Haiyore! Nyarlko-san W episode 12 review (final episode)
這いよれ！ニャル子さん W

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Nyarlko is not happy to hear that she, Cthuko, and Hastur are being recalled now that the Banshin system is up and running.  Since it would be a crime for her and the others to remain on Earth,  Mahiro says there’s nothing they can do, which depresses Nyarlko. Yoriko suggests a trip to Dreamland to see the new Banshin system, which requires them to all go to sleep. Cthuko makes sure Mahiro lies next to the depressed Nyarlko, but he doesn’t know what to say to her and she finds she can’t say what’s on her mind. The group reaches Dreamland, where they are greeted at Onyx Castle by N’tse-Kaambl(a blonde humanoid) and Bast (a cat humanoid), who are to be their tour guides.

N’tse-Kaambl shows them the specs for the new RX-02 Banshin model. They are introduced to the Noden in charge of the project, who explains how they were able to reduce the build time from 500 years to a single night. This depresses Nyarlko even more, so Mahiro has to lead her by the hand to continue the tour. When they arrive where the Banshin is stored, Nyarlko breaks down in tears at having to leave Mahiro. Mahiro doesn’t know what to think on how he’d feel if the aliens in his house were gone or if they stayed. The RX-02 is unveiled, where the Noden in charge says it needs field testing for battle. Nyarlko gets an idea, so she, Cthuko, and Hastur volunteer to put the robot through its paces. Mahiro isn’t sure about this turn of events.

At the test grounds, a large number of aliens are there, including Luhy and a drunk Cthune. The Noden starts RX-02, but it immediately goes rogue, calling for “Mahiro-san”. The Noden and Bast are quickly knocked out by RX-02 and removed from the battlefield. The attacks of Nyarlko, Cthuko, and Hastur aren’t working. N’tse-Kaambl reveals the RX-02 OS was was based on Nyarlko, explaining why the robot is now proclaiming its love for Mahiro and chasing him around. Nyarlko wants a kiss from Mahiro if they beat it.  He’s not thrilled with that option, so she opts for having his baby. Cthuko wants Mahiro to have her baby and Hastur wants to combine with Mahiro.

Yoriko says that Nyarlko, Cthuko, and Hastur can all get a pat on the head of they defeat the RX-02, which they find to be a good compromise. So, the trio get ready for the fight. Later on the roof of the school, Mahiro, Nyarlko, Cthuko, and Hastur talk about what happened and how that since they destroyed the RX-02, they’ll have to keep guarding Dreamland for a while. All three want their pat on the head as a reward, so Mahiro does so, pleasing all three greatly. Nyarlko wants seconds, so all three jump him. Yoichi and Tamao show up while this is happening. Life for the group continues as normal.

Some night later, Nyarlko wants Mahiro to try her food. He’s reluctant until his mother vouches for the ingredients, so he tries some. He makes no remarks as he eats, which Nyarlko takes as a positive sign. Seeing Nyarlko get happy, Mahiro says he’ll eat her food providing the ingredients are normal. The ecstatic Nyarlko says this is the final flag before marriage, which Mahiro protests. Cthuko wants a marriage flag set as well, but Nyarlko prevents her from eating the food Nyarlko made. Hastur is depressed that Mahiro won’t set a marriage flag for him. Nyarlko wants to trigger events to keep them on Earth since they could get recalled again. Mahiro doesn’t want this, citing the fact that they’ll find a way to stay no matter what. Nyarlko embraces Mahiro, vowing to never leave his side again.

Thoughts/Review:

And so a rather fun series comes to an end. I’m glad the light novels are still being written because that means there’s a chance of another series in the future.

As expected, the episode attempted to be melodramatic with Nyarlko’s depression at having to leave Mahiro’s side, as well as his fairly noncommittal attitude about the whole thing. I’m glad they didn’t stick with that for long. I do feel badly for Nyarlko and her mostly unrequited love for Mahiro, but adding forced melodrama doesn’t help.

It was expected that Nyarlko and company would destroy the RX-02 in order to stay on Earth. The surprise came from the fact that its personality was based on Nyarlko. So, that made for a humorous moment when the robot starts speaking its love.

I’m glad that Mahiro ate some of Nyarlko’s cooking. Food gags in anime (or manga) tend to never break free from whatever the base joke was, whether it be a character’s bad tasting food, or bad looking food that actually is good. So, it was nice to see the series not stay in a rut.

One of the fun things about this series is that both Cthuko and Nyarlko have grown as characters as well as Mahiro. He is much more tolerant of his alien guests. Nyarlko shows a great deal more restraint at times, even though we know she’d love to be in Mahiro’s arms all the time. Cthuko sees Mahiro in a whole new light, so she has almost as much affection for him as she does for Nyarlko…almost as much. The character growth is something I appreciate a great deal.

While I wasn’t aware of the many parodies in this episode, beyond the normal Cthulhu references, I have enjoyed seeing the parody stuff I could recognize, such as when Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-ohki got some love in episode 8.  I know there were some Gundam references made as well, which reminds me, I need to watch whatever’s next in the Gundam franchise. ^_^;

This episode didn’t really have a lot of ecchi content, but that would be the one area of the series that I didn’t like. I could do without the heavy, sexual references by all of the characters. It sometimes got downright creepy, such as Yoriko’s lusting for her son, or Cthune molesting Cthuko in the entryway of Mahiro’s home.

Still, this was an enjoyable episode and a fun series that I enjoyed a great deal. I’m sad to see it go since the hijinks of Nyarlko and company often gave me a good laugh.  Here’s hoping for a new series in the future.