Nyan Koi! episode 12 (Final)

There are quite a few characters in Nyan Koi!, but now that the anime is over, I realized that there are a lot more cats in the series than people. I never took particular notice before this final episode, but right at the beginning of MewView at the end, they always show a map similar to the one below depicting which cats Junpei had helped. (There were, of course, other cats that didn’t make it to the map like the really cute gray one that was stuck in a tree in Episode 11.)

At the end of previous episode, Junpei grew ears and we learn that it was due to Kaede’s growing suspicions regarding his curse. Now, I thought that if someone else learned about the curse, catastrophe would fall upon them, but even with Kaede’s overactive curiosity and impeccable timing to find Junpei in curse related situations, nothing particularly bad happens to her – in fact, things only get worse for Junpei. I have to admit that it’s only with the further assistance (and much more practical assistance, if you ask me) of the Kirishima Twins that Junpei doesn’t die of being allergic to himself. They also help in carrying out Nyamsus’ cleverly thought up plan to alleviate Kaede’s suspicions, but just when they’re almost in the clear, things go bad to worse and Junpei’s cat transformation speeds up to completion, leaving him struggling against his own allergies to breathe. I can’t imagine how hard it is to be a cat with cat allergies.

However, as a cat, he does find his way into the arms of Kaede(is that what they mean by “Heaven Awaits”?) …Which doesn’t last long before she thinks to herself how there’s no way Junpei could be cursed by the Cat Deity since he’s always so “nice” to cats. Then the hyper-progression of his curse is lifted (or reversed) and he’s left standing in the middle of the park naked – in front of his crush. And then other people come, which just makes it better. And the cherry on top: Kanako showing up from behind and proceeding to beat him up. I’m glad that Junpei clarifies that his curse isn’t dispelled, but that he’s basically back to where he was before, which is that he needs to continue fulfilling the favours of cats. Urm… I wonder what he’ll have to do in order to make up for the broken bell though – which (a) wasn’t his fault (b) hit Kaede and Tama as well and (c) is really expensive! I guess he won’t get to stop working with Chizuru anytime soon.

So in the end, it seems that the love triangle will continue. At some point, Kanako had given up but it seems her feelings are still lingering. Kaede also takes a step toward recognizing and working out her feelings for Junpei, wishing (at the shrine on New Year’s) that they can grow a little closer. Junpei still wants Kaede. Without a second season, their respective relationships can only flourish in our imaginations. I think it’s a little clever to end the series with the romance issue unsolved as no one can be upset by a “wrong” coupling. No one is satisfied either, but at least no one is upset; or maybe I’ve got it wrong altogether and everyone’s upset – except me. But maybe that’s because I know, when it comes to Kaede versus Kanako for Junpei’s heart, who is “supposed to win” (right, Ex.O?).

So is there a need for a second season now that we’ve seen the last episode? To be honest, I think I’d be okay without it. If there was a second season, the writers would have to come up with a twist to the plot rather than just continuing with Junpei’s curse and love triangle. Drawing out the same ideas (how many different things can cats want?) for too long may grow tiresome and though the humour has been quite strong, there’s also a chance that it’ll run out. If I’m wrong – or even if I’m right, I would watch another season if it was produced; the question is how long I’d enjoy it. The in between or middle segment said there was no season two but at the end, when Junpei receives a letter from his dad, he says “congratulations on the second season” and that he’d like to appear in the anime. Well, whatever the truth is, we’re going to have to wait to find out.

Thanks for watching and reading along with Kaza and me! We hope you enjoyed the series as much as we did (and if you didn’t then… I guess that’s just too bad).