Nyarko-san W 01 – Attack on Deity

That Kamen Rider W FOREVER reference in the back.

Nyarko and the rest of the gang are back with more shenanigans, more Kamen Rider references and lastly, more Nyarko trying to make Mahiro to fall in love with him. Oh, and there is this alien chick who is a big fan of Mahiro.

The plot of this episode is basically the plot of every episode of the past season. Nyarko tries her best to make Mahiro fall in love with him, while doing more Kamen Rider references along the way, and the opening sequence basically featured the Kamen Rider poses used in the light novels. Speaking of Kamen Rider references, this show is quite updated as they include Kamen Rider Wizard references. The only difference from the first season is that all the girls (yes, Hasta is more of a chick than a dude for me) are now a bit "open" when it comes to expressing their feelings for Mahiro.

Aside from the on-going how they can Nyarko make Mahiro fall in love with her, we have this alien doujin artist who illegally entered our planet just to meet Mahiro... and her doujin ends up getting published in our world. This is when the Moe Moe Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament gets in. To those who are not aware, it is a direct reference to the AKB48 Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament and whoever wins will end up becoming the center of an idol unit and release a new single. So yeah, aside from the usual anime references, this episode has some AKB48 references.

If there is one thing interesting in this episode aside from the reused plot from the previous season is the finals of the Rock, Paper, and Scissors Tournament. I just love that they keep on throwing Kamen Rider references that I can't help but chuckle every time I identify a certain Kamen Rider reference. What made me funnier is the Kamen Rider Ryuki reference in this scene. To those who are not aware, that show is basically every Rider fights every Rider aka something that I consider as an anti-Kamen Rider show.

At the end, nobody won the Tournament thanks to the interference of the alien chick who tripped during the time Nyarko and Kuko are doing their Rider Kicks (can't believe that Kuko did Faiz's Kick), creating a Kamen Rider Kuuga Amazing Mighty Form kind of explosion. So they have no choice but to remove the memories of those who witnessed it ala Men in Black. To put it simply, a lot of copyright laws were broken in this episode. Oh, and this episode ended with a cliffhanger about some message coming from someone.

Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos Anime Review

Nyarko-san: Another Crawling Chaos is an anime series based on a light novel series written by Manta Aisora. This 12-episode anime series is inspired by H.P. Lovercraft's Cthulhu mythos, and to make it more interesting, it has too many anime, manga and tokusatsu references.

The anime is about Nyarlathotep or simply known as Nyarko, a formless deity of chaos who takes the form of a silver-haired girl. Her mission is to protect a boy named Mahiro Yasaka from aliens that are sent to Earth to kidnap him. Did I mention that Nyarko has this uncontrollable crush on Mahiro that she will do every means to have him? Later in the series, they are joined by Kuko (Cthugha) and Hasuta (Hastur) who ends up becoming freeloaders in Mahiro's place.

To be honest, I have no interest watching this series at first because the first visuals I saw gave me this impression that this will be one generic harem anime. I mean, the protagonist looks plain and the lead female looks hyperactive. Then I saw some of the first images of those who watched the series online. The lead female character likes to do Kamen Rider references, but still, I am not interested. I mean, a lot of shows do Kamen Rider references from time to time so there is nothing special in it. That is until I saw my brother watched a stream of the show's 2nd episode. If there is one thing that made me interested in this series aside from Kuko's "intimate moment" with Nyarko, are the Kamen Rider V3 and Den-O references.

Since the show still has Kamen Rider references in its 3rd episode, guess it is part of the show's concept then, so I decided to give the show a try. Much to my surprise, I enjoyed it. The amount of random Japanese pop culture references is the best parts of the show and how can Nyarko "force" Mahiro to fall for her. It's so fun that you can say that it is really addicting that I ended up marathoning the series in just one day! Even with the amount of anime, manga, tokusatsu and Western sci-fi references this show has, how about the show's plot? For 12 episodes, it seems like most of the major plots of the series all lead up to a rather bizarre ending.

