gels the different genre strands together perfectly. With a few too many jokes and situations aimed at nudity, it’s certainly one for adolescent males that like both boobs and cute things.
CAT PLANET CUTIES is released on DVD on 8th July via Manga Entertainment.
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