A consistent Rom/Com harem with a solid love triangle, fueled by a quirky premise.
Long Summary:
Nyan Koi! is about a boy, Kousaka Junpei, that becomes cursed and can now talk to cats, and has to grant the requests of a hundred cats or else he'll turn into a cat himself. Naturally, he's allergic to cats, and even more naturally, he can't tell anyone about the curse or else it'll make the curse even worse. This hinders his plans at pursuing the girl of his dreams, and causes other girls to enter his life.
This may sound like a typical Rom/Com harem, where a nondescript high school boy gains a power/gets put in a weird situation and suddenly girls start randomly falling in love with him. While Nyan Koi! doesn't do anything particularly significant in straying from this formula, the character relationships and comedy do make Nyan Koi! a lot more enjoyable than many of its mediocre peers.
Story: 7 (Good)
The story is a mixture of romantic and comedic moments, as Junpei struggles to rid himself of the cat curse by interacting with cats as he deals with all the girls around him. The anime doesn't waste much time in setting up the cat curse, and does a good job of never straying from the curse as the central concept.
The comedy and romance are both presented at a good pace, despite its short 12 episode length, and the story makes sure to give time to all major supporting characters as well. A couple things come out of the blue (such as the real professions of the twins), but in general the story stays consistent to its themes and isn't overbearing on either the comedy nor the romance aspects.
Art: 7 (Good)
The art in Nyan Koi! is appropriate for an anime airing in Fall 2009, with clear, distinctive character designs and detailed backgrounds. In particular, the cat designs were good, because it was not difficult to see a cat once and be able to identify that same cat later on in the series, which really helped make the cats become good supporting characters.
Sound: 7 (Good)
The opening and ending songs matched the lighthearted feel of the anime, and the soundtrack as a whole, while nothing special, fit appropriately. The VAs were all solid as well.
Characters: 8 (Very Good)
I felt the characters in Nyan Koi! are what makes the series better than many other Rom/Com harems, because in general the more important characters have good, sensible core inspirations and motivations (core being a key word) that don't solely stem from the cat curse. However, the characters manage to avoid being predictable by being willing to alter their perspectives in situations that warrant it, instead of being totally clueless or stubborn in their beliefs.
None of the characters are unbearably offensive or annoying, but still manage to have interesting enough traits to create a lot of funny moments. The members of the love triangle still suffer from some level of denseness, as usual, but it's a tolerable level.
More importantly, Junpei, while relatively nondescript like most male leads, manages to avoid being unusually clumsy, stupid, dense, perverted, heroic, etc. Furthermore, most of the situations he gets into are because of his unluckiness, rather than numbskullness or pervsion on his part (exceptions do apply). This allowed me to enjoy the anime more, since I didn't have to constantly question the intelligence/motivations of the main character.
Conclusion: Rating: 7 (Good)
Nyan Koi! isn't a must watch, but if you're a fan of the genre, it's worth checking out. It's lighthearted and amusing, and while you won't be struck by a feeling of awe after watching, you likely won't be disappointed either.
