Haiyore! Nyaruko-san

Before saying anything about the anime itself let me mention one thing: Good luck getting that opening out of your head. It's been over a year now and I still catch myself humming "I wanna chaos". Ok let us be clear: If you don't know who Lovecraft is, too bad. You might as well stop reading. If you don't like lolis, too bad, you might as well stop reading. If you don't like references well too f$%^ing bad. Stop reading. Nyaruko-san takes the deities of the Cthulhu mythos and turns them into absolutely adorable lolis with questionable motives and morals. You have Nyarlathotep, turning into Nyaruko, our female lead, who obsesses over our male lead, Mahiro, an average highschool boy. Then you have Cthuga, the fire-breathing deity, turned to Cthuko, a bisexual redhead madly (pun intended) in love with Nyaruko and also fancying a bit the protagonist. And lastly, (and let me take a big breath here), we have me, Hastur, the Lord of Carcosa, the Unspeakable One, the Wind of Death, portrayed as (sigh) an adorable blonde trap. Hasuta-kun, who's also in love with the protagonist. So basically you have 3 sex(and not only)-crazed aliens looking like lolis, making a sh£$load of references to pretty much everything, all trying to win over the straight man, Mahiro. The plot doesn't progress anywhere, nor does it intend to. The anime never takes itself seriously, and just keeps throwing jokes and references at us with an occasional romantic scene between nyaruko and Mahiro. Most episodes are one-shot stories with no connection to each other (other than the occasional reference), usually with an event foreshadowed at the start of the episode which leads to the climax and a gag near the end. Hell, from a point onward we see Mahiro and Nyaruko trying to find the foreshadows so that they know what to expect (yeah, Deadpool-like 4th wall jokes, legions of them). The animation is pretty good as far as comedies go (hell, maybe even needlessly so) and the design of the aliens is simply too cute (you'll end up loving Nyaruko even if she usually acts like a jerk. The sound is also surprisingly ok, with the voice actors being surprisingly not annoying when they're doing almost-intentionally-annoying voices (still can't figure that out, nyaruko's voice for example should definitely be annoying and yet it isn't). Reasons to watch: 1)Plenty of brain-cell-killing humor. 2)If you like the Cthulhu Mythos it's a must. 3)References and more references and more references. 4)The art is incredibly cute for the girls and the trap. 5)It's a harem (kinda) anime without tsundere characters. 6)Rediculously catchy opening songs for both the original series and W. 7)Surprisingly romantic scenes thrown here and there. Reasons not to watch: 1)They displayed me as a trap (write my name in reverse)...

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san is a parody anime. Because of this, I thought the best way to review this is to reference as many things as I can in this one review. Story: The plot of this anime is pretty much, well, non-existent. Think about "Demon King Daimao" and "Angel Beats!", and throw all of those somewhat plotless ideas away because there seriously is no plot to this. In fact, it might very well be similar to "Zero no Tsukaima" and "Shakugan no Shana" because of the idea that there are many antagonists within the story that each get a sort of small arc in a sense. Also, think about "To Love-Ru" for the alien aspect. The story revolves around a 17 year old named Mahiro who finds out that a cthulu life-form known as Nyarlathotep or Nyaruko for short has come and protect him from other alien life-forms from doing god knows what to him. From then on, more cthulu-like creatures show up and hilarity ensues. Characters: Nyaruko, as the lead heroine, is a mix of Haruhi's enthusiasm, Konata's otakuness, Tomoyo's appearance, and Haruko Haruhara's insanity. And possibly every single lovesick female that can exist in anime ever. In short, she is an overly active silver-haired girl that can pretty much kick ass in any situation, proving to be truly the heart of this show, giving it its character. She also possesses one of the largest ahoge's ever, which changes shape according to her mood, which is actually pretty funny. Next, Mahiro. Now, think of the most tsundere character you can think of, and multiply it by 3. To put it short, Mahiro is one of the most tsundere characters you can ever meet. As the main male, he has to put up with all of these antics that the freeloaders in his house come up with, resulting in some funny scenes that usually involve forks. Yes, forks. Next, Kuuko. Kuuko can be considered as the sacred combination of origami and kotori from "Date a live", as well as Mafuyu from "Seitokai no Ichizon." As an obsessive and borderless person, she constantly fawns over Nyaruko and loves playing video games. And finally, Hastua. Yes, I know there are more characters, but I just wanted to point out the main 4. Hastua is the trap in the series and can be considered as a mix of a dandere character and Fuko from "Clannad". Yes, it's a boy, accept it. Though usually quiet, Hastua adds in as the shy one, eventually becoming more outgoing as the series goes. Keep in mind that these characters are just one-sided. Art and Sound: As an art style, the characters look really well done and the animation is fluid. The action scenes are pretty good as well and are well, random due to the circumstances the anime puts its action scenes in. For sound, think of the most catchy and energetic soundtrack you can think of. This will probably top that. The OP is one of the catchiest and upbeat things to ever come out of anime. As for the ending, the tone is still energetic, but a bit more toned down then the OP. Personal enjoyment: Now, for me, this can be considered as a guilty pleasure anime. The way I see it, there are 2 love triangles in this anime, each of them revolving around the 4 main characters. This anime, truly has something for everybody. It has a slice of life feel, action, comedy, parody, harem, yaoi, yuri, ecchi, horror (only for one episode, sort of), mystery, etc. Though this anime really has no plot, it's not supposed to. People judge this anime for something it isn't. It's supposed to be true mindless fun in the sense of testing one's otakuness. They constantly break the fourth wall, which is hilarious, they constantly make references to things, this is that otaku test I was talking about, and they put it in the way that is just pure comedy. However, it should be noted that this anime has an obsession with wanting to speed relationships up and make babies. Seriously, not even kidding. It seems as though that the characters really want to make children, and girl on girl and guy on guy apparently works to succeed this task. There is also a massive amount of foreshadowing which is just slipped in so precariously, that the characters and the audience don't notice, creating some sort of scavenger hunt that makes this anime unique. To put it simply, I love this anime and if anyone out there wants to watch something that takes your mind off of pretty much anything in life, then I would highly recommend watching this because there is nothing better then getting a smile on your face. Until then, may the owner of the Wicked eye watch over you!

