Haiyore! Nyaruko San! AKA: Nyarlathotep does Japan (the anime)!

[Kooris]

I'm not sure if this belongs here, but I've got no idea where else it could go.

Japan has started airing an anime series featuring Nyarlathotep (in anime schoolgirl form) following around a teenage Lovecraft fan, protecting him from the threat of the Cthulhu mythos with the help of Hastur, Cthuga and her pet Shantak. So far I'm only 1 minute in (curse my slow internet connection!) and I've already seen a Nightgaunt with a Gugs mouth (would that be a Nightgug?) get violently disemboweled (so odds are the main character is already losing some SAN). Apparently the manga this is based off is full of Lovecraft shoutouts, including references to the Yithians and The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, along with Nyaruko (the most hyperactive avatar of Nyarlathotep ever) jokingly threatening to show off some of her more sanity-blasting forms.

I'll post on this again when I've finally watched the entire episode but I can already tell the writers have done a fair bit of research on the mythos (I spotted the yellow sign during the opening). By the looks of it it's going to be more of a comedy with cutesification of the Cthulhu mythos.

Anybody else heard of this or watched it?

Also, what are peoples thoughts on slapstick Lovecraftian humour and the cutesification of the mythos? I know some people don't mind it and other people hate it with a passion, but I'm interested on seeing what people have to say on it.

[Kooris]

Finished watching the first episode and I'm still a little on the fence. It's definitely an interesting take on the mythos.

Instead of being a god, Nyarlathotep is an alien (from a race literally called Nyarlathotepians) and is part of what is essentially the space police who has got an assignment on earth to try and break up a human trafficking ring (apparently we're awesome at creating things the monsters from the Cthulhu mythos love but they have all sorts of limits on their access to it so aliens abduct humans to make stuff). To make sure people don't clock onto the monsters (so far only Nightgaunts) popping up around town, she has a special barrier (read: deus ex machina) that hides them away while she fights them.

They've piled on the comedy with this with plenty of Lovecraft references and slapstick humour (apparently Shantak Birds work using pokemon rules but are weak vs Nightgaunts), but the writers have added a bit of a romance element (the main reason Nyarlathotep wanted the assignment so badly was that she has a crush on the main character), which could go either way.

In my opinion it was kind of funny in it's use of slapstick comedy and Nyarlathoteps attempt at speaking in a Lovecraftian style ("Teacher, I'm suffering from abnormal and blashphemous amounts of ominously chaotic pain. Can I go to the nurses office?") and it's well researched with plenty of shoutouts that Lovecraft fans will get. I'm not sure where the romance element is heading but so long as it doesn't go into googly eyed "OMGOO I am in teh luvs with you-desu" then I'll probably keep on watching it.

Check it out if you want, I want to see what people have to say about it. It's only in Japanese with subtitles at the moment but if you google it you should be able to find it quickly.

[RogerBW]

I've seen the first episode of the new series (which I believe is all that's been broadcast so far - you can keep up with dates at http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...anime&aid=8719), and I'll certainly be watching more. It looks as though the authors have at least read Call of Cthulhu (there's even a brief cutaway to a character sheet with SAN points being crossed off).

People who think the mythos should be taken Terribly Seriously and object to, for example, plush Cthulhu... should not watch.

There are two earlier incarnations of this show: Haiyoru! Nyaruani, a 20-minute OVA, and Haiyoru Nyaruani (Remember My Love (Craft Sensei)), a series of 11 4-minute mini-episodes (plus a 5-minute special). The setup is basically the same, but there's not much room for character development; they're basically quick gag shows.

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...anime&aid=7316
http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl...anime&aid=7992

The other Lovecraft-inspired anime I've seen is the Demonbane OVA and TV series, which... well, never was the anidb tag "endless pointless fighting" so well used. Some of the characters have names and special effects inspired by Lovecraft, but that's about all. Can't honestly recommend it.

[N-kun]

watched it, made me laugh just getting the second one now