Story (8/10)
Art (9/10)
Sound (7/10)
Character (7/10)
Enjoyment (8/10)
The story is definitely Hentai Ouji's unique point. The Warawanai Neko acts as the wildcard of the anime, allowing the plot of the anime to justify extending infinitely in any direction. Basically, since the Warawanai Neko can grant any wish at a cost (think Tsubasa Chronicles), anything is game and the world can be destroyed at the whim of the characters. Of course, the foundation of the plot is still the whole "high-school-boy-with-a-bunch-of-girls-in-love-with-him", but that's what a harem-type anime is and, frankly, it never gets old. As long as there's enough variation and excitement to distinguish the story, which author Sou Sagara did admirably. Anime, manga, and light novel are all consistent with regards to storyline, which is fantastic. Only grievance? The plot gets pretty wild at times, so the story gets somewhat difficult to follow.
Round, chubby, cute and fluffy. Four words to describe this anime's art style. Just look at the OP - the artists were clearly trying to give people heart attacks. Naturally, not everyone likes this kind of art style. I will agree, sometimes an anime too based in this kind of cuteness becomes hard to watch (I'm sorry, K-On!). But the art is good - you can't deny that. It's really encouraging to see an anime where the artists were clearly given ample time to draw, design, and really give the characters life.
The music fits with the art style, but it takes the puffiness to another level. Lots of bells, tinkles, and chimes. Half of the OST seems to be played on the xylophone. Creates a great mood, but the theme limits the songs to be just "cute" pieces instead of timeless tunes.
The characters in Hentai Ouji are full of various controversies. They are...quite stereotypical. The perverted high schoolboy. The silent Nagato-type. The tsundere. The yandere. The little sister. Classic tried and true roles, yes, but almost no effort given to move the characters even a bit out of their roles. The perveted main character, especially, while not often used, is a difficult character role to pull of because of the divided mixed reactions it usually receives - either people love it or hate it. And its still a commonly-used mold. The only character that seems to be a bit unique is Ponta - it's been a while since a side-character's given up hedonism for world peace.
BUT.
They are so well developed, it's hard not to love them. Despite their actions being predictable, despite their words being overused, despite the fact that you could probably guess every next move in the entire anime, the characters are developed in such a way that you really appreciate them in all their cliche-ness. I particularly like the amount of work and detail they put into Asuna's character - she's beyond the normal tsundere and in a class of her own.
Whether laughing at Yokodera's antics or empathizing with Tsukiko's issues, the anime is quite able to bring the story alive and deliver it in an enjoyable package. The anime moves at a rapid pace - 4 episodes managed to knock out the entire first volume of the series. This change of pace is well-needed, and its refreshing to see Yokodera completing routes so quickly. The ending was one of the best conclusions to a 12-episode anime I have ever seen, nicely wrapping up the plotline while offering a sweet and memorable scene. Any ending that can make characters seem even cooler than they already were is a great ending in my book.
Overall (8/10)
All in all, HenNeko is a great anime to watch - funny, charming, and crazy. Would recommend this to anyone in need of some new anime to track in 2013.
