First Impression – Haiyoru! Nyaruko-san
High kicks and hyperactive characters await you in Haiyore!
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…You know, I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by Lovecraft. …Maybe I should start? Anyways, yeah the new moe loli comedy of the season is here. The flash animations to this were alright as far as I remember, but let’s see if the actual anime is good or not~. |
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I will admit I never watched any episodes of the first short “series” of Haiyoru, but this fully animated anime series looks interesting. Character designs scream Haganai to me or maybe more Denpa Onna? Mostly because of the main girl with her super long hair… Anyway, I have no idea what this will be like. Maybe it will be something amazing and hilarious? Hopefully right?
Plot follows Yasaka meeting a strange girl named Nyarlathotep aka deity of Chaos who protects him from monsters. |
Nyaruko-“Are you prepared for some epic moe justice?!”
We start this random anime with Yasaka running for his life after a monster appears that tries to kill him, but he cries out for someone to save him. This calls forth our main character named Nyarlathotep, who quickly arrives to finish off the monster. The following morning during breakfast, Yasaka listens to this new girl ramble on and on about everything… My head would have exploded at this point if I were Yasaka! Seriously, do not feed this girl anything with sugar or she will bounce off the walls. Anyway, she explains her job, which is to protect Yasaka from the other demons or “aliens” that are appearing on earth. Sure why not, throw in random aliens for us to enjoy, but the real question I have is will you bring in Erio from Denpa Onna too?
Nyaruko-“Time to watch hours and hours of foreign cartoons about little girls.”
So what does a girl like Nyarlathotep like to do on earth? SHOPPING! But not any shopping as she ends up buying several volumes of manga and anime because humans have the best entertainment! Truth right there, we do have some great things to watch and play. However, this random outing wasn’t just about buying things, it was a clever way for her to destroy another demon while using Yasaka as bait. After taking care of that monster Nyarlathotep explains that she basically fell in love with Yasaka just by looking at his photo before accepting the job. Is this a case of love at first photograph? I think so, but Yasaka wants no part of this strange girl…Wait a second… our main character confessed her love on the very first episode? Good luck on your love themed quest, God of Chaos.
Nyaruko-“OH MY GOD! LIMITED EDITION?!” Yasaka-“Not really limited…it just sucks.”
Ouch! Right in the demon baby maker! That has to hurt…
After a long battle Nyaruko is in the mood for some one on one time with Yasaka.
The second half of the episode places Nyarlathotep in the role of mysterious transfer student. Yes, this anime has it all even school events…and naturally she is a huge hit with everyone at the school. It doesn’t take long before the whole class knows both of them are basically a couple and they even eat lunches together; however, another demon arrives to attack our poor main character. Besides kicking and punching monsters, how else does she fight? With her own pokemon! Yes she literary summons a pokemon-ish style pet to fight. After calling her pet out, it fails to beat the monster and she is forced to beat the crap out of it with her secret weapon…a crowbar to save the day.
Nyaruko-“Bow down before your new lord and master!” Yasaka-“I swear I am surrounded by special people…”
Fangirl power is very dangerous.
Nyaruko wants to become a demonic pokemon master one day!
After that Yasaka returns home to take a bath, but Nyarlathotep takes this chance to join him. That sure sounds like the best fantasy of all time right? WRONG! Yasaka uses his trademark fork to stop this girl and I assumed at the end, he tossed her out of the bathroom or brutally stabbed her with his fork of doom! I noticed he really loved to beat her up a lot…
You can’t run away forever, Yasaka! One day you will give into her needs…
Extra moe Lovecraft.
Watch out Ben-TO fighters! Yasaka will fork you so hard…
Nyaruko gives her approval of this amazing anime.
Nyaruko_Hnnngggg.jpeg
Nyaruko-“Just shut up and kiss the monitor now!”
Eating her drool might cause your insides to melt.
End thoughts
That was actually waaaaay better then I thought it would be. Mahiro was the same from the mini flash animation things I watched (aka boring and one dimensional), but Nyaruko was extremely amusing. She’s an awesome kind of otaku. I had to laugh at Mahiro comparing her fighting to a criminal organization. I mean, she took down that monster thing with a rock or whatever that was. It’s hilarious. Her being dere over Mahiro is pretty amusing too (thank god she’s not a tsundere) … I don’t even know what to character stereotype classify her as besides being amusing. She’s a gag character for sure. Yeah, nothing was really explained and I can’t pronounce any of the character’s names (minus Cthulhu. That’s the only one of those names I know how to pronounce and I don’t even think there’s a character for that.), but this is way better than loli pantsu (…which is what I was expecting). Sure there was the bath scene, but it wasn’t the cliche guy walks in on girl scene for once. Progress! Maybe!
