Anime: Hentai Ouji to Warawanai Neko.

Henneko is a wacky show about a stone cat that grants wishes. We're not talking about a stingy genie in the lamp with just three wishes, with this cat you get unlimited wishes. And even better, make your wishes today and you can UNDO any of your previous wishes at will, no commitment necessary! Now at this point any sane person would rightfully be suspicious of this infomercial of a show; indeed there is a caveat in that the cat will grant the wish however he sees fit. If you're wishing it were cooler, don't be surprised to find a blizzard outside.

While obviously not the most realistic of shows, Henneko has its humor points. The show vaguely reminds me of the style of Inukami with lots of random ecchi moments and harem-based situations. That being said, I wouldn't expect any deep relationships or focused plot line from this show. It's a slice of life in the same way that ToLoveRu is, i.e. anything but ordinary days at school. If you're looking for a light, harem-based ecchi comedy with some semblance of a plot, feel free to give this a try.

Animation:
The animation is fair overall. The animation style is fittingly simplistic and colorful, as the overall mood is generally light. Don't expect lavish backgrounds or awe-inspiring light effects. The characters are all readily distinguishable and the stone cat is less stony than you might expect (it seems to be able to change its expression and grows/shrinks with the amount of wishes it is burdened with). The expressions can be a bit hard to trace at times as one of the main heroines has wished away all of her expressions.

Despite the magical nature of the stone cat, there aren't any fights or other heavy action scenes. As for ecchi, expect pretty much everything short of exposed nudity. You have your accidental grabs, falls, as well as a lot of verbal sexual harassment that earns the protagonist the title of hentai ouji.

Sound:
The OP is sung by Yukari Tamura and thus made me do a double take as I thought I was watching B Gata H Kei for a second. It's a playful tune though it reminds me too much of the aforementioned series. The ED has Yui Ogura singing a playful tune in her non-monotone voice, which I guess we should be thankful for considering her monotone humming in the actual series. The BGM is standard fare with nothing all that worth mentioning.

The VA cast is fair overall though I personally didn't find the return of Accel World's South Park character all that great. If anyone deserves praise for effort, it would probably be Kaori Ishihara for her role as tsundere Azuki.

Story:
The story is loosely arc-based as our protagonist interacts with the different heroines. It eventually meanders its way to a final conflict that presents itself a bit tad darker than the other issues up to that point. With the final mystery solved, the show ends without giving any sort of closure to the characters. Thus I conclude that there will either be a second season or the producers screwed up and ran out of money.

Obviously, there are a few loose ends that the story never explains. Given that there's a cat that can grant any wish, you can assume that anything is game in terms of possible resolutions to conflicts. While there is ample character-based humor in the show, I did find myself questioning the intelligence of the characters as they apparently don't learn that the stony cat tweaks their actual wish.

While not the most coherent or detailed of stories, it's a fair and entertaining progression overall. It's just a tad short on the resolution.

Character:
If you were hoping for a protagonist that openly proclaims his inner desires, unfortunately you'll be disappointed. The protagonist is more of your standard, nice guy who happens to be in the right place at the right time over and over again. The majority of the character value in this show comes from the heroines, who all have something to do with the stone cat at one point or another. Unfortunately, their struggles over the hentai ouji fall upon deaf ears as Youto is quite slow when it comes to love. Apparently there is a lot of viewer hype about Tsukiko. It was interesting seeing her compete for Youto with her outward lack of emotion but I don't think it was worth all the hype.

Though there is some character development, I don't find it fair to call it such if it's as a result of an abnormal influence such as the stony cat. Don't expect any significant romantic developments.

Value:
If you watch this with a notebook and a serious expression, prepare to be utterly disappointed. This is a light-hearted show that is meant to be watched accordingly. Sit back and enjoy a few laughs at the protagonist's idiocy. A decent, entertaining watch with only slight re-watch value.