Haiyore! Nyaruko-san

She is the Chaos that always crawls up to you with a smile

Mahiro Yasaka is an Ordinary High School Student who happens to be a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos. One day he was attacked by a creature he identifies as a nightgaunt, only to be saved by a White-Haired Pretty Girl... who introduces herself as none other than the Crawling Chaos, Nyarlathotep.

This strange girl -- "Nyarko" as she prefers to be called -- is an agent of the Planetary Defense Organization, tasked to stop a smuggling ring revolving around a precious cosmic commodity... Earth's entertainment, specifically manga (and especially hentai). But she's not only out to perform her task. She also takes it to herself to protect Mahiro.

Haiyore! Nyarko-san is a 2009 Romantic Comedy Light Novel series written by Manta Aisora and illustrated by Koin (of Kanokon fame) with elements from Toku and the Cthulhu Mythos. It isn't as bad as you think, though, especially since it doesn't take itself all that seriously. As it turns out that while the mythos beings are real, H.P. Lovecraft pretty much exaggerated the stories from his Nyarlathotepian friend and turned them into horror tales.

The series has been well-received in Japan, spawning numerous drama CDs and a nine-episode short-flash anime called Haiyoru! Nyarani. An 11 episode TV flash series called Haiyoru! Nyarani Remember my Love(craft-sensei) aired in Winter 2010, followed by a traditional animation season come the Spring 2012 Anime. The opening for said anime would achieve memetic status on Nico Nico Douga with the Un! Nya! Let's GO! portion of the opening.

Being a slapstick comedy based on the Cthulhu Mythos, it's a pretty violent story. It is also a hurricane of anime and manga Shout Outs and Mythos-ology Gags.

Crunchyroll has also simulcasted the anime and it can be found here.

These are the Tropes that crawl up to us with a smile!
  • A Date with Rosie Palms: When Nyarko accidentally switched bodies with Mahiro in Episode 9, she spends an inordinarily long time in the restroom, and comes out radiantly singing "Oh, boys are so great... It's a feeling that girls just won't understand..." Naturally, Mahiro is livid about this.
  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: Mahiro tells Nyarko he pictured Nyarlathotep far more monstrous. She offers to show him some of her other forms... if he doesn't mind losing his sanity. Mahiro passes. Cue a shot of 20 sanity points getting dashed off of a Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) character sheet.
  • A Twinkle in the Sky: As every good inffective villain, Nyar-o is thrown over the horizon screaming.
  • Actor Allusion: Nyarko makes quick Amagami and MM! references in Episode 3, as well as that to Working!! on Episode 8.
  • Affectionate Parody: You can tell those in charge of the series are quite familiar with and are fans of Lovecraft's work and the actual Cthulhu Mythos, and use that to great effectiveness here.
  • Alien Geometries: Nodens' auction house in R'lyeh is Bigger on the Inside that on the outside, of course.
  • Alien Lunch: An ongoing Running Gag. Nyarko keeps using alien ingredients on everything she cooks, be it shantak bird eggs, Shub-Niggurath (the "Black Goat of the Woods") meat or her famous "BLT" (Byakhee-Lloigor-Tsathougga) sandwich. And then there's the hotdog from Episode 4 of the second anime -- "dog" here meaning "Hound of Tindalos".

Mahiro: "I'm definitely gonna kick the crap out of you if you prepare something like that!" (Episode 1, referring to the "BLT")