Here's how most story arcs of Nyarko are: some big problem arrives, MC tries to solve it, the reveal is something that has something to do with Earth's entertainment and by Earth entertainment, and I mean video games, to be more specific, visual novels and Japanese comic books. Yep, our main character places his life on the line just for the sake of yaoi doujinshi, alien game consoles and in the last story arc, some alien butler who doesn't want his ward to discover his love for eroge because his ward is a minor.

So yeah, the series basically poked fun on big plot developments and lampshades it at the very last part of the story arc... and I like it! I mean, having some big reveal like X wants the MC because he is the chosen one thus they must destroy him before he master his powers is getting too overused. The series lampshades its story arc build ups for something so ridiculous that you just can't help but laugh because it's so stupid... and you need to laugh out your frustration, especially the first big revelation this series had.

Dai... Henshin!

As for the characters, they are all entertaining, to be more specific, Nyarko, Kuko and Mahiro. Some of the secondary characters that appeared in the series from time to time are fun to watch as well, especially Mahiro's mom. Seriously, every time she appears, I can't wait what Kamen Rider catchphrase she will say to her enemies before fighting them. Speaking of fights, they are fun to watch, especially Nyarko's Space CQC. Lastly, can this series stand on its own without the pop culture references? To be honest, the references are what make the series so fun to watch. Without it, the show becomes that generic harem anime series with a love sick female protagonist. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see the second season as it goes Double-Boiled Extreme!

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W Second Anime Promo

The second promo for Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W has just surfaced online! Xebec returns to animate the popular Lovecraft harem anime filled with a lot of anime, manga and tokusatsu references.

The promo also features the show's opening theme entitled, "Koi wa Chaos no Shimobenari" by Ushiro Kara Hai Yori Tai G.


The promo also advertises the "Ai Nyaruko Fair" event, which will be held on April 7 in Tokyo. The event will feature cast talks, a cosplay contest, and Nyaruko-inspired foods.

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W premieres this April 7th on TV Tokyo and AT-X.

Source: Anime News Network

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W Anime Promo

The first promo for Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W has just surfaced online! Xebec returns to animate the popular Lovecraft harem anime filled with a lot of anime, manga and tokusatsu references. The series premieres this April 2013.

Nyaruko-san W OP & ED Theme Single Listed

The CD single release for Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W's opening and ending themes are listed by Amazon Japan recently. The CD single will be released this April 24.

In addition, the premiere date of the new Nyaruko-san series is still unknown as of this writing.

Source: Anime News Network

2012 Year End SP: Top 10 2012 Anime Titles

Here is yet another year end blog post and this time, it is about my favorite anime titles for the past year. Unlike the tokusatsu list, it took me quite some time thinking about what are my favorite anime titles for this year. Take note, this list of mine is just my own personal opinion, if you hated my favorites, it only means that we don't have the same taste.

10. Nyarko-san Another Crawling Chaos
The series is basically what if the characters in the Lovecraft Mythos are now moe anime girls, do anime and tokusatsu references and have the main female protagonist madly in-love with the male protagonist. This is the show in a nutshell and I really enjoyed it and I hope the second season is just as fun as the first one! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

9. Kuroko's Basketball
It's hard to watch some recent sports anime titles for the following reasons: (a) too much pretty boys, (b) more drama less action and (c) if there is action, it's always over the top. I don't mind the 3rd reason since that's the only reason why recent sports anime is fun to watch but that's not what I am looking for in a sports anime.

