, also known as ''Nyaruko-san: Another Crawling Chaos'', is a Japanese

light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usually classified as young adult fiction, generally targeting Adolescence, teens to Young adult, twenties or older. The definition is very vague, and wide-ranging. The abbr ...

series written by Manta Aisora and illustrated by . It was inspired by

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American Horror fiction, horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent and protégé of Lovecraft, t ...

. The series' twelve volumes were published by Soft Bank Creative under their

GA Bunko is a publishing label affiliated with the Japanese publishing company SB Creative, a subsidiary of Softbank. It was established in January 2006 and is a light novel A is a type of Genre fiction, popular literature novel from Japan usuall ...

imprint between April 2009 and March 2014. An animated

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and special episodes of a series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the ...

(OVA) by DLE titled ''Haiyore! Nyaruko'' was published in between October 2009 and March 2010, followed by a television series, ''Haiyore! Nyaruko: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft'', which aired in Japan between December 2010 and February 2011. An anime television series by

Xebec A xebec ( or ), also spelled zebec, was a Mediterranean sailing ship that originated in the barbary states (Algeria), it was used mostly for trading. Xebecs had a long overhanging bowsprit and aft-set mizzen mast. The term can also refer to a ...

aired in Japan between April and June 2012 and a second season aired between April and June 2013. An OVA was released in 2015. Two

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

adaptations have been produced. A video game adaptation, developed by 5pb. for

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

was released in Japan in May 2013.

Synopsis

The story of ''Haiyore! Nyaruko-san'' centers around Nyaruko, a

formless ''Formless'' is the second album from progressive metal band Aghora, released in December 2006. This is their first album with vocalist Diana Serra. Track listing # Lotus – 1:14 # Atmas Heave – 5:10 # Moksha – 5:29 # Open Close the Book ...

Lovecraftian deity of chaos (

Nyarlathotep Nyarlathotep is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft. The character is a malign deity in the Cthulhu Mythos, a shared universe. First appearing in Lovecraft's 1920 prose poem " Nyarlathotep", he was later mentioned in other works by L ...

) who can take on the shape of a seemingly cute silver-haired girl. Mahiro Yasaka is a normal high school boy who is being chased by a fearsome black alien one night, until Nyaruko saves him. She explains that the creatures from

's works are actually races of aliens, and that she has been sent to Earth by the Space Defense Agency to protect him from being kidnapped by an alien

trafficker Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

. Aliens find Mahiro and the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

strangely attractive, for entertainment, auction, or resources. One by one, the Great Old Ones land on Earth illegally. Eventually, Nyaruko and two other Lovecraftian creatures,

Cthugha This is a compendium of the lesser known Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos of H. P. Lovecraft. __NOTOC__ Overview In Joseph S. Pulver's novel ''Nightmare's Disciple'' several new Great Old Ones and Elder Gods are named. The novel mentions ' ...

and

Hastur Hastur (known by the epithets The Unspeakable One, The King in Yellow, Him Who Is Not to be Named, Assatur, Xastur, H'aaztre, Fenric, or Kaiwan) is an entity of the Cthulhu Mythos. Hastur first appeared in Ambrose Bierce's short story "Haïta t ...

, end up being freeloaders at Mahiro's place. Mahiro has become accustomed to his protection detail of Nyarlathotep (Nyaruko), Cthugha, and Hastur making his life fascinating.

Publication

''Haiyore! Nyaruko-san'' began as a

series written by Manta Aisora with illustrations by . The series, spanning twelve volumes, was published by Soft Bank Creative under their

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

between April 15, 2009, and March 17, 2014. Short stories have been published in Soft Bank Creative's ''GA Magazine''.