  • Amusement Park of Doom: In Episode 2 of the second anime, we learn that R'lyeh is essentially a twisted version of Disneyland which caters to Eldritch Abominations.
  • Animation Bump: Remember my Love(craft-sensei) is a flash series, but the Ending credits are done traditionally. As a result, the Credits have better animation than the show itself.
  • Aside Comment: Nyarko looks at the camera and repeats a second time that she has a convenient barrier to keep up The Masquerade because, in her own words, it is important information.
  • Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny: Nyarko loses track of objectives easily, especially when confronted with her hobbies or anything fun.
  • A Worldwide Punomenon
    • Cuuko (as in "Kuudere") for a Chtughan girl.
    • R'lyehland sells Cola of Cthulhu.
    • Nyarko's "Three Minute" Cooking segment. In Japanese, it's "SAN-pun" Cooking.
    • The DK-do 10-year-anniversary premium cake made by D. Endo[1].
    • Cuuko's "dun-wich".
  • Badass Grandpa: Nodens look very imposing. He's really a wimp.
  • Beach Episode: Episodes 6-7 of the second anime.
  • Big Book of War: The Nyarlathotepians have Citizen Bright's Amazing! Our Space CQC. Basically, it's summed up as "CQC is what you want it to be, even if others disagree."
  • Black Comedy Rape/Double Standard Rape (Female on Male): The end of Episode 6. Ultimately subverted come next episode, because Mahiro managed to fend Nyarko off with a bunch of forks from beneath his futon, then bound her onto a table beneath a bed sheet affixed by forks.
  • Bodyguard Crush: Nyarko practically begged to take the job of protecting Mahiro after seeing his picture.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: Nyarko reminds Mahiro to be careful with that fork or they might be taken off the air in the first episode of the second anime series.

Nyarko: "You really want us to get taken off the air?!"

    • Also occurs in the first series:

Mahiro: "Wait a minute. Why'd did you get censored by the broadcast code?"

Mahiro: "Seriously, why is this happening to me?"

Nyarko: "I'm the Chaos that always crawls up to you with an smile, Nyarlathotep!"

  • Captain Ersatz: The hero of the Show Within a Show Kurogane no Striber look much like Kuuga Ultimate Form, but with different head, Scarf of Asskicking, and Laser Blade.
  • Color Coded for Your Convenience: Human characters can be distinguished by their natural hair color; the Lovecraftian characters have bright color motifs based on their Mythos counterparts. Hasta is yellow (alluding to Hastur title, the "King In Yellow"), Luuhi is green since she is Cthulhu, and Cuuko is red -- alluding to Cthugha, a sentient fireball. The odd one out is Nyarko, whose hair and Henshin Hero form is sliver. Nyarlathotep's traditional color is black, though it is used for her standard outfit.
  • Color Failure: Throughout the second anime...
    • Mahiro has one near the end of Episode 1 after seeing Nyarko brutally beat a Nightgaunt to a bloody pulp -- beside him his "Sanity Meter" is also shown going down the drain -- and again at the end of Episode 3, when Yoriko calls him telling she's coming home.
    • Nyarko also has had these moments twice. The first is in Episode 4 when she misunderstood Yoriko's advice to her to start her relationship with Mahiro as Just Friends for being friendzoned before Giving Up the Ghost. The second is in Episode 7 (coupled with Heroic BSOD) after Mahiro bluntly tells her that he doesn't like her.
  • Content Warnings: Used in "Remember my Love(craft-sensei)", accompanied by dramatic music. Each episode begins with one, followed by some Non Sequitur:

ATTENTION PLEASE!! When watching animated shows, please make sure the room is well-lit and do not sit too close to the screen. Also, there's not much movement.

