這いよれ！ニャル子さん/Haiyore! Nyarlko-san
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san

When I first heard of Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Love (Craft-sensei), I loved this idea of the Japanese taking a different and comedic take on the Cthulhu mythos, which I was somewhat aware of thanks to my best friend when I lived in Japan, Robert.  However, that series deeply disappointed me because it was a collection of shorts based on some characters from the Haiyore! Nyaruko-san light novels, but was not based on the stories contained therein.  Back when I reviewed that series, I expressed a wish for a proper adaptation of the light novels at some point in the future.  I now have gotten my wish and with good results.

I don’t know how closely the anime adaptation follows the light novels. Since Haiyore! Nyaruko-san follows the path of other parody, comedy anime series based on original works (Excel Saga, the first Hayate the Combat Butler anime series), I tend to suspect that the anime uses the original light novels as a loose base from which to launch their whacky comedy.  Since I’m blissfully unaware of how things are in the light novels, I’m not biased against the series for any changes that may be made. Instead, I just enjoy this massively funny series for all the wackiness it is worth. ^_^

Being a parody series, both of the Lovecraft Cthulhu universe, and of many, many things from Japanese culture (and a bit of American culture as well), one might think that the series would be dead to anyone not versed in those elements.  Never fear though.  Much like Excel Saga or Hayate the Combat Butler, the anime production team relies on the whacky comedy aspects to make things funny.  Those who like nutty comedies are going to be very pleased on that aspect alone because this series can evoke serious belly laughs.

The parody aspects are frosting on the cake, and the parodies are liberally spread throughout.  The more of the parody references one recognizes, the funnier things become.  I know almost nothing about the Cthulhu universe, but I still found the various Cthulhu entities making appearances here to be mostly enjoyable and funny.  The cultural parody nods to things like One Piece, Pokemon, Azumanga Daioh, Karmen Rider, Hand Maid Maid, Mobile Suit Gundam, Onegai Teacher, etc., or even Back to the Future.  There are so many parody references, it seems impossible to catch them all, though lig0schndr created the NyaruReferences blog, which does quite an impressive job of catching almost all of them, thanks in large part to Japanese fans assisting.

There is quite a bit is ecchi, sexual humor here, which did at times bother me.  However, the production team knew just how far to push things and not go any further. So, even though the trap-looking Hastur wants to have Mahiro’s babies, or Cthuko wants to play scissors with Nyarlko, or Nyarlko desperately wants to consummate her love with Mahiro, I often found myself laughing in spite of myself.  Nyarlko swapping bodies with Mahiro and discovering the joys of being male made me laugh so hard, I nearly fell out of my chair.

So what about the story? Well, there’s really not much of a plot to speak of.  Nyarlko is an alien “jashin;” possibly from the future; works for some big organization that is keen on stopping pirated Earth (specifically Japanese) entertainment, mainly in the game (and porn game) area; she is assigned to protect Mahiro from those monsters or beings that would harm him; and she is very much in love with “Mahiro-san,” desperately wanting to show that love physically.  Cthuko wants Nyarlko, Hastur wants Mahiro, and well, you pretty much know the whole plot to date.

Still, I liked how this anime was done in presentation.  Rather than worry about the confines of a half-hour broadcast, the production team simply put out their tale, then worry about how to cleanly break it if a specific story could not be contained within a 30-minute window.  As such, there are times where events from one episode may end in the next, and the next set of events seamlessly start.  Also, the writers make sure to provide foreshadowing, even making fun of themselves for doing it when an introduced element from an earlier episode comes to bear in a later episode. As such, this makes the series even more enjoyable IMO.

In the end, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san ranks as one of the funniest anime titles made for those who like whacky comedies, and it becomes even funnier for those who get the parody references. With mostly fun stories and a whacky cast of characters taking the harem genre to new areas, I was able to overcome my dislike of some of the ecchi aspects of the anime and give it high marks.  In addition, since there is a hint that there might be a sequel, I really hope we get one.  I’d be down for more Nyarlko-san goodness. ^_^