ShaftoftheSpear

Man! I really want to like this one –I do! It’s got everything a nerd could ever want… allegedly.  I can only imagine that’s what this show was going for.  Cat girls from outer space?  Star Trek references abound?  A Gundam-esque space battle? -But, it ultimately falls short on delivery. Let’s do this.

For one, the main plot, for me anyway, advances at a snail’s pace and then it’s thrown together at the end to wrap up the series (or season).  These Cat Girls come from a planet that is a sister planet, of sorts, of Earth.  The cats have come to make an alliance with Earth (trade, culture, technology, and whatnot).  The problem is, the Dog people got here first, and they’re not wanting to give up their monopoly on the trade agreements they have with our planet, and these new sexy invaders are a threat to that.  The dogs have legitimate stake in the game, they’re just made out to be more nefarious than they should be because the show is not called, “Dog Planet Debutantes.”  The Cats send a scout/emissary to Earth ahead of time; Eris.  Eris is a large-breasted, well-meaning Cat Girl, who is a bit of an airhead, and who can have her libido turned on and off with drugs.  When Eris arrives on the planet, she runs into an Earth cat who tells Eris to go to her owner’s house, and that her owner is kind and will feed her.  Kio, the cat’s owner, is a nice guy who’s really just into doing his own thing, and if you’re there with him? Great.  That’s a problem for the leading ladies of the show, who want to get their thang wet with our hero.  Kio’s got a childhood friend who - surprise, surprise - lives next door.  She aspires to be a CIA operative and she’s in love with Kio.  Kio also has a classmate, who is a secret assassin for the Japanese Government and is also in love with Kio.  The dogs are led by a “Dr. Claw”-like Dog character, who has an army of the most resourceful dog robots I’ve ever seen.  These dogs bots are, like, the Navy S.E.A.L.s of anime android dog slaves. The innovation and relentlessness these dog robots put forth to accomplish their missions, long after they were left for dead and forgotten about, mind you, made me want to root for their success.  I, also, appreciate that they’ve used a real location like Kadena Air Base, it adds some very nice depth to the backdrop, as opposed to just be given a general location, or stating that this takes place in Okinawa.

The conflict stemming from the annoying, busy body, childhood friend is very nice, but the ineptness and indecisiveness of the main character is old hat and annoying.  Not that, that in particular is his problem; it’s theirs; he’s just being himself.  That conflict is done so much better than the rest of the show, in fact, that when those scenes of drama and dissonance portraying that underlying story appeared, it was actually jarring.  These girls are strong, independent women in their own rite, and they’re now having to come to grips with now having to compete, for the object of their affection, against the embodiment of a hentai fantasy who’s rarin’ to go; it’s portrayed in a very real and relatable way.  

Here’s the thing that bothered me about Cat Planet the most, based off the blatant premise of the show, is -it’s just not ecchi enough! -You all can judge, but I’m just sayin’, you don’t pick up a show called, “Cat Planet Cuties,” because you’re lookin’ for the next wholesome, slice of life, cry fest –where’s the filth??? It just seems like such an afterthought at times, and few and far between.  In some instances, it seems like the show abandoned its roots all together to focus on being cutesy with their Hello Kitty Robot Cat Slaves. Does anybody else see the problem with this?  I’m part of this show’s target audience, so I know a thing or two about how this works (-and very little else!), and I’m here to declare: we’re not looking for frivolous nudity for the sake of nudity.  What do you take us for? –A bunch of 8th graders?  We’re complex creatures.  Porn is free and ubiquitous, and if you wanna play ball with other shows in this genre such as, “High School DxD,” and “Monster Girls,” “Cat Planet Cuties” better step up its game. People of my ilk are looking for the sexualized nudity and compromising situations that are the defining characteristics of shows such as this.  -Have I really gone off the deep end for that notion?  I mean, you ARE reading a review for a show called, “Cat Planet Cuties,” after all.  Look, it’s not necessarily a bad watch, but considering its target market, it’s not as good a show as, say, “Monster Girls,” which, by the way, has a very similar fundamental plot.  I feel like “Monster Girls” succeeds in many places this series falls flat, and it ain’t even that great.

Watch it to watch it; there are some things to like about, “Cat Planet Cuties.”