  • Crash Into Hello: Hasta bumps into Mahiro while lost and looking for Mahiro's house. Sparks fly! (In one direction)
    • Also happens with Nyarko in Episode 8.
  • Creator Cameo: That little ghostly devilfish that sometimes appears in monstrous crowds or flying quickly across the screen is Aisora's avatar.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices
  • Cultural Cross-Reference: Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game) blatant Shout Outs are quite surprising when you consider they are jokes about a classic, but not "mainstream", Western tabletop RPG.
  • Dating Sim: Lovecraft Plus, mentioned in the fourth episode of the short flash, is an inverted version of the standard dating sim that happens to have SAN among its stats. Instead of getting the girls to fall for you, the girls try to get you to fall for them Your SAN points are basically your resistance to the Yandere Stalker with a Crush's advances. Lose enough SAN and you end up with her forever, wallowing in your mutual insanity. Definitely a game worthy of the title.
    • This is also the premise of episode 8. The characters are stuck in Doki Doki High School until Mahiro scores with either Nyarko, Cuuko, Hasta or Tamao.
  • Dead Pet Sketch: One episode of the flash series plays with this. Cuuko feeds something to Mahiro's goldfish. Mahiro becomes angry, but being an alien, Cuuko doesn't realize that fish shouldn't have spouted legs.
  • Did You Just Groin Attack Cthulhu?: A nightgaunt, actually. A subversion, since Nyarko's an Outer God, in the form of a schoolgirl. Played straight with Mahiro who frequently threatens Nyarko with a fork.
  • Did You Just Romance Nyarlathotep?: A subversion -- while Mahiro does have feelings for Nyarko, being an astute Lovecraft reader, he doubts that having an affair with Nyarlathotep is a good idea. As a result, his attitude can be Tsundere at times.
  • Disney Dog Fight: In the Flash animation Nyarko tests Shanta-kun's loyalty when it looks like it is getting too attached to Mahiro. He chooses her. After some concussive convincing.
  • Do-It-Yourself Theme Tune: Kana Asumi [Nyarko] sings the themes of all three adaptations -- solo on the first flash opening ("Like, Like, Love") and the anime ending ("Always Be With You"), collaborative on the second flash ending ("Catharsis of a Woman's Love", with Azusa Kataoka [Atko] and Sayuri Hara [Nyarue]) and the anime opening ("The Sun Says 'Burn, Chaos'" with Miyu Matsuki [Cuuko] and Yuka Ootsubo [Tamao]).
  • Double Entendre: Believe it or not, Hasta uses the crap out of this, most of the time he uses the term "gattai" to refer to doing it, this is not a corruption as the term can mean such an act, however when he refers to it as "Final fusion" all bets are off.
  • Dragged by the Collar: Nyarko likes to grab Mahiro and run with him in tow.
  • Dramatic Chase Opening: The second anime series begins with Mahiro being chased by a nightgaunt.
  • Faceless Goons: Nightgaunts.
  • Fan Nickname: Ah, My Elder Goddess! and variations.
  • Fan Service: The Light Novels are illustrated by the artist who did Kanokon's, so one should expect it. Invoked in the first TV episode with Nyarko telling Mahiro that since this is an anime adaptation, their fans surely want to see them get wet. Mahiro flatly rejects it, claiming that he doesn't care about that kind of fan.
  • Fast-Forward Gag: In the first episode of the second anime series, Nyarko's explanation for who/what she is and her purpose for being on Earth gets fast-forwarded due to being extremely long-winded and Mahiro has to summarize everything in a format that the audience can understand and respects broadcasting time constraints.
  • Foreshadowing: Occurs in Episode 5. Mahiro tries to figure out why his Mom is taken by Luhy. He thinks it has something to do with "sononium", which he thought was merely Yoriko's excuse to hug him. Turn's out he was mistaken. The real foreshadowing was Yoriko discussing how she collects old video game consoles.]

Mahiro: "That was the foreshadowing?!"

