Synopsis:
One Christmas eve, a young boy named Ryunosuke and his father Prof. Kyusaku Natsume are on the run with a state-of-the-art android sitting on their car's backseat. Ryunosuke unwittingly picks up a stray cat off the streets, but he later gets into a car accident with his dad. Although father and son are fine, their new pet is gravely injured. In an effort to save the kitty, Prof. Natsume decides to transplant its brain into the android. The result? A pretty young girl they affectionately refer to as Nuku Nuku. Now Nuku Nuku has the superhuman strength of an android plus the keen senses and super fast reflexes of a cat. It's just perfect really, because Prof. Natsume and Ryunosuke are going to need Nuku Nuku's help in defending themselves against the onslaught of Akiko Mishima... head of one of the world's largest conglomerates -- Mishima Heavy Industries. Akiko happens to be Prof. Natsume's estranged wife and Ryunosuke's mother... and she's going to do whatever it takes to gain full custody of her boy!

Review:
It was only after I had watched the entire Cat Girl Nuku Nuku series that I confirmed the fact that it was indeed created by Yuzo Takada, the same person behind "3x3 Eyes" and "Blue Seed". Now I'm not really a big fan of Mr. Takada. I've never read any of his original manga works, but I find those that have been translated to anime less than stellar. Mostly to blame is the animation team that does the anime artwork. Both "3x3 Eyes" and "Blue Seed" feature unattractive character designs -- with consistently pudgy faces and crudely drawn features. Although that is technically not Mr. Takada's fault (he himself is a talented artist), the reason why he allowed such treatment for two of his most popular works escape me. However, Cat Girl Nuku Nuku is Mr. Takada's one anime-tized work that breaks the mold. It's not nearly half as dreary as "3x3 Eyes", and it's not padded like "Blue Seed". It has better looking visuals to boot.

Cat Girl Nuku Nuku is mainly about one very dysfunctional family. Prof. Natsume is a brilliant scientist with the ability to invent things you never would have thought were possible; Akiko Mishima is a ruthless businesswoman, and something of a spoiled rich girl; Ryunosuke is a kid who just wants a normal family life; and Nuku Nuku, well... she's part of this family too (and you know she's anything but normal). Nuku Nuku is like a daughter to the professor, and a big sister to Ryunosuke. Almost every episode in the series is a custody battle (quite literally) between Prof. Natsume and Akiko. Both parents want Ryunosuke, and eventually Nuku Nuku also tries her hand in coming up with a compromise that would make everyone happy. To make things more complicated, Akiko has two over-zealous female assistants -- Arisa and Ryouko. If Akiko doesn't do anything to stir up trouble, you can bet that these two would. With such a cast and situation, it's pretty much a certainty that something hilarious would erupt ever so often.

The art and animation are surprisingly good, more so if you've been previously exposed to Mr. Takada's other anime-tized works. The characters are drawn nicely, albeit a tad inconsistently. Movements are very fluid. Panty shots abound, but that's about the only naughty content you'll come across. Any action and violence is generally blood-less, keeping up with the light and humorous tone of the series. I should also mention that Megumi Hayashibara (also Rei Ayanami in "Neon Genesis Evangelion") plays Nuku Nuku, and Aya Hisakawa (also Skuld in "Oh My Goddess") is Arisa.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cat Girl Nuku Nuku. It's fun, and it's funny... add the eps are in one DVD and you got yourself one of the best anime deals out there.

Miscellanies:
There are six episodes in all.

Screenshots:

Shopping - click on title to purchase:

AnimeNation
All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (DVD)
Rightstuf
All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (DVD)
Amazon
All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (Music CD)

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