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When the anime was announced I was wondering how would it be to take Nekopara to the small screen. At first I was enthusiastic because is not usual to see an eroge getting an animated adaptation for TV , we all know that is exclusively reserved for outstanding series (Grisaia no Kajitsu, Yosuga no Sora, Fate/Stay Night, etc.) and the nekos utterly deserved it. Everything sounds good up to this point.

Regardless of the massive change of voice actors and the evident removal of any sexual topics (except for Cinnamon's delusions), I was expecting a fun-loving show with a good deal of moe and it's fair ... share of romantic-comedy. It was meant to be Kashou working hard in order to fulfill his dreams with the catgirls ready to learn, mature and enjoy their lives alongside him and his little sister just like what we saw in the game. Unfortunately, what I received turned out to be quite different from what I was expecting.

It was not just the hentai, but also the romance was taken out of the setting. I understand that Felix Films does this to focus on the comedy and the slice-of-life since the anime features a different plot from the volumes, but without romantic scenes the adaptation loses a crucial part of what it was originally meant to recreate, the Nekopara we all know and adore. That was the moment I felt I was watching the wrong show.

Although I already felt disappointed on the anime at some extent, I still liked the debut of the new character. Cacao was the best gift this anime could have ever given to us, apart from the OP and the ED. I am the first to plead guilty of falling for her cuteness and innocence and I dare to state that there is no one who disliked the anime because of her. Cacao is a cutie pie truth be told, and that is precisely why I cannot help but feel sad about her just as soon as I remember that her happy tales will end with the last episode of the TV show. After that we will only hope to see her in artworks and merchandising stuff given the fact that she is a character created specially for the anime, unless they do with her the same that DC did with Harley Quinn and turn her into a canon character. And I pray that never happens for obvious reasons (her purity must remain untouched at all cost!).

At this rate I thought that was it for me, but I encouraged myself to put all these issues aside so I can enjoy the anime as the regular kawaii show it was trying to be but whitout putting effort into it, I begun to find other unfavorable aspects of which I absolutely cannot find a reasonable explanation no matter how many times I think of them. Kashou gradually loses any participation and barely appears in scene in spite of being "the protagonist" and the one responsible of the patisserie. Regarding this last observation, Cinnamon and Vanilla are overly obsessed with Maple and Chocola (even more than how they are in the games) but Chocola and Shigure are not that keen on Kashou, ripping two main elements of their most important motivation, the very same one that made them set the beginning of the story. And to top it all of... apart from Kashou, it is absolutely rare to see other men or even boys in scene. Can someone please explain me what is the logic of this? What is this? Infinite Stratos? It doesn't make sense, not in the least.

The manga was the first failure of the series being cancelled after just one volume. This, the anime adaptation and the upcoming mobile game proves that NEKO WORKs is starting to abuse of its popularity and that cannot be anything but bad news. As a fan it is not easy for me to say this, but considering all of the above, it is fair to say that they should have focused on the PC games instead.

I am the kind of person who never drops an anime once it has started watching it, and that goes doubly for an adaptation of a series I have been following from long ago. I will watch this show until the very end, but if I have to be honest, I doubt I will change my mind about mentioning that this anime is not worth one's while.

Love Nekopara, not so much the anime. All what is left to do now is wait for Vol. 4.