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EP. REVIEW: Beheneko: The Elf-Girl's Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster!


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jmckenna15



Joined: 23 Sep 2020
Posts: 165
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:45 am Reply with quote
And what's unfortunate is that if you are the kind of viewer that enjoys this particular tag of interspecies romance -- or just lives for the cringe -- My Life as Inukai's Dog is probably the better option because it's set in the real world and is more openly shameless about how badly the female MC wants to fudge her dog. It is a proper dumpster fire, packed to the gills of WTFery from almost every character, and each episode is only 15 minutes which makes the cringe go down without suffering from boredom. It's absolutely terrible -- but you can't look away.

This show unfortunately has too much boring going on even for the cringe to stand out. Also with it being a fantasy world where crossbreeding is apparently a real thing, it gives too much of an air of tolerance in this world. So it winds up failing to even be properly cringe.

At least there's neat elf booba I guess.

[EDIT: This was merged into this thread from a separate thread not linked to the episode reviews. - Key]
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Wilco499



Joined: 15 May 2022
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 10:52 am Reply with quote
Very much with AJ here. During the second episode after Tama munchs on the roper and I saw that crossbreeding was added to Tama's skills after munching on the tenatcle, my eyebrow was raised. Why does a roper have such a skill? Was my thinking and then two minutes later with the blunt asseration that the elf wants to produce elf-cat hybirds I had my answer. Just...bizarre. Especially after the first episode I thought Aria was just drunk and thought tama was cute...overly so.
Also, do any of the female characters know what armour is for? Really seems to be an afterthought in this world, I understand it often is in Isekai but this seems more egregious than others. In fact the character designs and armour/wepons designs are quite boring. At least there seems to be a male supporting cast, which is more than other series of this ilk.
A good chunk of the world building screams, this was funny as a gag for one moment in middle school and now we are stuck with it because I put it in my story when it isn't the usual Isekai generic. Such as burly men in garter belts at the guild being the prime example.
Tama seems to change in size as convient to how the animators want to place him on Aria's tits, shrinking the more he is swollowed by her cleavage.
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InfiniteNothingness



Joined: 13 Apr 2017
Posts: 226
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 11:28 am Reply with quote
MrAJCosplay wrote:
God, I wish I could go back to thinking that this would just be boring.

That's the thing about it, I'd say it is still boring, to such a stupefying degree that its Inukai-san's Dog-styled premise is its only draw. It gets point for committing to to the furry/beastiality bit, in the same sense that Magic Maker does for showing the MC beginning his magic-learning by trying to learn magic. And indeed, it's done with all the enthusiasm and artistry of its nearest contemporaries this season or last, taking painfully long to cover precious little (as of episode one before I decided to drop and skim, only getting super-skilled, saving Aria twice, and predictably wooing her like an itty bitty widdle knight in fluffy armor).
It's at least shameless and upfront about its intentions from the first kissy face and preview, so I hope all those folks with subby literal petplay fantasies are enjoying themselves, because from the outside looking in I'm bored to tears and can appreciate only that. I might actually find further value in it, if instead of being your clichéd, honorable knight, he was "lovably sleazy," even if that came at the cost of one of its precious few jokes in their contrasting behaviors/Tama being the butt of jokes?

I guess it's better than the aforementioned sister-loving (and not so parenthetically, effectively huge age gap) show which somehow manages to be even less flavorful despite itself, and even more interminable, but I wish something like Crush at Work got picked (... and picked up), Online Shopper, or A-Rank Party got chosen if people had to choose a mediocre to bottom-barrel title. Heck, the first even would have fit with AJ's past reviews. I can only imagine this being like drawing blood from a stone.

Edited to prevent a needless additional post right after my first:
jmckenna15 wrote:
My Life as Inukai's Dog is probably the better option because...