Some reviews are harsh, some are good, ad here is my piece of mind: I like this anime. Granted it could ghave been a lot more, but as it is using the works of a Master Writer as H.P. Lovecraft and makes a parody with the Chthulhu Mytos, the idea itself would deserve a 9, not even counting its audacity! Those that know H.P.Lovecraft will laugh and recognize a lot on this story, especially the presence of the Yith, the Mi-go and Nyarlatothep of course. The use of such characters (Cthuga is very funny, and given its original being so much powerful and terrfic, even more hilarious). As Lovecraft's work can be considered Science Fiction, the way it was parodied here is fantastic, and many parts are so much more funny if you know what and which stories its parodiy comes from. When I first knew what was the concept of this anime I was thrilled, and even though it is parody I laughed a lot. That being said, I also like strong female characters with resolution and decisiveness, and Nyaruko knows what she wants. The boy is your regular dork and waste his time refusing the adorable Nyaruko (aha, must have a reason for the gags, as her atempts are funny). Chthuga is funny, but I am not a fan of Yuri anyway, but she is ot the aggressive one against the male character as in other stories and that was refreshing. Of course they could have done much, much more with such an idea, but as this is a parody, then ok. I recomend it for its execution, art, music, and for its origial and daring concept! And if you know or not Lovecraft's works, either way you will laugh a lot (although it is much more fun for those that do read Lovecraft's works)

My opinion about this anime is that the male main character should be more honest about his feelings for Nyarko, besides that it's good and i love Nyarko's voice... the way she speak makes my day ^_^, after the third episode i noticed alot of similarites from other animes, one girl attached to the male and another girl attached to the girl who's attached to the male and a love triangle begins. I recommend this anime to people who's after a good laugh and ecchi moments and action at same time, some few few few love moments...

So This what Half Life 3 looks like meets the Cthulhu Invasion.. That's a weird combination The Gordon Freeman in this series is neither An Cthulhu wields a crowbar as a main weapon... Hunting on an Scavenger Hunt was so deadly and it's also part of comedy aspects... (Man that's dark and hilarious at the same time) The Main character so far was just a decent guy with no self precautions until that girl came to her.. which reminds me of that one time show like bludgeoning angel dokuro-chan.. Due to troubles and antics by Nyaruko... The more he falls into her stupidity, he always takes it much seriously and avoid every gag which is much common to him... Too Decent to call this a normal Parody show.. (Like Blood Lad, and Binbougami Ga) but it's enjoyable too.. I honestly get on crack literally in the end..

What can I say? This series makes Mel Brooks films look mature; and that is what I love about it! The characters are beautifully drawn, the music is catchy enough to get stuck in my head for days, and there hasn't been an episode yet where my sides haven't started to ache from the laughter. Just when you think it's starting to get serious, something totally ridiculous comes right out of nowhere. If you like comedy on a level of absurdity that rivals flicks like "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Spaceballs," "Airplane," and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," then I am sure your gut will split just as much for "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san." Nyaruko-san is immature comedy at its very best (maturity is so overrated, anyway). Now where exactly did we place that fourth wall?