Volume list

Media

Anime

titled was produced by DLE and directed by Azuma Tani. The first episode was streamed on October 23, 2009. Further episodes were published on December 19, 2010 on DVD as part of the GA Magazine Vol. 3. All 9 episodes were released on March 15, 2010 as part of the . The first eight episodes are about one to two minutes in length, while the final episode is about six minutes long. Another

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series titled , also produced by DLE and directed by Azuma Tani, aired 11 episodes on

BS11 Digital () is a private satellite broadcasting station in Kanda, Tokyo, Japan. It is an independent television station and is a subsidiary of Bic Camera. Its channel name is BS11 (''BS Eleven'') and was BS11 Digital until March 31, 2011. It was founded ...

between December 11, 2010, and February 26, 2011.''Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft'' was advertised as airing on

's Friday 24:30 (00:30 JST) time slot, which meant the series officially premiered on December 10, 2010. Each episode is about four minutes in length. The twelfth episode was released as an

included with the ''Haiyoru! Nyaruani 1&2 Perfect Box'', a DVD compilation containing both Flash anime series. An anime television series produced by

aired in Japan between April 10 and June 26, 2012.''Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos'' was advertised as airing on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.JST) time slot, which meant the series officially premiered on April 9, 2010.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

streamed the series with English subtitles outside Asia, along with the two Flash series, under the name ''Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos''. A DVD containing a short

based on the short story was offered to those who purchased all the BD/DVD volumes of the first season.

NIS America is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and '' Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mascot is the penguin-like ''Disgaea'' charact ...

licensed the series in North America and released on subtitled Blu-ray Disc on April 15, 2014. A second season called aired in Japan between April 8 and July 1, 2013,''Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos W'' was advertised as airing on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.JST) time slot, which meant the series officially premiered on April 7, 2013. and was also simulcast by Crunchyroll. An OVA episode on DVD was released for buying all of the second season's Blu-ray Disc or DVD volumes. An OVA was released on June 19, 2015.

Music

;Opening themes * by Ushiro kara Haiyori-tai G (Nyaruko (

Kana Asumi is a Japanese actress, voice actress, singer and a former member of the girl group Lisp. Career She worked for Voice & Heart until 2007 and has worked for 81 Produce since 2008. She won the Best Lead Actress Award in the 7th Seiyu Awards. Pe ...

), Kūko (

Miyu Matsuki , better known by her stage name , was a Japanese voice actress and singer from Kure, Hiroshima, best known for her work in anime. She was affiliated with 81 Produce at the time of her death. Death Matsuki announced on July 14, 2015, that she wa ...

) and Tamao Kurei (

Yuka Ōtsubo is a Japanese voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture affiliated with Early Wing. In 2014, she started her career as a singer by joining the band SmileY inc. with Vocaloid musician Yuuyu-P. She also did the voice of Vocaloid character Azu ...

)) (Season 1) * by Ushiro kara Haiyori-tai G (Season 2) * by Ushiro kara Haiyori-tai G (F OVA) ;Ending themes * by Nyaruko (Kana Asumi) (''Haiyoru! Nyaruani'') * by Lisp (Nyaruko (Kana Asumi), Yoriko Yasaka (

Azusa Kataoka , previously known as , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Some of her major roles are Nagisa Saitou in '' Squid Girl'', Sakura Nankyoku in ''Penguin Musume'', Uta Yumeno in '' Onegai My Melody'', Ko ...

) and Shantak-kun (Sayuri Hara)) (''Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft'') * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Nyaruko-san (Nyaruko (Kana Asumi)) (Season 1, eps 1-11) * by Ushiro kara Haiyori-tai (Nyaruko (Kana Asumi), Kūko (

) and Tamao Kurei (Yuka Ōtsubo)) (Season 1, ep 12) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Nyaruko-san (Season 2, eps 1–2, 6, 11) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Jashin-san (Nyaruko (Kana Asumi), Kūko (

) and Hasuta (

Rie Kugimiya is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is best known for her voice performances in anime, which include Alphonse Elric in the '' Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, Kagura in '' Gintama'', and Happy in '' Fairy Tail'' and '' Edens Zero'', and ...

