Bannou Bunka Neko-Musume

Cat Girl Nuku Nuku originated as a Manga by Takada Yuzo, you may recognise him as the writer of supernatural works such as 3x3 eyes and Blue Seed. The manga originally spanned a single volume with three chapters, when serialised, but spawned three OVAs, the first two of which are generally combined, a TV anime and two sequels. How does a writer known for supernatural works do with comedic subject matter? Let's take a look at All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, the combined OVAs.

The story begins with a father and his son running away from a hovercraft Young Ryunosuke finds a kitten in ... an alley and decides to take it with them. They crash into a pile of junked cars which causes the hovercraft to lose sight of them. Frustrated, the pilot opens fire into the pile of cars. The father and son are both okay, but the injured kitten is dying. That's when things move away from being serious and get really silly. The father transplants the cat's brain into an android body. It turns out that they were being chased by employees of Ryunosuke's mother who were trying to get him back from his father. The series launches into a group of loosely connected episodes dealing with Nuku Nuku's difficulties fitting into a human society and the bickering between Ryunosuke's parents which frequently involves giant robots. The overall story continually leads up to the two fighting less frequently and learning to understand each other which eventually culminates in them having to work together. If you're wondering about the science facts just remind yourself of two things. One, it's a comedy. Two, they never pretend that the science makes sense. As a comedy it actually holds up pretty well. The scenario has lots of good moments especially given its time limitations and the few serious moments generally work pretty well within the structure. The fight scenes are entertaining and most of them are pretty funny. It's a high energy farce that's fun for those old enough to appreciate the more mature humour used in certain parts.

The characters are very well done. Both of Ryunosuke's parents can be pretty terrible, but it makes them seem more genuine and human. The fact that they both have horrible and sympathetic moments makes them three dimensional characters. Ryunosuke can be a brat, but he's also a character who's usually very sensible. Nuku Nuku is just a very amusing character. Her extreme naivete and innocence make sense and they provide an interesting contrast when compared to the failings of the human characters. There are a few side characters who are somewhat developed, Eimi, Kyouko and Arisa, but, probably due largely to time restraints, they never get completely fleshed out.

The art is pretty dated. It's a lot like the art of other works of the early 90s like Ranma 1/2. It's fine in the context of its time, but it hasn't aged particularly well and there are several moments where the art is used to exaggerate the emotions of the characters that don't really work. My one big gripe is that there are a few too many fan-service moments.

The voice work is really good. Hayashibara Megumi, Shimazu Saeko, Ikura Kazue, and Kamiya Akira all do a good job. They all exaggerate on occasion, but it's not like Baka to Test where lines get exaggerated indiscriminately, there's always a reason for it. The music is excellent.

The yuri factor is a 3/10. Kyouko and Arisa get some pretty homoerotic moments, and they're shown as living together but nothing is ever confirmed as being between them and those few moments aren't really enough to judge.

My final rating for All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku is an 8/10. The plot is really used for setting more than an actual story, the art is dated and the science frequently doesn't make sense but the humour works really well, the energy is good and the audio aspects are really strong. And isn't that what's really important from a comedy? If you find yourself in the mood for a good laugh, give it a try. All six episodes hold up really well.

The story starts with a father on the run with his son from his divorced wife.
When they arrive in a city to stop for refueling, find the boy (the son) a kitten and will keep it.His father says that it is too dangerous to bring a cat, and it does not take long for Helpers to his wife finds them and the hunt continues.

They run into a trash place where there are many damaged cars. Unfortunately, they crash the car into many other cars, and they fall over the car they are sitting in. Helpers to his wife starts to shoot, but they think for ... one moment that they are dead. They're wrong.

When the father asks his son if he's alright, he sees the boy cry. They did not hit them when they fired, they hit the cat.Since her son was so upset, his father decided to build a robot that was half "human", half cat. She was called Nuku Nuku.