Nyaruko is a show I came into with a strange mindset. I initially had absolutely no desire to see such a series, but I figured I might as well watch something with as outlandish of a premise as this for one of the entries for my Anime Watching Challenge of 2019. After episode 1, I was intrigued. By episode 12, those moments of intrigue were struck and destroyed. Let me explain by talking about what initially caught my interest... The story. STORY - 6/10 The story provided at Episode 1 of Nyaruko was one of the most baffling and convoluted setups I had seen in a long time, and this just made me want to watch it more. It turns out that the deities written about by H. P. Lovecraft are alive, and not only that, the main girl - Nyarthathotep - is a huge fan of anime and manga. The idea that the series was going to star a girl version of a Lovecraftian deity who loved the media of the planet was ridiculous to me, but in a good way. It almost felt like a serpent eating its own tail; a being that was made from media who saves the world in this media because she likes the world's media. It sounded like it could be a setup for something interesting, something that could explore the concepts of humanity's obsession with media, with outlandish concepts like Anime Girl Lovecraft, and the like. However, by Episode 12, those hopes that the series could explore something with its tongue-in-cheek tone and meta subtext was thrown out of the window, as it becomes something jarringly generic and basic for a majority of its run time. While we still have moments of outlandish Outword out-of-body experiences, the majority of the series focuses on the same jokes being repeated ad nauseum in a typical high school harem setting. If this were the point - to use this outlandish concept to do something generic - as a form of meta storytelling itself about how these dime-a-dozen stories themselves have practically become indescribable and horrific beasts of the art form could have been funny; but if this is what they were going for then it failed miserably. Nyaruko never changes. It never explores anything it has the potential to. Nyaruko stays as one of the most generic stories I have seen in a long time. Every character has their joke, they are forced to say it once every two minutes or so, ad infinitum. What had potential to explore the ways we have seemingly started grabbing at straws for story concepts, or how media itself is a shapeless beast that seeps its way into our mind like a Lovecraftian beast itself, or even make a tongue-in-cheek homage to the ridiculous anime concepts that come before it, it does the most unfortunate thing and does nothing. The references it makes are incredibly basic - Jojo, Fist of the North Star, Gundam, Dragon Quest. It's nothing that would be unique or interesting to it as a series. The only times Nyaruko brings up media isn't to explore it, or to gleam any meaning from it or even the show itself, it's just to reference it. References make up a large majority of this show's humor, and while that makes sense, seeing as how the show itself is almost like one big reference to Lovecraft itself, that does make it a good or enjoyable show. ART - 4/10 The art is incredibly generic. There's no semblance of a unique art style here or a unique vision from a director. It... Exists. It isn't ugly, but it isn't interesting. There's nothing to say, as it itself says nothing. Asking me to comment on the visuals of Nyaruko would be like telling me to describe the taste of water. SOUND - 5/10 While I appreciate the attempts that the musicians take in attempting to make the OP an earworm that goes into your head, almost like the whispers of an Old God itself, besides that there's nothing to mention. The ED isn't interesting, the OST has nothing going for it, the voices are generic and don't come close to resonating with me. It exists and doesn't sound terrible, so I can give it that. CHARACTER - 1/10 These are not characters. These characters are sheets of paper with a single character trait written on them and nothing else. Nyaruko likes anime and the protagonist. The protagonist doesn't like Nyaruko. Kuuko likes Nyaruko. Hasuta likes the protagonist. This is the entirety of the personalities of these characters. It becomes increasingly annoying as you watch the show and continue to see the exact same jokes repeated over and over for 20 minutes at a time for about 12 episodes - I'll be generous and say 10 because the first and last episodes may not have had AS MANY of these bog standard jokes. And the characters that we have the pleasure of hearing repeat the same jokes over and over for 20 minutes a pop are some of the most annoying pieces of trash I have ever seen. They are unchanging from their original personality trait, and that personality trait is annoying and boring. Characters have to always be loud and annoying and yelling all the time in an annoying manner. It's absolutely some of the worst writing I have seen when it comes to giving characters personalities and unique thoughts and moments. Hasuta, for example, only has the personality trait of wanting to have intercourse with our main character. At least Nyaruko also enjoyed media on top of wanting to lay with our main character, and at least Kuuko liked games as well as liking Nyaruko (though sexualizing Nyaruko is her defining trait and becomes the line she must contractually say every 30 seconds), Hasuta is the worst written of them all as he has no defining traits outside of wanting to "have babies" with our protagonist. It's just awful. They're all awful. ENJOYMENT - 3/10 Again, while I enjoyed the concepts the first episode had the potential to bring up, I was enjoying the first episode or two, but the show fell into a trap of annoyance and repetition that caused me to despise watching it as I continued. However, as much as I hate to say it, there was a joke or two I chuckled at later on, mainly because those jokes were escapes from the generic repetitive jokes of the past 4 episodes. OVERALL - 3/10 It has a generic look, generic sounds, some of the least developed and most annoying characters I have ever had the displeasure to watch, and has the substance of watching a single episode 12 times in a row rather than watching all 12 unique episodes. It's like watching a series comprised of nothing but Endless Eight, except turning up the volume so loud it makes your ears bleed and shoving a bunch of references into it.