Neko-Mimi Sweet Housemates Vol. 1

NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 1 (Uchi no Pet Jijou Vol. 1) is an interesting start to a series that portrays animal girls with supernatural flairs. Banking on concepts such as mortality and the presence of heaven and hell, it tries to tell a heartwarming story about romance that transcends common conceptions of worldly boundaries. Featuring cute and attractive characters, each veiled with their own degrees of mystery, it presents a pretty interesting premise with a lot of potential for strong, impactful storytelling. ​Despite its strengths, however, NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 1 bumps into a familiar problem that a lot of similar titles encounter: a lack of clear direction. Although the overarching plotline is clear and actually resolves itself rather cleanly, it is compromised by a narrative flow that doesn’t seem to know when to introduce key story elements without disrupting its abundance of slice-of-life scenes. This ultimately undermines the emotional impact of its conclusion, which does a disservice to the appeal of its whole supernatural motif. In the end, the product feels a little bit confused about what it wants to be, failing to fully capture its strengths and missing the opportunity to capitalize on its potential. ​Given its price point, I can only really recommend NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 1 if you’re already well-invested in visual novels that feature similar heroines or generally cute, simplistic storylines. It’s definitely a feel-good title at its core, and while I generally liked what I got from it, it felt a little bit lacking in terms of what it delivered. If the character designs, the Live2D element, and the general synopsis look interesting enough to you, then by all means! Give it a try. But for other people who are just looking for something to read, there might be something else out there that’ll be a bit more to your liking. Perhaps a future sequel can find what this title missed out on.​