Cat Planet Cuties (2010), which began as a series of light novels by Okina Kamino, embodies the Japanese predilection for the
kawaii (ultra-cute) image of girls wearing cats' ears. Eris, who resembles a pneumatically overendowed woman with furry ears and a tail, arrives on Earth from the planet "Catia" to establish peaceful relations. The first human she encounters is mild-mannered teenager Kio Kakazu, who already has two classmates nurturing secret crushes on him--bullying neighbor/aspiring CIA agent Manami and ex-assassin Aoi. Other buxom Catians take up residence in Kio's house with their robo-cat Assistroid. For reasons never fully explained, the Catians are fighting the Dog People, one of whose nasty leaders sniggers exactly like Muttley in the old
Wacky Races show. The humans are drawn into the conflict, with Kio's aw-shucks kind heart winning the day.
Cat Planet Cuties is no more inane than many other fan service series. But the filmmakers can't seem to decide if they're making a nudie jiggle–a-thon, a teen action-adventure, or a comedy about miniature robots. They cut from Kio struggling to extricate his head from Eris's over-ample cleavage to Aoi shooting it out with various evil-doers to an Assistroid holding up a little sign, like Genma in
Ranma 1/2.
Cat Planet Cuties embodies the big eyes/big guns/big breasts stereotype that leads people to dismiss Japanese animation as mindless fodder for hormonal adolescent boys. Episode 13 is actually an OAV sequel (2011), in which the characters play strip versions of poker, mah-jongg, Twister, Monopoly, and other games. (Rated TV MA: violence, violence against women, nudity, risqué humor, alcohol use)
--Charles Solomon (1. The Cat Who Fell to Earth, 2. I Dropped By, 3. We've Come to Stay, 4. We've Come to Kidnap You, 5. We've Come to Rescue You, 6. I've Practiced, 7. We've Come to Swim, 8. We Had a Duel, 9. The Grand First Assistroid? 10. I Came Looking for You, 11. I Came to Find You, 12. Come Drop By)