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san - A Review as dry as the gin I drink while watching this. --------- Phew, so this is my first review. And I picked Nyarko-san of all shows to start? Why? The reason is simple - among all shows I have watched so far, this one has stood out to me for its remarkable intensity. Intensity in what? Brutal comedy! Lack of dignity! Shameless reference-hogging! Self-awareness! But most of all, confidence. The people behind this show probably knew what they were creating here, and had way too much fun making it. I won't repeat the plot and setting here, MAL got you covered. As an aside, the OP of this show is so immensely anime that I would show it to anyone who needs a lesson on what this medium can come down to. A) What I expected when going into this show: (backstory, expectations, predisposition) I first stumbled upon this gem of a show when doing my routine stroll through crunchyroll's sidebar list of anime to find something extraordinary. Upon first sight, a heartfelt laugh escaped by chest - All my alarm bells for "Gimmicky show" were ringing at full volume. An anthropo-comedy show, I was sure of it. But with a lovecraftian god (and Nyarlathotep of all!) as the main chick? I was BEYOND sceptical about the quality of this idea. Apart from that basic info (which made the show seem painfully generic and at the same time highly interesting), I had no ideas as to what i should expect. The pictures on MAL and CR were too incongruous with my idea of a show featuring old-school horror. As an aside, I watched Blend S before this show (I did NOT like it), and had a predisposition to thinking that nothing could possibly have less dignity than that show. If you can't tell yet, I'm not a fan of useless fanservice. B) What the viewing experience is like: It's like nothing I've seen so far. There are lots of shows which people recommend you to "turn your brain off" to; This notion always struck me as odd, but now I understand it all too well. You cannot watch Nyarko-san without sacrificing some sanity. In that sense, it is quite a subtle application of lovecraftian psychology/horror. Sure, it doesn't SCARE you to insanity, but it sure drives up a wall! The show constantly fulfills every cliché expectations you might have, and goes even beyond. It indulges in its craziness, grabs you by the hand and doesn't let it go until you have lost either your virginity, your temper or your sanity. The only way you can enjoy the show is to accept it as what it is, and not question the premise, the execution, or...basically anything. How does this craziness manifest itself? Hyperactivity of the plot; Nothing stands still for even a second. References to anime and gaming culture as well as Lovecraft's works that bear no impact on the plot 50% of the time and are clearly there to entertain the knowledgeable viewers. Shameless fanservice and harem tropes. Yes. This is a harem.(As if there were a way to avoid this nowadays >.>) I have to admit, this show is as close to an ecchi as you can possibly go without it being categorised as such. Prepare yourself for the most thirsty aliens you have seen in media, as well as a mother that loves her son maybe a bit too much. C) What I think this show excels at: Nyarko-san is a rare case of "Terrible concept - brilliant execution". The creators of this show knew that there was nothing serious they could make of this setting, and thus they went for the complete opposite - total, utter absurdity. The pacing of the show leaves no gaps to be bored. Every shot shows something interesting or relevant to the plot, and rarely is there a moment where you are let off the hook. Even though the humour might not be of your taste, its comedic timing is spot on. This is a rare sight nowadays, and really makes this show enjoyable when you find value in its brand of wish-fulfillment, absurd humour. Its references range from everything in between Pokemon and obscure shows you probably haven't heard about. (Pop team epic, anyone?) As an interesting aside: The show seems to give off a strong vibe that the video game obsession most of the characters have is reflective of the creators. I think it's telling that this show has more actual gamers in it than Gamers!. Another facette of this execution is the way the plot is constructed long-term: There is no real overarching structure to it, but a (very predictable) and elaborate plan to increase the shenanigan density overall. As soon as the dynamics between the current characters could start getting out of hand or stale, the show introduces a twist to make up for it. Be it a new character that breaks the symmetry of the love triangle (rectangle? pentagram?) or just a plain ol' body swap - Nyarko-san never fails to deliver the kind of entertainment that keeps you on your toes, whether you like it or not. There is also (for this kind of show seemingly out-of-place) foreshadowing and adherence to Chekov's gun. In particular, a certain gimmicky charm comes to mind as being useful again and again in vital moments of the show. On that note, an honourable mention is the *perfection* with which the main chick, Nyarko-san, is executed. She is possibly the most annoying, hyperactive, clingy, perverted love interest that a teenage boy could dream of, and as such fills her role spot on. She reacts to everything, forces the main character into the most embarrassing situations and literally wants his babies more than anything. The show pulls no breaks in characterising her as the most inhumanly obsessive lover you could imagine. Which...sounds annoying and unrealistic at first...until you realise it. This is genius. She's a lovecraftian god. OF COURSE she's inhuman! Of course she is destroying the sanity of both the main character and the viewer! Of course the stunts of absurd, meta comedy she pulls are seemingly out-of-the-blue. The seemingly pointless idiocy of the characters and plot shit actually serves to provide a lovecraftian horror that is not scary, but endearing (in a way). Beyond this, the show mainly focuses on turning the lovecraftian mythos into a source of humour, which further supports this thesis. However, not much about it stands out as much as the main cast. D) What I think it fails at: Which is a shame, really, since the main cast is terribly developed. Any development they get is limited to Mahiro (perfectly generic harem protagonist) slowly getting more accepting of his relationship with Nyarko. Apart from this, there is no discernible change in the dynamics between the characters, which is a shame, even though the dynamics at hand are quite stable and can be exercised in various ways. Another issue is the lack of motivation for the events at hand - mainly the romantic interest of Nyarko in Mahiro. There are only veeeery slight glimpses as to what she finds attractive about him, if there is anything at all. He gets no proper characterisation, as is standard in harem anime, which makes it very difficult to empathise with Nyarko's infatuation with him. Similarly, but in a slightly less problematic manner, his disdain for her is rarely elaborated on. This is, yet again, a staple of many harem shows, but it bears mentioning. There ARE some good reasons as to why the MC does not reciprocate Nyarko's feelings - from a meta perspective, the tension would drop immediately if he did, and the show would instantly devolve into hentai. In-story, the MC simply has no interest in her. Even if he had, there would be no way to discern it - his character is so flat that it does not allow for interpretations of his preferences. Some speculation has gone into the idea that the MC is gay - however, there is probably a simpler explanation. His life gets invaded by an obsessive alien that could kill him in an instant if she wanted to, and wants his babies. She never leaves him alone, or any choice, for that matter. Swap the sexes, and you'd call the police. If you want to, you can thi…

