Haiyore! Nyarlko-san W episode 01 review
這いよれ！ニャル子さん W

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Nyarlko, Cthuko, and Hastur are preparing a Bewitched OP video report when Mahiro interrupts them. Nyarlko wants to be lovey-dovey with her “husband”, but Mahiro isn’t interested since the real Nyarlathotep’s true form would drive him insane, as would her 999 other forms. Nyarlko says that if it means so much, she’ll show him, and starts stripping, wanting to have Mahiro’s child. This leads to Cthuko saying that she’ll have Nyarlko’s child and Mahiro can have hers. Hastur says he’ll have Mahiro’s child, leading Mahiro to clunk them all. Mahiro’s mother reminds them of the time, so Nyarlko, Cthuko, and Hastur transform into their school uniforms.

On the way to school, Mahiro notes that Nyarlko kept her school bag in another dimension and wonders if actual rooms could be kept there for the aliens to live in. After some discussion and a threat with a fork, Nyarlko orders such a space online, which will be delivered that afternoon. She doesn’t get the text that says that an illegal alien has landed on Earth and that she’s to investigate. At school, Tamao chats with Nyarlko on her progress with Mahiro. Nyarlko laments the lack of progress, but Tamao encourages her to continue, stating her belief that Mahiro just needs another push.

Encouraged, Nyarlko again attempts to get Mahiro to impregnate her in the infirmary. Cthuko flames up at this and Hastur gets in on the action, irritating Mahiro. Later in the stairway, Nyarlko laments to Tamao about her failure. Tamao suggests a dark, intimate place. So, Nyarlko gets Mahiro into a locker, which happens to be in the girl’s locker room. Girls coming in to change prevents Mahiro from making noise, so Nyarlko goes in for a kiss, since Mahiro blushes at them being so close together. However, Nyarlko is thwarted when Cthuko reaches in through her subspace portal and pulls him from the back of the locker.

To apologize for things, Nyarlko convinces Mahiro to accompany her on a shopping trip. Cthuko and Hastur come to to AnimeShop (Animate). After picking up tons of stuff, Hastur finds a manga (doujinshi?) from an alien circle, featuring Mahiro. He’s not happy about this, so Nyarlko explains that Mahiro is considered hot among aliens. Even Cthuko hints that Mahiro could almost turn her from Nyarlko. When a fight breaks out over who will get the manga, Mahiro grabs it, buys it, then burns it. Nyarlko attempts to restore it with a potion, but Mahiro tosses that in the fire as well.

Nyarlko still wants to finish her apology to Mahiro, so the group heads to a maid cafe, where Hastur, Cthuko, Nyarlko, and Tamao sing on stage like an idol group, complete with costume. Tamao “vanishes” as the cafe has a competition to see who will get the center spot for an idol group. Meanwhile, a maid in the cafe is actually the illegal alien that came to Earth. She’s excited to see Mahiro, wanting to interview him and sign the porn manga. Unfortunately for her, she attempts to get to Mahiro just as Cthuko and Nyarlko are battling for the center spot, causing massive destruction. Cthuko made everyone forget, Men in Black style. They get home to find a package waiting for them, but Nyarlko gets a call that has her worried.

Thoughts/Review:

What an awesome way to start this sequel to the first Haiyore! Nyarlko-san series by making a parody of the OP for the old American sitcom Bewitched.  I’d read that the mahou shoujo genre in Japan actually got its start from Bewitched, but this episode shows just how much Bewitched did play a role on Japanese society.

As an aside, after I finished my writeup here, I took a peek at other reviewers who already had a post up for this episode. None mentioned Bewitched, so I guess that goes to show how old I’m getting since I remember watching that in syndication as a kid. That makes it even more interesting to me that the Japanese would parody this American show (specifically, they parodied the Japanese dub of Bewitched). Does this still play on the air in Japan?  Obviously, it doesn’t get watched much in America anymore.

There were tons of other parody materials here, most I won’t get. I did not a brief nod to Azumanga Daioh and a more overt reference to Men in Black. I’m glad this aspect of the new series hasn’t changed.

I also loved how they started using the OP theme for Haiyore! Nyarlko-san during the intro sequence.  Good stuff.

I also loved how the production team poked fun at the notion of doing fun stuff now, like the girl’s & Hastur’s Kamen Rider Wizard transformation sequence, since they may not have the budget later.

I admit that I’m still somewhat uncomfortable with the ecchi aspects of this anime, as well as the ecchi humor. I do admit that I can’t help but laugh at it all, more so since I’ve been an anime fan for so many years and having ties to Japan that go well beyond that.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this return to the franchise. I’m looking forward to more whacky adventures by Mahiro and company.