Jun 19, 2020
Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu was a bit of a disappointment. An interesting premise, ruined by poor, unbelievable characters and their developments. While I will admit that the latter half of the movie wasn't as bad, I had to literally cover my eyes because of the second-hand embarrassment I experienced watching Muge. It's not because the show makes moments to make us sympathize with something embarrassing she did, but rather to show her actions of "love" toward Hinode.
Story (6)
The story had a pretty interesting premise, I'll admit. The first half of the story mostly just takes place with in-school affairs and slice of life
...
stuff. Which is fine, honestly. However, the way they wrote the story to get their characters to interact was very unnatural. While I won't disclose any specific details, Muge does do something completely insane. It gets Hinode's attention and then he seems somewhat comfortable around her, even though he and literally everyone was fully aware that he liked her. It's for this exact reason that it's the opposite the next day. It was such a forced event and made the story seem more and more like a melodrama. Luckily, this part of the story is the worst. Things do get better and the story actually goes somewhere. Even then it wasn't written too well.
Art (7)
In the trailers, the art looked pretty good. I loved the styling and the somewhat simple but characteristic line art. Through watching though, there were these little nitpicks in the animation and overall atmosphere that didn't do the show too well. One of the things that ruined it were a number of very particular shots. They have a moving camera and the characters go along with it, the one that the infamous Handshakers is known for failing. While not as bad and as vertigo-inducing as Handshakers, the way the characters moved with their surroundings was choppy and awkward.There was also something about the style the backgrounds were drawn in the suburban environment. It felt somewhat flat. This, coupled with the lighting that was often overwhelming as times, made for a couple of odd scenes. They also put a little fuzzy highlight underneath the line art of the cats where the light hit, and this just made it seem like they didn't fit the style when next to humans. While there were a couple offs with some of their artistic design choices, I really did love the art style that the cats and humans were drawn in.
Sound (7)
Admittedly, I'm not the best with paying attention to sound design within anime. However there were a couple lovely sound tracks in the show. Some of the sound effects they put on different magical properties were cool and didn't sound too unnatural. The seiyuus did a pretty fair job as well. Muge's seiyuu did a wonderful job at acting like a spoiled brat when she needed too, and since that was the role she was given, I can't complain since she did a good job with it. Yori's seiyuu was my personal favourite though. The hesitance she carried in her voice and the way she slowly descended into crying. She earns a gold star from me.
Character (5)
Garbage. Well at least Muge was. Hinode's character was the one I able to grasp better understanding of, even if his personality was literally bending over backwards to fit the storyline. Still a bad character unfortunately. But Muge, the main character we're meant to sympathize with nearly destroys every chance of it happening in the first ten minutes and onwards. She acts immaturely and inappropriately. Well, you may argue that they're ninth-graders, but Muge's shameless actions are humiliating to watch. While these self-proclaimed actions of love are supposed to cheer Hinode up, they clearly do not. In fact, he looks so constantly done that their development in the latter half is completely unrealistic. It was mentioned at the very beginning that he just started ignoring her because she was being too clingy and overbearing. While what he does due to some events after seem a tad out of character, having him switch back at the drop of a hat is even worse only to switch back again because they forgot that the protagonist is supposed to have a chance with their romantic interest. Bad characters. Bad, bad characters.
The supporting cast is a little different though, namely Yori and another spoiler character. They seem much more realistic. While Yori is very emotional, but she genuinely cares for her friend. The other character had actions that were understandable and justified considering Muge's personality. While these characters were decent the ones they chose to have the spotlight on were bad.
Enjoyment (6)
As stated previously, the first half is bad, but most of my enjoyment comes from the second half. If we completely disregard the character's development, some of the moments at the end might seem sort of touching. It's hard to write about enjoyment simply because it's such a subjective thing. You can watch dumpster fire shows but still get a good laugh out of them. In order to enjoy this show, I feel like the easiest way to do that is just not to think of Hinode as a realistic character. Or if you're particularly cynical laugh at some of the oddities this movie has to offer.
Overall (6)
Six. Why? Probably the art and sound. Everything else was pretty bad. I can't recommend this show if you're looking for a fun time. It takes itself so seriously to the point where you can't help but laugh or question some things because of how silly they've made it. I also can't recommend it if you want a romance since it's the relationship is the equivalent of driving over a plant with a bulldozer and then pretending it's alive by leaning the stem over on a stick. There's truly nothing too spectacular about this show I can recommend to you.
Thank you for reading my review if you did, I hope some of you were able to find it somewhat helpful :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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