This is one anime that almost did not thinkpart of the story, not even merely the background story as a setting for the situation-comedy love her so most did not give a clear reason for the characters to stay together. Indeed, there are still about Nyaruko opening story that comes to protecting Mahiro, but it was only last up to two episodes before then the whole story becomes meaningless. So what could be the advantages of this anime? Comedy crazy? Looks like neither. Parodi the flagship feels too forced, more just tryingto show a resemblance to the original work that became a reference basis rather than pay attention to the element of comedy itself. Using the Star Wars-style scrolling text to convey a bad joke will not make anyone laugh. And, OMG, it even went satirically political! .... Meanwhile, the slapsticknya also very repetitive and seem random. Mahiro scenethat constantly wear a fork to punish Nyaruko just look stupid when both Mahiro and Nyaruko each did not have the background to specifically use a fork or fear him. Anime is occasionally may still bemade to smile, but most of the comedy is very bland.

An alien deity girl is sent to earth to protect an earthling from space monsters. Turns out she falls for him. This show doesn't really have any crazy plot or anything like that. It's just full of gags, parodies and funny stuff. A lot of the jokes have to do with Nyarko(Alien girl) being a pervert and trying to get with Mahiro(MC dude). I always find pervert girls in anime amusing so I thought it was pretty funny. Mahiro builds himself a nice little harem and even has a boy fall for him so he's got options. lol. Mahiro has to deal with pervert girls living with him and all the weird space stuff they bring with them. It's amusing to see. It has a bunch of comedy/parody,ecchi, Scifi and some action. It's a nice little silly anime to watch.

Man, oh man, if you look at my list, you'll noticed that I tend to prefer English dubbed anime over subbed anime. This is the anime that changed that. I'll have to give it credit for that. Here I was, looking for something after finishing Shakugan No Shana II, and I come across this show. The premise was unique enough that it warranted me to take a look at it, and at 13 Episodes, it wasn't that much of a time investment. A weekend to be precise. Let me start by talking about the Characters, I'm giving them a nine, not because I found them particularly endearing lall the time. (Though Mahiro is a particularly skilled straight man. Usually.), but because of their designs. Each one is unique and instantly recognizable. I could watch a 1000 anime and instantly recognize these characters. I suppose it's part of the reason I give the art an 8 as well. The story, however, doesn't go anywhere. With the exception of a very-moving 1st half of Episode 12, a lot of punchlines come from: Mahiro does something to Nyaruko. Nyaruko does the exact the same thing to Ryuuko later in the episode. While it is a clever way to show off the two MCs compatibility to each other from a romantic perspective,, if it's not up your alley for humor, it's going to be obnoxious. And while the show goes to great lengths not to be an Episode of the Week format with cliffhangers, none of them go anywhere. They're all resolved within a couple of minutes of the next episode. And Brick Jokes, part of any good comedy's humor are severely lacking. The opening is very catchy, and while it fits for the first 11 Episodes, Episode 12 puts it in a very awkward place. One of the writers must have loved video games, because you've got your parodies of Video Game Consoles, not just 2012's modern ones. (360 and PS3), but a WonderSwan knockoff is even plot-relevant for an episode. How many non-Japanese people are even familiar with the WonderSwan's existence?