I feel this so much. I can at least respect that, much more. I can totally understand being squicked by either of these, but at least in terms of actual storytelling? That's so what you get, and it's better/worse/Inukai-san's Dog for it! Honestly, among other things, we are at such a point where just copying and pasting this except making it LGBTQ in some capacity would be a breath of unique air (albeit as much could be said for other templated works abounding in anime's various subgenres and beyond). Or, if not even that, full-on deranged in some way. The premise very much does not count for that; I've lost track of how many English self-published novellas and assorted short smut works I've seen covering ground exactly like this and others. That's just how the world of smutty, kinky stuff goes. This just sucks.


Last edited by InfiniteNothingness on Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:14 pm; edited 3 times in total
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18537
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 11:40 am Reply with quote
I've previously read the first couple of manga volumes on this one, and yeah, this was the reaction I was expecting when I was stunned about it making the cut for episode reviews.

I suspect this show was voted in either by a bunch of people who didn't know this was coming or who did know but wanted to see the reviewer's reactions to it.
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1891
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:08 pm Reply with quote
Seems like HiDive is getting all the crap this season.
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BalmungHHQ



Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:26 pm Reply with quote
Beheneko, in my opinion, is shaping up to be a fairly solid fantasy series with a pretty nice start. Both Aria and Tama make for charming and enjoyable leads, and their dynamic is fun and unique. Sure the setting isn't anything new, but it takes the familiar tropes and has some fun with them in presentation, which is all I can ask of a series like this. The animation team has done a great job making the show look nice. This series is based on a manga series that's been going for a decent amount of time (already over 10 volumes), and all things considered it's shaping up to be a solid adventure.

That being said, I can't fathom why anyone would vote for someone on this site to try reviewing the series since the outcome was inevitable... This reviewer can wish the show was "boring" all they want, but what's actually boring is this review that basically amounts to a paragraphs-long text equivalent of a Youtube video thumbnail with someone making a goofy face accompanied by the text "She wants to do WHAT with her cat?!" Anime smile + sweatdrop

Like, I get it. "Anime sure is WEIRD, Hahaha!" But honestly, a proper review of a show like this would be much more interesting if it were done by someone who could just take the concept at face value and roll with it, enjoying the ride. This series has been more fun than I expected, at least.

Instead, what gets put out here is the same "why do I have to review this" attitude & low-star combo that shows like this often get. Now that's boring.
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Minos_Kurumada



Joined: 04 Nov 2015
Posts: 1199
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:44 pm Reply with quote
I suppose this another "Little Mermaid" situation where the character who can't speak could simply write, but chooses not to because the plot falls apart.
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Vanadise



Joined: 06 Apr 2015
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 2:41 pm Reply with quote
BalmungHHQ wrote:
Instead, what gets put out here is the same "why do I have to review this" attitude & low-star combo that shows like this often get. Now that's boring.
No, it's definitely fun to watch reviewers tear apart schlock. It's a major reason why people vote for what are obviously the worst shows of each season. ANN Staff has also gone on record multiple times saying that they won't force reviewers to review a show that they don't actually want to watch, and there have been several cases of shows that were popular but did not get reviews just because nobody was willing to review them.

I will be disappointed if this show doesn't find more creative ways to be bad than just "ha ha she wants to bang her cat", but make no mistake, I'm here because I expect it to continue being bad.
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InfiniteNothingness



Joined: 13 Apr 2017
Posts: 226
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 3:21 pm Reply with quote
Vanadise wrote:
and there have been several cases of shows that were popular but did not get reviews just because nobody was willing to review them.

Do you mind jogging my memory? I don't have the best recall with this.
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Florete



Joined: 21 Jan 2018
Posts: 389
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 3:25 pm Reply with quote
I lost count of how many times during these episodes I would say, "Girl, he's a cat." I can give Vulcan a pass because A) she seems to be trying to hold back her attraction, and B) she is of a feline race to begin with.

At the same time, it was obvious this show would not be good good, so I'm not mad. If anything I'm curious to see how insane and depraved things will get.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 3:45 pm Reply with quote
InfiniteNothingness wrote:
Vanadise wrote:
and there have been several cases of shows that were popular but did not get reviews just because nobody was willing to review them.

Do you mind jogging my memory? I don't have the best recall with this.