However, even with the improvements I still kind of found it hard to sit through. It seemed like the same gags of Nyaruko generally not listening were used over and over again. Also, I don’t think I liked the flow of the storyline (…mostly because it didn’t feel like it had flow at all). Maybe this will improve as this goes on…? If not, this is going to be one of those things where I only watch it when I feel like it. I don’t know. I mean, I liked everything that went on for the most part, but it seemed to be missing something crucial that could hold my attention.
Now on to the finer points. The OP, ED and OST were all pretty forgettable IMO. The animation was pretty good though for the most part though, as was the voice acting (Mahiro is voiced by Kitamura Eri, no joke. I was shocked.) I absolutely love the character designs as well… Or at least the clothing and Nyaruko’s colour palette. Her hair and eye combination is nice. So overall, I say that this was better then I was expecting, but it was still pretty mediocre. I probably won’t follow this weekly, but I’ll give it a few more episodes to see if it gets better. …Or maybe I’ll read the literature so I can at least get the references xD.
OH MY GOD, that was freaking amazing! I swear this might become the next Ika Musume for me because I just could not stop watching Nyarlathotep aka Nyaruko voiced by Kana Asumi who everyone loves as the cute Miya from Amagami SS. Anyway, I loved watching our main character run around with Yasaka exploring the world, but she wasn’t as curious like Ika Musume because it looked like Nyaruko had a perfect understanding of the real world; so I suppose she has been around for a very long time? She is an old god after all…my only experience with the Chtulhu world might be through the MMO World of Warcraft. In that game there are several “old gods” aka C’Thun and Yogg-Saron; both monsters have lots and lots of tentacles and various eyeballs on them.
So yeah, this series hit the ball out of the park with a lead character like Nyaruko, but I was quite happy to see she wasn’t going to be a typical tsundere girl who bitches and beats the snot out of the main character, but the main character Yasaka tends to abuse Nyaruko a whole lot. Why does he always hit her and stab her with forks? I have no idea, but it certainly is a refreshing change or maybe it is more of a role reversal? Take Index for a moment; that character is always biting Touma in every damn episode and poor old Touma never fights back while Yasaka always seems to be knocking Nyaruko around. I guess that is a nice change of pace. Sadly I wonder how long will last until they run that gag into the ground?
Opening was nice. It shows off all the character nicely especially the long legs of Nyaruko, but I can’t wait to see the blonde character and the fire themed redhead who looks like that demon chick from [C], she is just missing horns. Ending song will give you a case of the Hnnggsss with Nyaruko running around wearing different clothes and smiling like crazy! I swear it had me grinning the entire time…Overall this was a great first episode, but if you are looking for a fan service themed series you might not find it in this series. Not to say there is no fan service at all, because they did include that short bath scene at the end of the episode so I guess that counts? Anyway you should really check out this first episode.
Preview
Yasaka-“Hmmmm something isn’t right…” Nyaruko-“We are missing some candy apples.”
Nyaruko goes to a festival!
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: iLurker with 4 comments
Loved this anime, I think its great.
I was thrilled seeing it being turned into an anime after its been so long after the flash animations. This is exactly my kind of show 🙂
Nyaruko feels fresh and her voice actress did a great job, I liked her in Working too. Or maybe its because I love the combination of spacemonster/scifi high school anime, .. hm no I think it has more to do with the characters.
The OP is at least for me already on the level of Haruhi’s ED. UH! NYA! LET’S NYA! That is some great fun.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yes! It is really great <3
Yeah I never survived the flash animation days of this anime, but I wanted to see the actual anime version and yep this is my kind of show too!
Indeed voice work for Nyaruko was perfect! Then again I loved her Miya voice on Amagami SS. Yeah High school and anime are pretty much a match always.
OP and ED are wonderful I can't wait for the full releases sooooon!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
It’s Popura-chan! And Mio from Ano Natsu….what is not to love about this?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
LOL WHAT?! Seriously? Hnnggggg <3
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
OK, some disclosure. I’m a Cthulhu Mythos fan from some time back, and indeed an anime fan from way back. We have seen elements of the Mythos in anime for the better part of well, since I’ve been paying attention. Neon Genesis Evangelion. Reeks of the Mythos. Reaxephon (hope I’m spelling that right). Hell, even freaking Pokemon has some in it.