So far the best anime i have ever watched and will always be my fav Story : Learn everything about girls and boy and how to be a tsundere with a fork only! 10/10 Art : 10/10 sound : 10/10 best soundeffects and music Enjoyment : 10/10 rewatched it over 30 times now I really wished if this anime was longer but sometimes you should act like Mahiro-san and move on Nyaruko didn't just draw a smile for her love only she draw a smile on my face and will draw a smile on your face too So laides and gentlmen grab your chips and watch this anime NOW!! (P.S : it's better to watch ONE episode only every week if you want to enjoy it even more)

I first watched a bit of this franchise back with the online airing of Haiyoru! Nyaruani, which I never finished due to lack of interest. I gave Nyaruko another chance in Nyaruko-san but I'm sad to report that it still isn't that good. Nyaruko is about the not-so-ordinary slice-of-life story of Mahiro who, like in To LoveRu, finds a sudden instant-girlfriend in the form of a crazy alien, and soon finds himself in the middle of yet another harem. This light comedy differentiates itself in two ways. First, Nyaruko's personality and goal of protecting Mahiro and, really indirectly, the Earth as a galactic policeman makes for an interesting premise. Second, the series makes use of lots of parodies of other anime series. While the second differentiation is interesting, it's not worth wading through a lot of bad plot to say "oh, that was from Gundam OO... nice...". Animation: The overall animation is not bad, especially considering that it isn't in Adobe Flash this time around. The overall coloring is nice, with some occasionally stellar backgrounds. As for character styling, Nyaruko has one crazy-large ahoge, which she can apparently control to make shapes and what not (though not to the extent of Yami in To Love-Ru). Some of the clothing (or lack thereof) is a bit odd but given they're aliens I guess it's okay? It seems alien-based series always need a mascot, this time in the form of a hippo-bat-bird chimera. Xebec's previous works include Kanokon, To LoveRu, Ladies vs Butlers, and MM! thus you can expect that there will be substantial fan service. Much of it is in the form of intentional ecchi similar to that found in Kanakon, though there is also a strong emphasis on yuri elements- and you have Hasuta, a guy who wants to have Mahiro's baby, if that makes any sense to you... There is some action involved, but I found it to be average harem quality, i.e. nothing to be impressed with. Sound: Immediately, the OP announces the seriousness of the series with a bunch of "Ooh~ Nyaa!"s. It's a playful but melodically uninspiring piece, though playing the first part at 0.5x speed makes for some good chuckles. The ED feels like the complete opposite of the OP, a very calm and conservative piece. BGM is fairly plain with one weird chant piece used repeatedly throughout. VA-wise, Kana Asumi did a great job giving Nyaruko a uniquely outgoing personality. Eri Kitamura also, again, demonstrates her unfathomable range as Mahiro; definitely a pretty convincing guy voice. The others were a mix as I found Rie Kugimiya a weird fit for Hasuta. Story: There's two ways you can look at the story here, from the innovative parody angle and from the lethargic plot angle. From the parody angle, this series is pretty entertaining. You can easily find over a dozen parodies in this show ranging from Haruhi to Half Life to The God Only Knows. I'll let you find some of the other ones but do note that it covers a surprisingly broad spectrum of anime and production companies. Unfortunately, the bare bones plot used to create these parody situations was pretty pitiful. You are presented with a handful of antagonists to move the story along, and they are laughably bad at best. The series is pretty arc-based, building (barely) to a final climax and likewise bare bones resolution. Though the show occasionally moves quickly and sometimes ends on cliffhangers, there are also many conversation points at which one could easily fall asleep. As Nyaruko is 1000% committed to Mahiro, there never feels like there is any real tension or risk- leading to my overall apathy towards the plot. For me, the plot had the greater impact of the two and as stated already, it's not really worth it just for the parodies. So what about the characters? Character: There's a handful of primary and supporting characters, which can easily be bucketed as harem members and the rest, respectively. The series does try to be different by having homosexual tendencies but you never really get anything meaningful as Mahiro is just your standard, indecisive and weak male lead- though he actually does seem to be more rude than the typical nice guy. In the end, the only meaningful character is Nyaruko, who shows her devotion in a very Kanakon fashion, though with additional flair and Super-Sentai-ish body movements. Unfortunately, even with Nyaruko, all the relationships in this series are static- no one really develops at all. Value: This series deserves credit for pulling together so many parodies from such a breadth of genres. However, it walks a very well-treaded path in all other categories resulting in a standard, if not sub par, addition to the over-crowded slice of life, comedic harem genre. In retrospect, To Love-Ru offers a more progressive plot and richer character development with a fairly similar premise. Is this a show to watch? You can watch the first episode and use Nyaruko's personality as a litmus test, but in general I'd say pass this one.

You can't float a show on one enjoyable character. What little 'story' you get is poorly tied together and constantly excused as being nothing more than a gag. It's just worthless otakubait.

