NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2 (Uchi no Pet Jijou Vol. 2) is an eroge released by Animal Herb as a sequel to Vol. 1 of this visual novel series. Initially based on the doujin series with the same name by Yano Mitsuki, it now follows Mint and her Master’s new lease on life after the events of the first game. As Mint seeks to fulfill God’s tasks as the Cherubim assigned to Earth, two new half-animal girls suddenly find themselves becoming part of their daily routines. This new installment similarly features a linear storyline, with smoother Live2D motions and better quality sprites.
Given where the previous title left off, I’m a little bit interested in seeing where the plotline of the second game will go. The first NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES title ended in a pretty place that basically tied most of the story’s elements together, so I’m not really expecting them to continue anything from the prequel. But now that a sequel’s releasing, I can’t help but wonder what else we can tackle given the premise. Will there be more exposition that will feed us details about Heaven and Hell? Will we get to see more of the girls’ respective backgrounds? Or will it be a new story purely focusing on the two new half-animal girls they featured in the promotional material?
Despite my grievances with the previous game, I’m pretty excited to see what Animal Herb’s been working on for the past four years. It’s time to talk to the angel and demon on my shoulder once again and sort out this new, convoluted pet situation!
Note: Due to being a direct sequel of NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 1, this review will contain spoilers for events that happened in the previous game. It is recommended that readers play the prequel first before continuing to the next sections.
Cats Have Nine Lives, Why Shouldn’t I?
The second volume of the NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES is a direct continuation of the previous title’s ending, where after receiving God’s judgment, Mint and her Master are now living a life where they can freely flirt with each other whenever they want to without the fear of accidentally transferring someone’s life energy. Although she now finds herself with a mortal form, Mint is still considered by God as one of his Cherubims, and as such, continues to attend to her heavenly duties. With the help of her sister Cacao, she resumes her job of bringing the souls of the departed to heaven while maintaining her friendly relationships with the other residents of their town.
As the world starts shifting towards a sweltering summer season, Mint and Master encounter someone who seems out of place in their peaceful everyday life: a humanoid entity with cat ears and tails but without a halo and wings. When approached by the two, she introduces herself as Kuro, but refuses to elaborate on her own situation. As Mint tries to gather everyone together to figure out how to help Kuro, another person suddenly appears in front of them. The fox lady calls herself Tsubaki, and she issues a warning to Mint and Master. “Don’t involve yourself with her, or only sadness awaits.”
What is Kuro’s goal? Why is Tsubaki trying to convince them to avoid interacting with her? Looks like another supernatural adventure is waiting around the corner for Mint and the gang this summer!
Familiar Shape, Different Existence
The second volume of NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES introduces an entirely new arc involving its previous cast of characters and two new half-animal heroines. It still follows Mint and Master as they go through their everyday life as a human-angel couple, but instead of maintaining the focus on how their relationship is progressing, this new installment decides to shine the spotlight on the two new characters and their overarching storyline. While the series maintains its casual, happy-go-lucky narrative that fits its visuals like a glove, compared to the first volume, it dives deeper into its supernatural motif and expands upon a bunch of concepts that are directly related to the problem they’re facing. Going through it, it finally felt like there was structure in its narrative, and as a reader, I was so excited to finally be able to see where the title wanted to go.
To put it simply, this sequel was what I wanted the first game to be. Its background setting of having angels and demons be part of the main cast is finally given importance beyond being cute accessories for the heroines. Lily and Cacao, who finally got their own mini-character arcs, played important expository roles that served to move the narrative forward and substantiate Kuro’s own unspoken goals. Mint, and by extension Master, had defined goals and motivations that felt compelling against the backdrop of Tsubaki’s own mission. Hell, the visual novel even managed to stay cute despite tackling pretty heavy topics such as regrets and the inevitability of death! It was a really nice read. It finally felt like NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES found its identity, and boy, does it feel like they cashed out on it.
Searching for the Four-Leaf Clover
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2 features four main heroines, which include the previous three and the new character Kuro. In this installment, each of these four heroines receives ample screentime during their respective character arcs, with Kuro’s being the focus of the overarching plotline. They reprise their roles from the previous game, with Mint being Master’s angelic girlfriend, Lily fulfilling her role as a playful demon, and Cacao rounding up the cast by playing the resident spicy tsundere. The new addition, Kuro, claims the meek and reclusive archetype for herself, a nice addition to what otherwise is a pretty boisterous heroine lineup. Ironically, even though she just made her debut in this title, Kuro is also probably the closest one to fitting the bill when it comes to a pet-like heroine because of her own circumstances.
