We started watching this in preparation for it's new season (Haiyoru! Nyaruko-san W), and I felt it was necessary to go into the way back machine. This time stopping in 2009 to catch up with all of the anime adaptations of Manta Aisora's Haiyoru! Nyaruko-san, a light novel series that began in April of that year.
First, a little background on this one. Trust me...it sort of needs it as there is some confusion out there on a few websites (Crunchyroll, I'm looking at you) on what order things are shown.
The show originally aired nine episodes between Oct 23rd, 2009 and March 15th, 2010 as Haiyoru! Nyaruani. Every episode lasts only about a minute and a half (give or take) too (you start to think recent shorts like Teekyu! and Mangirl! are War and Peace in comparison). In December of 2010, another short series premiered and the episodes were nearly four times as long, most clocking in around the four minute mark. Both of these incarnations of the show were extremely short and was Flash animation, so not the same quality many are used to. Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft consisted of twelve episodes that ran until Feb 25th 2011.
That brings us up to date pretty much...or at least up to the first full length series Nyaruko-san: Another Crawling Chaos. It may have taken a few years, but the Spring 2012 entry finally marked fully fleshed out series. The chaos hasn't stopped either...not in the least.
- Genre: Comedy/Satire/Supernatural (with a bit of Harem)
- Length: 12ep (9ep for the original and 12ep for the second season)
- Rating: 8/10
- Recommendation: Mainly picked up on a whim, but there was a bit of method to the madness. Either way, it's an hysterical series and if you know anything about the Call of Cthulhu RPG or even just Lovecraftian mythos, then you'll probably love the insanity (and the bazillion other references).
- Where to watch: Crunchyroll (only episodes 2-9 for the first season and series are out of order)
So, where to begin? That's a tough one and mostly I'm going to focus on Nyaruko-san: Another Crawling Chaos for this one.
Quickly we find out that she's his protector as well, having been sent by the Space Defense Agency for the mission. Oh yeah, did I mention that all the Elder Gods aliens? No? Well there ya go.
Her initial mission doesn't exactly last long (good thing too since his parents are away, for now)...but it does include a trip to the Lovecraftian Disneyland that is R'lyeh! (Yeah, we didn't see that one coming either.) We also gain the knowledge that Earth's entertainment is the best in the world! It's also rare, hard to get apparently and every Elder God (and every other alien species) seems completely obsessed with various mediums (manga, video games, etc).
Throughout these first few episodes we're introduced to the principle characters (along with Nyaruko's creative, happy violent streaks) as well as the plot points that are rather important. It does help to get everyone's feet wet with the whole thing and helps to introduce important settings and character back stories a bit. A few of the running gags of the series make their appearance too, even if some of them are left completely unexplained. (Seriously, what's with the forks?!)
 |
| We're with ya man...we really are... |
This love triangle (or is it a square?) is home to many of the jokes and gags that run throughout the series and is only complicated even more with the arrival of Hasuta (aka Hastur). What about Mahiro? The poor guy just wants them all gone. Especially the fiery (literally) Kūko and Nyaruko, mostly since they've taken up residence in his house upon their own volition. Even worse? They also end up going to school with him...nowhere is safe is for this kid. (No joke or pun is safe either for that matter.)
This all gets even more murky with the arrival of Mahiro's mom, Yoriko, back from her honeymoon...alone. His dad, doesn't seem to be around very much at all...in fact, they never really talk much about him to begin with. Just a few mentions early on. Either way, it turns out that Yoriko knows a lot than what's going on than Mahiro as well. Poor ignorant bastard...shame he's stuck living with all four of them. Don't let that fool you though, he does put up a good fight in his own right. (Those forks...they're evil man.)
Still with me? Good.
Now that we've got things somewhat understood...the rest of the show is just off the rails. Fights with various Lovecraftian monsters, school and home chaos, even Lovecraftian monsters as pets! Just when you think something serious is about to happen? Yeah, no. It's the complete opposite of what you're thinking. Though, none of this should be a surprise considering that this is spoofing the whole horror genre. It even goes as far as to parody other anime shows (think Pokemon, Haruhi, etc)), pop culture (there's a nice Back to the Future reference along with tons of others) and is influenced heavily by the game Call of Cthulhu in many ways.
 | |
| Yes, thankfully you will be! |
Carrie and I were laughing nearly constantly as the jokes piled on and never showed any signs of stopping. While one doesn't think of the Lovecraftian mythos as something that can be funny, Xebec (Love Hina, Upotte!, Bottle Fairy) has managed to pull this one off without any major hang ups. Maybe it's just that we know our Cthulhu around here, but I think there's definitely something for everyone in this series. We here at Kitsunseverse are glad to be getting a second season!
No comments:
Post a Comment