But, so far, it’s mostly been on the level of science fiction, being played for the sheer terror that comes with it.
It makes sense that it should collide with the huge MOE burst that trickles into nearly every production currently going.
I only watched a few of the Flash shows, they seemed very tedious at points…
This was a great debut, all the references were spot on, and made this fan of the Call of Cthulhu RPG dance with a bit of joy.
Nyaruko-chan is a very well developed character so far. I like the design…that huge
tentacleahoge. Yes, Fosh, so reminiscent of Erio and Maria-chan from Tomodachi. I enjoy how true she stays to herself.I can’t wait to see how well the series develops it stable of supporting characters. The Flaming Twin Tailed Girl looks to be of most interesting, recalling how in the Dweller in the Darkness, Cthugha was used to drive Nyarlthotep away. From some of the images in the OP/ED it looks like Nyaruko-chan may be playing the part of the reluctant object of romance. The Blonde Haired Shota, Hastur The King in Yellow (gym suit?) In the OP you can see him hiding behind The Yellow Sign
As for other references the SAN (sanity) score from the games comes into it’s own. Funny think about that statistic. You use percentile dice in that system, and try to roll under it. Characters can typically start of with a range of 60-80. If you pass, you lose a significantly less amount than if you would if you had failed. You always get at least a “scratch” when gazing upon the Unspeakable Horrors of the Cosmos. In the ED, you can see Nyaruko at a table with a Keeper’s Screen, a handy reference folder that the folk that run the games of CoC keep around.
Looking forward, it looks like the big beardy guy is going to be Nodens, who is served by Nightgaunts (the things Nyaruko got tired of fighting). Which means a trip to the Dreamlands….Oh, I hope. Since Nodens is an old enemy of Nyarlthotep, the show could get interesting.
All in all, I’m an instant fan. These are two great tastes that taste great together.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Whoaaaa this is awesome Skylion! Thank you for the explosion of information on the whole Cthulhu stuff, but yeah I can see lots of anime use this in their stories…pokemon = tentacle ones? xDD
For some reason you can almost take any object, story or movie and transform it into a generic moe anime! Like Upotte? And now Nyaruko-san! It seems perfect for anime with all the interesting monsters to use.
YES!! I love Nyaruko-sans character design and huge hair ahoge aka tentacle! Not to mention how hyper and fun she is? Damn those are the best characters <3
I can't wait to see the fire character and the random blonde girl! She looks really cute and funny but also a little shy? Probably like Yayoi from smile precure? I know the fire chick looks to be way into Nyaruko aka attracted to her? So prepare for yuri moments.
The sanity thing blew my mind for real! Because in World of Warcraft you fight a raid boss named Yogg, during that battle you have to maintain your "sanity" by looking away from the boss or it takes over your mind and controls you...
ED and OP were so good I can't wait for the full release.
Yep I read a bit on Nyarlthotep! Really cool background story for that character.
YES! Greatest combination so far.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
Helpful reference
*coughs*
Goofy references to beloved Mythos elements AND the accompanying tabletop RPG (ah, Chaosium’s system, fun times), I think many of us will agree that Kana Asumi’s performance of motormouthed Nyarlko really made the show, especially when contrasted with the very bland Mahiro (played by Eri Kitamura!). Lets see if the show can keep up the frenetic energy through its run.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ahahah that is the best reference chart! Thank you <3
I can tell! There seems to be a lot of fans out there for this type of thing, but I agree Kana Asumi did an amazing job voicing Nyaruko-san! Yeah the other character was quite bland compared to the hyper lead role. I really hope they can keep the energy flowing.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, nice guide Myssa. I was kinda hoping that Ry’lth’s most famous citizen would not make an appearance in this show, as it usually steals the show (being the name brand and all). But, I like the look. Green Hair…geez.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
One joke was that Luhi (the Sleeping One’s moniker this time around) still drove people insane, but in a different manner. And she looks like a maneater too, heh.
Brings new context to the old standby “Cthulu devours 6 Investigators per round” eh? And I’m sure that she’s “eaten” her fair share… Okay, I’ll stop now.
I have a dirty, dirty mind.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Ask Fosh, no less, and no more dirty than mine.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, you ever play Muchkin Cthulhu?
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
@Myssa Rei—Ahahahah that is to funny, but nawww I think most of us have uhh…dirty minds >.>
@Skylion— Sadly I have not played such games!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
This was so random. Never read any Lovecraft nor do I intend to as I just don’t like horror. They were throwing out gags left right and center, but somehow it didn’t click for me.