(A very long time ago; things used to be different. Now this much is true:) Comedy, especially slapstick comedy, and I don't make for a perfectly good team. What comedy finds "funny," I vehemently HATE; what I find "funny," it's considered "boring." The "Generation Gap" does that. I came towards "Nyaruko-san" with fear and caution: I might get yet another moe-fied piece of animu garbage; where the spotlighted male lead would yet another spineless herbivore. Well... Said male lead, Mahiro, has a female voice actress. (We could say that he's in middle school or that Japan's overall herbivorism had taken its toll.) But that's about it. He's able to surprise me by being "the fan who smacks the idiots" as oppose to being yet another "butt of thy jokes." So here we have this show about Nyaruko, a moe-fied Nyarlothotep and brazen female otaku, constantly trying to pull it out of Mahiro's pants for reasons unknown... Comedy ensues, references are made, Akihabara is considered as "THE place to go" for "Earth's entertainment(?)"... (Hollywood? Bueller?) My only complaint is with Mahiro's seiyuu being female instead of male. If his male friend can haz it, then why not? (Hoping for an English dub release from Media Blasters as well... ;_; )

This anime was awful, i first bothered watching the anime because i was lured in with the names of the cosmic horrors of H.P. Lovecraft only to find that it is a parody romance that has horribly portrayed the works of Lovecraft. I feel like this anime has desecrated the works of Lovecraft. Nothing here is portrayed accurately of his works or even an enjoyable spin on it. it's just another lame comedy harem. the plot is none existent and just centers on Nyarlathotep trying to reproduce with the main character boy. which by the way Nyarlathotep acts NOTHING like the hp Lovecraft version 😭 perhaps i wouldn't have rated it so poorly if not for the fact they just butchered Lovecraft, better yet why did they even use the names if they didn't use any of the lores and characters depicted accurately at all. It's like the characters just share all the names and that's it. The humor wasn't even good, jokes i have seen countless of times over in other animes. This is the first time i have ever made a review, this anime has done nothing but bring forth deep disdain from me. if you are an H.P. Lovecraft fan do not watch this anime. and especially do not use this anime as a reference to his work or learning more of the mythos.

I like the concept of this anime, bringing mythology creatures from the Cthulhu mythos and turn them into cute girls and this battle between the monsters and gods is quite fun to watch, also the whole mc's family belongs to the clan of silver forks ninja thing which sounds kinda dumb but funny. The only downside to this anime is how unlikable the mc is, maybe it's just me but the dude acts like a total jackass everytime Nyaruko makes a move on him. I know that most anime when it comes to a girl falling madly with a guy but since due to anime's logic the guy is either too embarrassed, dumb, dense, or in love with someone else and he always find a way to slip away when the girl tries to force her love on him but here the guy acts like a total ahole, his actions are basically saying "f u, get away from me, i don't love you, get out of my life" and because of this i sometimes wonder why the hell would he even feel sad or emotional when Nyaruko leaves him, oh and he also wines like a btch sometimes making him much more annoying than any monsters in the anime

Even after binge-watching this entire show, I'm genuinely unsure how I feel about it. I'm a huge fan of H.P. Lovecraft and the universe he created, and I enjoyed the references and jokes in this, but there's no plot, the characters are extremely simple, and it's generally kind of hard to make my mind up on. One example of this is the fact that Hastur, the unspeakable, the king in yellow, is a tiny trap child. On the one hand, that's hilarious to me. On the other, I can't help but be sincerely confused as to why. Even though I enjoyed this show, I feel like I don't want people to know that I enjoyed it. I'm not into rom-com animes, and there is 0 chance I would have watched this if it wasn't just for the absurdity of an anime where Nyarlathotep, the crawling chaos, is a small anime girl. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone, but I wouldn't tell anyone to avoid it. It's alright, I enjoyed it (even if it wasn't good per se), and I guess that's enough.