Nuku Nuku is not a normal robot. She is like a mother to the son; helps him up when he have to go to school, clean etc.. But she got also sort of superpowers. She can run very fast and are wow so strong, but I guess it good to have one of thoes when you got an angry mother after you!

Although her mother is out to get quality time with her son, she always follows him through satellite or something. When he is at school, she is always home to contrive out plans to get her son back, but the color works
as a teacher in the same class as his son.

So the rest of the anime is just about the mother who tries everything she can to get some quality time with his son. This may sound terribly boring, but it is actually very funny!

If you ask me, I think this anime is very funny! It is not exactly exciting, unless you are curious about how the anime will end.

I give this anime: 8 / 10

A classic favorite. Good comedy and action sequences, and of course the joy of seeing Nuku Nuku battling in swimsuits, volleyball shorts, maid dresses, and other revealing outfits. High points include evil henchwomen Arisa and Kyouko, the tech designs (Gainax appears in the credits), and the tension between Ryunosuke's separated parents. Episode 6, with a ride on the Space Shuttle, shows evidence of science homework. The art style is diagnostic of the early 1990s. The animation is lazy in places, with repeating backgrounds and pans across still pictures. I watched the subtitled version in order to enjoy the angelic voice of Megumi Hayashibara as the ... title character.

Nuku Nuku is a fun. It's got the catgirl, robots, big business, a school, a restaurant, the beach, and space. Mash it all together and you've got wacky 90s anime.

Story
Don't take it too seriously. It's just there. Here is the lowdown: The father and mother are divorced. The mother is the president of a business conglomerate that builds weapons for the military. The father has custody of the son. To alleviate his loneliness, the father makes his son a companion: a battle android with a cat's brain. Why? Because anime.

The episodes follow the catgirl, Nuku Nuku, and her shenanigans with the father, son, ... mother, and misc characters. In most of the episodes, the mother tries to gain the favor of her son by sabotaging the father and Nuku Nuku. Her attempts involve robots, missiles, and her henchwomen. It's lighthearted, cartoony fun.

My fave episode plot: Nuku Nuku goes ham on Ryuunosuke's bike and wrecks it. She gets a job as a waitress to buy him a new one. Being a cute catgirl, she's a huge hit at the restaurant. The henchwomen get jealous and try to spoil the restaurant. Hijinks ensue.

Characters
The characters are one-dimentional and goofy. Nuku Nuku is our catgirl android. She's mostly indestructible and has the brains of a cat. You can think of her as A-ko (of Project A-ko) but a cat. There is the father, Kyusaku, and he's your stand-in for the neglectful, science researcher dad. Think Gendo from Evangelion but not that much of an asshole. There is the son, Ryuunosuke, who is a basic bratty kid. Akiko is the mother. You can think of her as Heihachi from Tekken minus the lightning. She runs a big military contractor conglomerate and is focused on her business but also wants a part of her son's life. There are the two henchwomen and then a rogue android girl.

They are not multi-layered characters who are the pinnacle of genius writing. They're just fun.

Art
The art is clearly from the 90s - it's in the 90s style, has faded colors, and some repeated sequences. Still though, you get some decent character designs, kinetic action sequences, and adequate visual quality. It's not the best but will not kill the experience.

Sound
The VA is good. Nuku Nuku sounds cute and quirky without being loli. The mother character does the same laugh as Kodachi from Ranma (same VA, I knew it!).

The music is actually pretty good. The OPs and EDs are sung by Nuku's VA who sings in an actual singing voice. They're cute and upbeat, befitting of this anime. They have separate OPs and EDs for eps 1-3 and 4-6. I liked the 4-6 ones better. They are happy 90s pop music.

Enjoyment and Overall
I liked this anime. It's not top of the mountain stuff, not pushing the creative envelope, and not a critique on the human condition. They're goofy non-sense fun with a family's cat girl android. It's a cute and happy time filler.

Note: I watched this concurrently with Nekopara, another catgirl anime. I'm not all the way through that one yet, but I have to say that Nuku Nuku is the better of the two. I like the excitement, the wackiness, and the voice acting.