Pet-centric works are easy to find, let alone if there is one that's as good as it is. But this season, there is kind of a waste of an opportunity, and it lands on the laurels of the fairly unknown work of mangaka Mitsuru Kido's only full-fledged series: Kawaisugi Crisis a.k.a Too Cute Crisis.
To be fair, there was a pet-centric show before, in the form of mangaka Tunami Minatuki's Doukyonin wa Hiza, Tokidoki, Atama no Ue. a.k.a My Roommate is a Cat, which has an anime adaptation all the way back in Winter 2019. You'd be forgiven if you forgot that show ever existed, because that same season had hitters like sequels of Kaguya-sama and Mob Psycho 100, not to mention one of the greatest, absolute trash to ever exist: Domestic na Kanojo a.k.a Domestic Girlfriend. But back to Doukyonin, I thought that there was a pretty compelling show back then, especially with the human-cat switcheroo of a POV that added allure to the series and made it stand out in the best of ways.
Enter Kawaisugi Crisis, which involves a group of aliens trying to invade Earth, but the group wants to investigate the happenings on Earth before they make their decision. And the protagonist, Liza Luna, a member of the Azatoth Empire's Interstellar Survey team, was chosen for the mission to determine the functionality of Earth's destruction phase due to its low levels of civilization. Turns out, Earth is a rather compelling planet that's no short of surprises, and to Liza, it comes in the form of an animal café. Specifically, a cat café, where Liza is introduced to the world of cats. The feline creature that can be taken in as a pet, their levels of 'cuteness' overload, sets Liza's alien circuits popping and thereby, sets a long investigation on Earth about them...to eventually own one herself in the form of the American Curl Yozora, and get tenuous amounts of enjoyment out of it, sharing that cats are superior when it comes to the ultimate pet.
Through this stage, Liza can't really work alone, so she has the help of the cat café Nyanday's workers, waitress Kasumi Yanagi and clerk Seiji Mukai to better understand the feline creature's cuteness and attraction points. Even as more characters like Liza's fellow Survey Team researchers, Garmie Lou and Luster Cole come in to assist her, as well as other affiliated humans like the Azuma family's daughter Sasara and grandfather Mitsuhiko who owns pets but not the regular affair of cats and dogs, the one thing that the anime has going for it, is the cuteness portion. Essentially, this IS the tag for both the show and the original source material, but remove that, and it has nothing else in store to show. So, the decision is yours: Are you going to want to experience a show where simplicity is golden or a complex story where there is something that is bound to happen. To me, the jokes get repetitive quite fast, because the main character harps over the same qualities over and over again, but at the same time, she impresses me with her simpleton character to accept that all cute things on Earth are adored to the highest degree, even to the point of convincing her alien colleagues that being "cutesy" is a trait of the Earth when it comes to pets. And that's her conviction that she will never trade for when it comes to the deciding factor for Earth's demise, ensuring that the blue planet is a place where harm comes at a good price: relatable, cuteness overload, triggering the Crisis of being Too Cute.
For such a low-key work like this, there is no need to do great animation; just present it in a way that doesn't feel subpar. And that's what studio SynergySP did with its in-house director, Jun Hatori, who did a decent job in the adaptation. The music is so-so as well, with Chogakusei's OP and DIALOGUE+'s ED (which, for the girl group, to be frank, is just alright) which is just on the level of acceptability.
This brings me back to the question that was raised in the review's opener: "Cute, is the name of the work, but is this show as good as it can be?" Honestly, it depends on the person's intention. If you like cute stuff with a simple story and plot to boot, then the anime is a no-brainer for you and is worth watching. Otherwise, try Doukyonin instead, that's an overall better human-pet story that delivers better than this show.