Compared to the previous game, the storyline of volume two gives a lot more substance to the heroines, especially Lily and Cacao. Finally ending what felt like Mint’s monopoly on meaningful scenes that showed actual character development, Lily and Cacao, alongside Kuro, were given a lot more space to explore their individual motivations and principles as distinct individuals. I found Lily’s backstory really compelling against the series’ setting, and Cacao’s own determination to perform her heavenly duties was surprisingly moving. Mint also had scenes featuring her own frustration with her circumstances, which was a nice acknowledgement of the consequences of the previous game’s events. All these mini-arcs from the other heroines directly contributed to the resolution of Kuro’s arc as well, making the conclusion a satisfying payoff for my own emotional investment.
The Good and the Bad Come Hand in Hand
For all the things that NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES’ second volume did right, there are some compromises that I feel it still had to make, given its relatively short runtime. Despite the overall better structured narrative it now has, I do feel like the stakes involved with breaking the laws of Heaven are still too light. I like the concept of “absolute” that God embodies as an entity in the story, but the casual way they interact with him and his overall system undermines his status as a symbol of power. In a way, it fits the general vibe of the series, but it doesn’t help make the consequences all that threatening to think about. What I do like though, is that regardless of how it looks to me, Master as a character does take this seriously and takes it into consideration when he weighs his options. Starting from this installment, he has felt a lot more driven as a character with clearer motivations, although there are times when he still feels offensively dumb given how he’s frequently used as a prompt for further exposition. It’s definitely an improvement for a character meant to be a stand-in for self-inserting.
The romance between Mint and Master doesn’t feel all that serious still as well. Despite the exclusivity clause that they seem to be upholding, the developments in the game feel similar to how a harem series handles it prior to the main character selecting their partner of choice. Mint casually lets Master do intimate activities with the other women in the cast, without any sort of real repercussions on how they treat their relationship going forward. It’s something that isn’t that big of a deal given the nature of the type of series NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES is, but it is still rather a shame. Mint’s Master just looks like a gigolo catering to a supernatural half-animal female population.
Meowing Louder than Before
As for the adult content, NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES features a similar package of H-scenes, with five total encounters spread across the four heroines. As the poster girl of the series, Mint naturally still occupies most of the real estate here, if only to affirm her status as Master’s lover. The genre distribution for the scenes in this installment was mostly vanilla, which may disappoint those looking for content that is a bit braver. If you are trying to avoid this type of content entirely, Steam offers a censored version of the base game. For this specific title, it is probably not too much of a loss to play without the adult patch (which is downloadable through Denpasoft’s website) since the scenes are mostly gratuitous. That said, given how much presence Lily’s lilies have throughout the experience, you might as well install it. Oh, and yes, the game does use mosaics.
A pleasant surprise that came with this title, though, is its application of the Live2D system for adult content. Of the five that you can unlock throughout the story, three feature simple animations that help alleviate some of the challenges that come with the use of your own imagination. I would have liked it if all of the scenes had some form of animation, since some heroines miss out on it given the spread, but it’s better to have some than none at all. As for the pacing, they’re pretty well-placed across the narrative. They don’t feel that awkward, if I were to take the “facts” of some situations at face value at least, and serve as mostly cherries on top for their respective mini-arcs. Although honestly, I could do away with the motivations for like two of them. They have great story relevance, but are honestly pretty awkward to accept as part of the overall relationship building with their respective heroines.
Art and Music
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2 features a total of twenty-six unique CGs, excluding variations, with seven being HCGs. As of writing this review, the current version of the Steam release that uses the 18+ patch shows only twenty-three gallery entries. (The ones that are missing are specifically the three animated HCGs used in the game.) Animal Herb’s Yano Mitsuki, known for their work on numerous Eushully titles (Kamidori Alchemy Meister, Amayui Castle Meister, Wayblazer Dämmerung) reprises their role as the main artist for this installment. Similar to the previous installment, their work still exudes a feeling of high-quality. Aside from the original trio, who more or less look similar to how they did in the first title, their designs for Kuro and (placeholder for fox girl name) manage to create their own charm that fits their characterization pretty well. Although I still do think that the use of white cat ears and tail makes them feel more like accessories rather than extensions of the heroines’ bodies, it doesn’t actually detract from their cuteness as a whole. And just like last time, Mitsuki’s youthful approach to their character designs makes them land critical hits on the heart very easily.