)) (Season 2, eps 3, 8) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Tamao-san (Tamao Kurei (Yuka Ōtsubo)) (Season 2, eps 4, 7) *"Sister, Friend, Lover" by RAMM ni Haiyoru Kūko-san to Kūne-san (Kūko (

) and Kūne (

Ryōka Yuzuki is a Japanese actress and Voice acting in Japan, voice actress. She has played voice roles in a number of Japanese anime including Satsuki Kiryūin in ''Kill la Kill'', Ino Yamanaka in ''Naruto'' and ''Boruto: Naruto Next Generations'', Shamal in ...

)) (Season 2, eps 5, 9) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Mahiro-san to Yoichi-san (Mahiro Yasaka (

Eri Kitamura is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She was previously affiliated with Early Wing, but is now a freelancer. She is known for voicing prominent roles in anime and games such as Sayaka Miki in '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica'', Saya Otonashi in ...

) and Takehiko Yoichi (

Wataru Hatano is a Japanese voice actor, singer, actor, narrator and comedian affiliated with 81 Produce. At the 2nd Seiyu Awards in 2008, Hatano won the Best Male Rookie Award for his roles as Sam Houston in '' Toward the Terra'' and Tenshi Yuri in ''Saint ...

)) (Season 2, ep 10) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Nyaruko-san (Nyaruko (Kana Asumi)) (Season 2, ep 12) * by RAMM ni Haiyoru Nyaruko-san (F OVA)

Manga

adaptation titled ''Haiyore! Nyaruko-san'' illustrated by Kei Okazaki was serialized in

Shueisha is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...

's ''Miracle Jump'' magazine from May 6, 2011 to April 10, 2013 and was compiled in two volumes. A four-panel

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

manga titled illustrated by Sōichirō Hoshino was serialized in

Flex Comix is a Japanese company specializing in the sale of manga magazines and goods related to the anime and manga industry in Japan. Flex Comix is affiliated with Asian Groove and Soft Bank BB, forming the Movida Holdings joint-investment company. The ...

's ''Flex Comix Blood'' from October 5, 2011 to November 12, 2014 and was compiled in five volumes. An

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

volume was published by

Holp Shuppan is a publishing company headquartered in Misaki-cho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is a subsidiary of GAIA Holdings Corporation. , the company has published children’s books and sold reference works. The name is an acronym for "Home Library Production". ...

on November 11, 2012.

Video game

In December 2012 5pb. announced the development of a

visual novel A visual novel (VN) is a form of digital interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with static or animated illustratio ...

, titled in which the player assumes the role of Mahiro Yasaka. The game's story is based on the first season of the anime television series, with some additional content. The game was released on

on May 30, 2013, in both regular and limited editions.

Reception

The series has received mixed reviews. Aiden Foote from

THEM Anime Reviews THEM Anime Reviews, otherwise known as THEM or T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews, is an anime review website that writes about current and past anime in any form, including OVAs and ONAs. The website offers reviews, editorial content and hosts forums. ...

gave the first season (''Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos'') a 3 out of 5 stars rating. In his review, Foote says that the anime "should have been a whole better icand could well have been" citing the over-pandering as an issue. He went on to say that a character as well-liked as Nyaruko deserved more when it came to a love interest.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * at 5pb. * {{Xebec films 2009 anime OVAs 2009 Japanese novels 2010 anime television series debuts 2011 manga 2012 anime television series debuts 2013 anime television series debuts 2013 video games Anime and manga based on light novels Cthulhu Mythos stories Drama audio recordings Extraterrestrial life in popular culture GA Bunko IG Port franchises Japan-exclusive video games Japanese LGBTQ-related animated television series Light novels Moe anthropomorphism PlayStation Vita games PlayStation Vita-only games Romantic comedy anime and manga Seinen manga Shōnen manga Shueisha manga Television shows based on light novels TV Tokyo original programming Video games developed in Japan Visual novels Xebec (studio)