There's only been one major case I can think of which didn't involve the series not having a legal streaming source or it being a sequel of something no one on staff had seen: Redo of Healer. There have been several other cases where a series may have seemed more popular in general but still wasn't voted in here.
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BalmungHHQ



Joined: 11 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 3:48 pm Reply with quote
louis6578 wrote:
Seems like HiDive is getting all the crap this season.

Don't be rude. Between Beheneko and the Villainess Dad show, I think they got some solid gems. HiDive always lands a good hit or two each season.

Vanadise wrote:
BalmungHHQ wrote:
Instead, what gets put out here is the same "why do I have to review this" attitude & low-star combo that shows like this often get. Now that's boring.
No, it's definitely fun to watch reviewers tear apart schlock. It's a major reason why people vote for what are obviously the worst shows of each season.

Well, I guess I stand corrected. I guess this type of non-review would appeal to someone... (Even though this review isn't even really "tearing apart" anything...)

For the record, the way you make your case is so bizarre to me, and is built on weird assumptions about the work. Like, what do you even mean "obvious worst shows of each season"? By definition that is a thing that doesn't even make sense. What is "obvious" about anything like that? It's founded on making assumptions about works that either aren't out or just started...

It doesn't even really apply to this case, because Beheneko is a perfectly fine and serviceable show so far. Average at worst, but a notable highlight of the season for many.

Vanadise wrote:
ANN Staff has also gone on record multiple times saying that they won't force reviewers to review a show that they don't actually want to watch, and there have been several cases of shows that were popular but did not get reviews just because nobody was willing to review them.

I am aware, but you know this doesn't actually matter if the reviewer chooses to preface their whole review on a fairly blatant "oh woe is me, I ended up having to review this show" mentality, right...?
You can't fault me for responding to the content of the review...

Vanadise wrote:
I will be disappointed if this show doesn't find more creative ways to be bad than just "ha ha she wants to bang her cat", but make no mistake, I'm here because I expect it to continue being bad.

Wouldn't a show being "not bad" be a good thing? Once more, I don't understand why you'd approach media with this kind of mindset.

Anyway, the fact that I guess there's an audience for these types of reviews is pretty depressing...
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InfiniteNothingness



Joined: 13 Apr 2017
Posts: 226
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 4:23 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
There's only been one major case I can think of which didn't involve the series not having a legal streaming source or it being a sequel of something no one on staff had seen: Redo of Healer. There have been several other cases where a series may have seemed more popular in general but still wasn't voted in here.

Aha, that makes sense. Thanks.
Can't say I blame them either. Not in the slightest.

BalmungHHQ wrote:
Well, I guess I stand corrected. I guess this type of non-review would appeal to someone... (Even though this review isn't even really "tearing apart" anything...)

It doesn't even really apply to this case, because Beheneko is a perfectly fine and serviceable show so far. Average at worst, but a notable highlight of the season for many.

Beckett's The Fruit of Evolution weekly reviews were pretty well-received, such that I even still see forumites referencing it occasionally. There are also probably others far as this flavor of weekly review go; definitely so in the case of just tearing into it, at least a few I can think of that I just agree with, but that's a whole different subject already kind of off-track.
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HannoX



Joined: 30 Apr 2012
Posts: 201
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
I suspect this show was voted in either by a bunch of people who didn't know this was coming or who did know but wanted to see the reviewer's reactions to it.


I will shamelessly admit I voted for it for the second reason. However, I was hoping the reviewer would cut it up with a sense of humor and cleverness, rather than just ranting about how awful it is.

The other series I voted for where ones I thought were among the best for the season.
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Gamen



Joined: 13 Jun 2006
Posts: 258
PostPosted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 6:38 pm Reply with quote
Florete wrote:
I can give Vulcan a pass because A) she seems to be trying to hold back her attraction, and B) she is of a feline race to begin with.


Here's your "Well ackshually" for the evening: As alluded to during the next episode banter at the end of ep 2, tigris-ears have animal blood somewhere in their ancestry. So feline race, sure, but explicitly as a result of the same sort of intermixing Aria's hoping for.
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