I think this goes into the dropped bucket for me. The OP really emphasizes her legs, so it might be a hit with that crowd (don’t they have a term for the part of her legs below the skirt and above the stockings? Never really understood the appeal, but then again there are people who like feet and toes, and I don’t understand that either, but that’s ok)
I kind of want to see her true form just for kicks (and for the mental trauma of the net denizens).
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
Actually anyone familiar with the Crawling Chaos, the Black Pharaoh, the Haunter of the Dark, and the CEO of the Chrysalis Corporation already know about Nyarly’s “true form”.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Oh, yes. Played thru most of the Masks of Nyarlthoptep back in the day. My goodness, that is where I personally got a rep of “Insane First, Kill the rest of the Group next”.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Very very very random! Yeah I am not to familiar with the whole Lovecraft stories, but I have plenty of experience with them in World of Warcraft. True some of the gags weren’t as knock down hilarious as something like Ika Musume or Nichijou?
Ahahah yeah that OP does show lots and lots of leg service for Nyaruko! I don’t understand that fetish to much but people love it and Japan knows full well how to exploit or use it.
YES! I kind of wanted to see her true form.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Dem legs, dat butt, dat
rack. What is not to love?POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
You’re right, Skylion. There’s too much to not mention anything. How can you not love it?
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
The term you’re looking for is Zettai Ryouiki. 🙂
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
This anime is weird. Not because of the subject material, but because of how most people seem to really like it and I just… don’t. I was the same way with Seto no Hanayome. I love comedy and parody but for some reason both of these shows (and a few others) instantly drain my suspension of disbelief, and with it my motivation.
It did have a few highlights for me though, but just not enough to justify watching more of it. Maybe it’s because I’m not that into Lovecraft? It shouldn’t bother me, but it does. >_>
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah I can see the weird factor coming into play, yeah this series is very hit or miss with some anime fans just like Nichijou, Ika Musume or something like Denpa Onna? Yeah I have seen some of Seto no Hanayome it was fun but boring at times.
Ahaha no worries I mean you generally have to know what they are talking about or have a interest in like people who love space really like Mouretsu Pirates! Or Space brothers? So if you hate space you avoid things like that I think…
Ah well you can’t possibly like everything right? We have to limit somethings ;D
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Funny thing is, I like every one of those shows you mentioned except Seto no Hanayome.
I guess one thing that does bother me about this show is its lack of subtlety. We went from Eldritch Abomination to madly in love to the first bath scene in the span of an episode. It’s enough to give a guy whiplash! XD
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Hmmm true! Maybe those were bad choices…
Ahahah ya that random bath scene at the end was like the final catch for the guys out there huh? Like WAIT THERE IS MORE! DON’T LEAVE!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Haha, I’m the total opposite. I dropped Nichijou, Ika Musume, and Denpa Onna after 1-2 episodes. Just couldn’t stand them. But I loved Seto (I got the BDs!)
I can hear the crowd already (What?!? That akagami has no taste) =P
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Nichijou actually does take a few episodes to get better in my opinion, but if you didn’t like the other 2 within 2 episodes, they’re not going to make you believers.
Actually, look online for the mini-Ika Musume clips. They’re worth watching even if you didn’t like the show. It’s something different.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
How anyone can not like Ika-chan is quite beyond me.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
Yeah, I think I’m kind of the same way. I definitely didn’t enjoy it as much as Fosh and the others did and I can’t quite place why.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Good first episode. This anime was pure randomness and weirdness but utterly enjoyable. An anime so comfortable in its absurdity. Pokemon reference with a pokeball!! Nyaruko wants to be a Pokemon master. We’ll be seeing more stuff like that since “Parody” is part of the genre.
Nyaruko may be a little ditzy and dere but she’s an undercover sadist. She takes a little too much pleasure in killing the monsters and her methods of killing are so brutal that Yasaka should be grateful she’s his bodyguard and not his enemy. Impaling a monster through the stomach with her hand? A kick to the privates? Death by a rock? Decapitation by a crowbar? My goodness!! And for an alien, she’s the biggest otaku on record and a glutton. Boy, she can eat. But most of all she’s perverted and ambitious for wanting her and Yasaka to be the Adam and Eve of the new generation. A part of wished she hadn’t said it like that because that reference was used in Guilty Crown.