So I rated enjoyment a 9 but the whole show a 7? What gives? I guess the short version is I liked it a lot despite its shortcomings. I'm being overcritical. See, this is a parody show. Both of otaku entertainment culture and of the Chtulhu mythos. And I love both those things. So I am totally into this... even while I acknowledge that the whole thing is pretty cliche and silly. Maybe I'm unfairly biased against harem anime because of the hate it gets from the Really Serious Fans... though I don't even want to call this a harem, because there's only two people chasing after our protagonist, and one's a young boy. Maybe it's because I'm bored of the monster-of-the-week... but that's not it either, because for the most part these are all pretty cute story concepts and well-executed even if not super original. No, I think at the end of the day I am doing this show a disservice because I've mentally classed it as a guilty pleasure and I don't want to acknowledge how much I enjoyed it. Well... and also there's only so much of it you can watch at once, because it's all so very tongue-in-cheek. But I absolutely love the concept of eldritch abominations as high-school anime types. I actually feel for Nyaruko's constant unsuccessful pursuit of Mahiro. I like his batty mother. I dig the rich dense references[1] that pack every episode, many of which I actually get (go me). Battles get a little repetitive, but honestly that's part of the point. I would say the art suffers at some points for obvious shortcuts, whether it's repeated scenes (episode 12 is largely a clip show) or pan frames or whatnot, but it's still generally good quality. I think the biggest detracting factor is that unless you're already pretty familiar with the source material being parodied, this show just isn't going to make any sense. You'll get that *something* is happening, but what exactly will probably elude you, and that's just going to be frustrating. I love it. But I also love the Laundry Files[2]. So at the end of the day I think I would say if you suspect you'll like this series, odds are good you'll love this series. If you've looked at the cover and have no idea what's going on... maybe go watch something else. OH! And I forgot to mention, totally the catchiest OP/ED I've heard in a long long while. (And no, the lyric is not actually "Gay horse gay horse! I want a gay horse[3]!" But you'll never be able to hear anything else now...) [1] http://nyaruref.blogspot.com/2012/04/haiyore-nyaruko-san-episode-1.html -- check out this guide if you're watching, it's really good. [2] Charlie Stross' urban-fantasy book series about a British government agency tasked with using math-based magic to protect the world from Cthulhu-mythos eldritch horrors and the crazed humans who would try to use them. Start here: https://www.amazon.com/Atrocity-Archives-Laundry-Files-Novel/dp/0441016685/ [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretariat_(horse) -- okay, the thing about him being a "reticent breeder" is actually overstated, the horse has like 600 known first-generation offspring so clearly he wasn't too shy of the fillies, but... c'mon, it's a joke.

Spiritually, Lovecraftian horror and cute girls anime are perfect opposites; on the spectrum of things that exist, no matter what criteria you use to judge, these two things will be at loggerheads. But, of course, anime is the eternal struggle to reimagine every personality, object, and abstract concept into a cute girl, and starting with diametric opposition is either the obvious move or so decadently stupid that anyone still conscious enough to react probably couldn’t form a coherent argument against it. Did it work, though? Haiyore! Nyaruko-san was cute for the first episode or two, when Nyaruko was a ball of energy driven by pure novelty and some adorable randomly interspersed English. The OP is endearing and I’m a big fan of the ED. Otherwise, a lot of this show is kind of a slog. Most of the jokes revolve around how much every character is in love with every other character (except for Mahiro, that featureless trash). The rest are merely references to better shows (and the occasional worse show). All the humor has the same setup, and often the same fork-related punchline; that stops being charming quite rapidly. Before long, I realized that the only reason I was still watching was for Nyaruko, and then mostly because I enjoyed Kana Asumi’s voice work so much. The first episode or two made it seem like there would be a consistent running narrative throughout the show, but that quickly dies down once Nyaruko, Kuuko, and eventually Hastur gather up their convenient excuses for living under the same roof and continuing to be relevant to the show. From there, the show devolves into a handful of episodic arcs that only serve as excuses for more lazy jokes and don’t build off each other. The larger universe occasionally toured or mentioned isn’t all that interesting or fleshed-out, and aims more for momentary convenience than cohesion. Stuff springs into existence when it’s necessary and vanishes when the joke has passed. There’s not much reason to expect anything more from a middle-of-the-road rom com, except, perhaps, if that rom com were based on one of the most iconic and expansive mythoi in the modern world and had a lot of opportunities to be better than a totally mediocre weekly wacky waifu roundup. This didn’t have to be brilliant, but it could have been less of a horrid bore. Talk about an unlikable protagonist. Mahiro expresses no reciprocation of Nyaruko’s feelings and yet we’re meant to believe that there will eventually be some manner of fulfillment. His response to Nyaruko’s advances is never the perfectly reasonable, “Why would I want to be in a relationship with the God of a Thousand Forms? Won’t my soul get warped beyond conceivable reality?” Instead, it’s just, “Ew, girls. I’m 15 and unrelatable.” He’s always indignant and testy, as if it’s somehow a great tragedy and a major inconvenience that there’s a cute girl who lives with him, watches anime with him, and loves him unconditionally. Mahiro is an obnoxious brat and there is no evident reason at all why Nyaruko should be so head-over-heels in love with him. This kid is every terrible, bland, pasty, infuriating romantic comedy anime protagonist. Yet this is also unlike so many other shows that string the audience along through the characters’ indecisiveness; Mahiro has made his decision quite firmly, but we’re expected to blatantly disregard it. You, I, Nyaruko, the real Nyarlathotep, H.P. Lovecraft, and the whole world deserve better. I suppose I allowed myself to be convinced briefly that this show would be different, but don’t be fooled by the fact that the girl on the cover is apparently one of Nyarlathotep’s many incarnations. It’s not all that funny or charming and is instead tedious, predictable, and kind of trashy. This is just like any other show you could be wasting your time by watching. Pick a better one.