The game’s incorporation of Live2D in this installment feels a lot better than the previous title’s attempt. Although there’s a noticeable lack in terms of range of motion for Lily and Cacao this time around, their movements feel a lot more natural when put side-by-side with Mint’s and the other two. The weird angles on the sprites have been reduced a lot, which makes for a really pleasant visual experience overall. One factor that may have contributed to this is the removal of the frame limiter that was previously implemented in the prequel. The animations, even the transitions between screens and player interactions with the UI, feel a lot smoother and make the game feel a lot more polished as a product. It’s a much-needed improvement that makes for a positive experience.
As for its sound direction, NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2 sports a total of thirteen tracks, with eleven coming from the original game. Of the two they added, I really like the track called 「とあるいつもの鼻歌」, which feels like a great, calmer alternative to an everyday theme alongside the older track “Days, and again”. 「悪意の具現」 also feels like a nod to higher stakes being present in the story, which I really liked as an overall choice. (As of writing this, both track titles haven’t been translated into English equivalents, hence the use of their Japanese titles.) As for the voice acting, the three voice actresses for Mint’s gang knocked it out of the park once again. I really liked the additional dimension of vulnerability they gave Lily and Cacao within their respective mini-arcs, which I think adds to their charm as side heroines. Mint’s performance, as intended, kept me pretty jolly throughout the game as well. As for our new characters Kuro and Tsubaki, I think their voice actresses played their tropes nicely. I like how high-tension Kuro felt through her voice, and Tsubaki’s calmness for the most part really cemented her own determination to fulfill her role. Although that being said, since the game does just feel like a pillow in terms of how soft the atmosphere between characters usually is, they all just end up pretty soothing to listen to after some point. I had a pretty relaxing time just paying attention to their lines.
Verdict
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2 (Uchi no Pet Jijou Vol. 2) picks up on what the previous title was able to achieve and dives deeper into its established setting, creating an overall better narrative experience that not only capitalizes on its visual appeal but crafts a sort of identity for itself. Incorporating mortality as a theme through the use of recurring half-animal angels and demons as members of its cast, it tells a story that revolves around loss while maintaining a generally cute aesthetic look powered by Live2D motion. Additionally, the changes it made since Vol. 1 in terms of story direction give much-needed substance to what previously felt like very secondary characters, making it much easier for readers like myself to become invested in the heroines.
Although it had a pretty strong showing for this installment, some missed opportunities were still present that were inherited from the prequel. The lack of gravity given to Mint and Master’s relationship for the most part damages how compelling the underlying romantic subplot is between them, which is a shame given how big of a role it played, and continues to play, when it comes to specific consequences in the plot. While a little bit better than before, Master still feels a little bit lacking as a participant in the game’s plot due to how flimsy his motivation feels relative to what spurs him to action. Stronger instances of decision-making from himself as a protagonist would make him a more compelling character to follow, alongside being given a name, perhaps.
If you liked the first volume, pick up this next one as well. NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES, despite how silly the title sounds, has improved a lot compared to its previous iteration. It feels like it was finally able to settle into an identity for itself that it’s comfortable with, without necessarily forgoing the initial premise of cute, half-animal girls that it initially set as its market pitch. From what was initially a feel-good visual novel, it now offers a narrative that helps readers appreciate the series beyond its visual appearance. With the current direction it’s taking, I’m excited for what else Animal Herb decides to share with us in the next installments. Cute girls and a pretty good story that offers points to reflect on regarding life, what more can you ask for?
NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES VOL. 2 IS RECOMMENDED
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Thank you to Sekai Project for providing a PC review code for NEKO-MIMI SWEET HOUSEMATES Vol. 2.
Visual novel reader that wishes there were more than 24 hours in a day. Gacha victim, TCG enjoyer, and VTuber simp. Still trying to live happily.