Yeah, Ben-To fighters should be very afraid if Yasaka ever decides to go over for a half priced Ben-To. His fork skills are dangerous. They are keeping Nyaruko in line. They already have a hot megane blonde using chopsticks and powerful twins using baskets that seem to run on dark power. A guy with a fork would be adding fuel to the fire.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
One one level the “Adam and Eve of a new generation” is a terrifying prospect. On a different level, I think she might just mean….doing it like rabbits. Yasaka is either a very very wise young man, or a fool. This is the mirror that the anime holds up to you. Either way, the kids are going to be so adorable…..
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
Yeah, played straight at the very LEAST that it’s going to involve intercourse with a being whose default form isn’t even humanoid-shaped. And this is just IF we take Nyarlko’s words that she’s an alien policeperson at face value. After all Nyarly’s M.O. has ALWAYS been about messing with people too…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Any and every means necessary to drive insane….but never really to kill…..yet.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
hahahah yeah I can see the whole messing with part with Nyaruko xD
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
This kind of reminds me of Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, in terms of the dafuq moments. Except Kyouran Kazoku Nikki is like Jesus Tank compared to Haiyoru!’s Kia. Two different levels of insanity.
Of course, it might help if I had some knowledge of the material, but hm, just can’t seem to get interested. While a show like Horizon needed huge amounts of online reading to make sense of the whole thing, I actually wanted to find out more. But tentacle things scare me. I really have no idea how people watch hentai (or hentai in general, but that’s another story) with tentacles. Maybe I’m just a wuss.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Ahhh yea! I remember bits and parts of Kyouran but I don’t think I ever finished that series…I did remember that squid thing from that anime! LOLOL good stuff.
Ahh yeah I guess this is going to be one of those series that either become a huge hit! Or a giant failure for most anime fans. You aren’t really alone on the whole tentacle thing I know a few that just don’t understand that whole part of anime…course they are all over the Hentai market xD
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
One more fun (and obviously insane — I think someone failed one-too-many SAN saves) chart, this time cross-continuity. The things Mankind is not supposed to know…
A Family of Elder Things
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10997 comments
Quite the family line there. Anyone up for an Ika Musemu x Nyarku-chan sammich? Meat you there….
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I keep hearing about these SAN scores and I saw some dice. Is this also a game (like DnD)? I thought Lovecraft was an author?
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Yes, there are games. Two well known ones are Call of Cthulu, an RPG, and Arkham Horror, a board game. Unlike traditional games, these often becomes more difficult to win the longer it lasts.
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
Call of Cthulhu pretty much introduced the concept of the SAN (short for Sanity) score, which keeps track of just how much grounded an Investigator (your player character) is in mundane reality. The lower one’s SAN score drops (and it WILL drop), the more insane one becomes, and when you actually hit zero you’re supposed to roll up a new character.
The thing is with the Mythos and the denizens that live in it, is that they’re either far beyond human comprehension to be maddening. People simply break when confronted with Lovecraftian horrors, and in this regard the SAN score represents things VERY well.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Sounds like an interesting concept. Thanks Rakuen & Myssa Rei.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 144 comments
Okay, that was totally worth it. 11/10.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I saw that family tree thing! So good because Ika Musume is included ahahaha
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 71 comments
SANITY = Failed.
Norio Wakamoto sings Nyarlko OP
POWUH: iLurker with 4 comments
This is…. GREAT.
omg lol
But Nyaruko is doing pretty good on amazon.co.jp
http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/bestsellers/dvd/562020/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_d_1_2_last
It was even third for some time and thats only for preordering. If it keeps it up and sells well, who knows… we might get a sequel.
I hope this will be a hit. 🙂
And if you scroll further down the next parts are already preorderd well too.
POWUH: Meta Team and Megane-chan with 3214 comments
ﾌﾟｯ(※థэథ)∵.*.∵ Lolwut.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
@Myssa Rei— I died laughing with that Wakamoto version oh my god…and he did that bit of Nyaruko’s voice for the first few minutes AMAZING!!!
@Crazy_O— Yeah that is crazy! We haven’t even finished the season and BOOM! DVD SALES! I guess Japan knows who loves loli-demons or tentacle monsters.
@Kara— LOL wut is a good answer <3
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
LOL. I don’t think sanity was ever meant to be part of this anime. This show has too many screwy things to be sane.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
the hell ..I just watch this 5 minutes ago ~~~ KAWAI DEJAVU
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 109 comments
are you going to do a review for epiisode 2 as well?