Kuroko got what I wanted for a sports anime; there is a balance of sports action, comedy, drama and yes, moments of some of the characters going a bit over the top. With the announcement of a second season, I hope that the introduction of the two remaining members of the Generation of Miracles will be really good! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

8. Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
At first see the series as Akibaranger the anime with more focus on the split-screen comparison between reality and delusion. It gets more interesting when they started talking about the issue of escaping reality via delusions and if it is time for Rikka to face the harsh reality. [SERIES REVIEW COMING SOON]

7. Bakuman Season 2 and 3
The previous season improved a lot in terms of pacing, making the series more enjoyable to watch. Aside that the series is more focused on Mutou Ashirogi's trials in the world of manga like how can they make Detective TRAP last longer and the trials they went through during its run before moving to Tanto then to PCP. The second season also expanded Mashiro and Azuki's love story, especially during the time Mashiro was hospitalized due to some liver complications.

With the third season getting more interesting every week thanks to the introduction of a new rival, guess next year will be one explosive year to the Bakuman anime as it draws nearer to its series conclusion.

6. Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
The concept of generations of Gundam pilots is the first thing that got me into watching this series. Though the series started a bit slow, it gets more interesting in the last few episodes of the first arc. The Mobile Suit designs are interesting and Flit's growth from an innocent young boy into an old man who only wants genocide is something that rarely happens in a Gundam series. I might rank the series a bit higher if it wasn't for the fourth arc. At least Flit is awesome till the end. [PART III & IV REVIEW COMING SOON]

5. Sword Art Online
One of the most talked about anime show of 2012 for obvious reasons, the setting is really interesting and having a game beta tester as the main protagonist made me more intrigue since he is supposed to be the first person who has the knowledge that the game's creator plans to trap 10,000 players in his own video game. So why this show ranked 5th in my list? Simple, they have forgotten some elements that made the series intriguing in the first place and the second arc. I will reserve my thoughts about it my review of the series.

4. AKB0048
To be honest, I have very low expectations about this series. I mean, how can you write a series based on an idol group without making it too cliché? The result: a space opera featuring idols fighting for the rights of every human to experience free entertainment with a major focus on a group of young idols aspiring to become those famous idols. Since the series ended with a message about the General Elections, I can't wait for the second season! [SEASON REVIEW COMING SOON]

3. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Though I have problems with the series at first for skipping some fun details about the Hunter Exam arc, they were able to make up for it with the later story arcs. Aside that they fixed the issues I had with the 1999 anime, namely the amount of filler content and some of the animation, the 2011 anime was able to compress 90+ episodes of the 1999 anime into 50+ episodes. The reason why I got bored with the later episodes of the 1999 anime is that felt too slow for me that I tend to ignore the important details. The new series made me want to watch more Hunter x Hunter and it's a good thing. The only problem I have right now in the series is if they have plans to change the opening theme.

2. Fate/Zero
The first season is exciting but the meat of the story is in the second season. Seriously, we have the Kiritsugu's back story, an epic battle in some river featuring a Lovecraft-inspired monster, the Holy Grail War drawing closer to its conclusion and finally, how they were able to tie up the events that happened in the original Fate/stay night eroge without making any plot holes like what Star Wars did in its prequel movies. Did I mention that ufotable did a good job in adapting the series and the show had one amazing soundtrack? [SERIES REVIEW COMING SOON]

1. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
After 25 years, the adventures of the Joestar family finally has a proper anime adaptation and boy, it didn't disappoint me! The anime series is so amazing that I decided to read the original source material because I can't wait what will happen next in the next episode! The series is currently on Part 2, my favorite story arc in the manga and hopefully, by the end of the arc, we might have an announcement if they will adapt Part 3 and 4!

Nyaruko-san Second Season Revealed

The title of the second season of the Haiyore! Nyaruko-san anime series is finally revealed! Entitled, "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W" it set to premiere next year.

"Ushiro Kara Hai Yori Tai G," the group composed of the anime's voice actresses who sang the first season's opening theme, had announced the title at the "Nippon Hōsō MuComi+ presents Anime Kōhaku Uta Gassen Vol. 2" event on the same day.

The main staff and the anime studio Xebec are returning for the second season.

Source: Anime News Network