  • Freaky Friday Flip: When Isuka, a Yithian (currently in Tamao's body), fails to take over Nyarko's body, this happens to her and Mahiro. The device of course runs out of power immediately.
  • Funny Background Event: The Flash series feature this often.
  • Gag Series: The Flash series focused on surreal humor more than any plot. The TV series probably falls halfway between this and Excuse Plot.
  • Gender Flip: Nyarko, Cuuko, and Luuhi. In the Mythos, Nyarlathotep's human forms tend to be male, and Cthugha and Cthulhu are considered "male".
    • On the meta side, Atlach-Nacha was originally described as male, though later writers turned him into a female.
    • Another, anime-related meta example: Mahiro is Tsundere, hapless against monsters, but has no problem with hitting Nyarko; Nyarko is bold, hyperactive, and is easily beaten by Mahiro despite being powerful fighter. In other words, they're the gender-flipped version of the standard anime couple.
  • Glamour Failure: Nyarlathotepians in human form can be told from regular humans by their silver hair and huge cowlick.
  • Godiva Hair: Nyarko sports this in Episode 1 of the second anime when she barges in on Mahiro while he's taking a bath.
  • Grand Theft Me: Focus in the third volume. One such Yithian, Isuka explains to the gang that her more aggressive kin are trying to pull this off on humanity in order to learn more of their entertainment. In an attempt to take over Nyarko (ostensibly to be able to fend off her more aggressive kin), she ended up causing Nyarko and Mahiro to switch bodies.
  • Gratuitous English: "En-ta-tein-ment-o!"
  • Harem Genre: Subverted. The main character is a high school student who lives with a group of girls, but only Nyarlko is a viable romantic prospect. Of the other girls in the series, one is in love with the female lead, one is the main character's mom, and one is actually a boy.
  • Harmless Villains: Both Nodens and Nyar-o went down with extreme anticlimax.
  • Heroic BSOD: Played for Laughs in Episode 7 by Nyarko (coupled with Color Failure), when Mahiro bluntly tells her he doesn't like her. It took the sight of Cuuko about to exploit the chance to molest Nyarko to make Mahiro reconsider his stance, apologize to her and take her on a date.
  • High-Pressure Emotion: Cuuko full body blushing is actually harmful to the environment. Justified, considering she is a living fireball.
  • Homage: In the first Flash animation series, Atoko and Nyarko re-enact the silent elevator ride from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
  • Hot Springs Episode: Episode 5 of second flash series downplay with this trope. As the camera was focus on bathing Shantak-kun for whole episode, so the audience won't see anything despite all naughty dialogue. Atoko even lampshade that she feel bad for deceiving audiences.
  • Henshin Hero: Being Nyarlathotepian, Nyarko can transform into Full Force Form and her pet Shantak-kun will become Machine Shantaker via Final Form Ride. Pretty much a Shout-Out to the Kamen Rider series.
  • Humans Are Special: On top of Earth's entertainment, humans are also sought after by aliens.
  • Hypocritical Humor
    • In the second episode of the second anime, Nyarko complains that Cuuko's lasers shouldn't be considered close-quarters-combat. At the beginning of the episode, Mahiro raised the same point about her using hand grenades.
    • Many of Nyarko's frequent insults towards Cuuko revolve around her hobbies, like gaming... In the first episode she was drooling over an anime/manga store's entire stock, including the games.
  • I Ate What?: In Luhy's seaside restaurant, the gang is enjoying her takoyaki. Mahiro was also about to reluctantly eat some... then he saw the restaurant's banner with an image of Cthulhu. Needless to say, he lost his appetite.
  • Iconic Logo: In the Op, Hasta is holding the Yellow Sign.
  • Idiot Hair: Nyarko has one, pretty much a replacement of tentacles.
  • If It's You It's Okay: Even if it's actually Mahiro in Nyarko's body, Cuuko would still attempt to have her way with him, so long as it's Nyarko's body. The fact that Mahiro is relatively easy on her compared to Nyarko also helps.

Cuuko: "Just her [i.e, Nyarko] body will do."

Nyarko: "Oh, you're blushing! How cute, Mahiro!"

  • Madness Mantra/Survival Mantra: After losing his SAN, Mahiro begins to repeat "It's only ink..." while trying to forget about the pool of Nightgaunt blood shed by Nyarko.
  • Magical Girlfriend/Interspecies Romance: Parodied, with the girlfriend in question being a Lovecraftian horror.
  • Man, I Feel Like a Woman: Inverted and played straight. When Nyarko and Mahiro switched bodies, Nyarko wasted no time at all discovering Mahiro's junk and how boys pleasure themselves, and comes back from a trip to the restroom happily singing "Oh, boys are so great!!". On the flip side, Mahiro can't even find the courage to look at Nyarko's naked body while taking a bath.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Nyarko's entire personality basically both purposely plays up and spoofs this character type. She literally drags around Mahiro, and despite all his resistance he does find her cute.
  • Medium Awareness: Brought to you by Rule of Funny. Mahiro, for example, somehow reads an imaginary number bubble floating next to Shantak-kun.
  • Meganekko/Megane: Aside from Luhy and Yoichi, there's Nyarko, Mahiro and Cuuko taking turns wearing glasses.
  • Moe Anthropomorphism: The Great Old Ones depicted as teen girls.
  • Moe Stare: Ear to ear smile, abnormally huge eyes... no doubt, she is the Crawling Chaos.
  • Monster Roommate: To protect Mahiro "from good morning to good night" Nyarko moves to his house.
  • Mundane Utility: In the first anime series, Cuuko summons Aphoom-Zhah, the Cold Flame: a bright grey living flame that freezes on contact. Cuuko uses it to cool down a dessert.
  • Mystery Meat: Mahiro never got to know what was the "chicken" in the boxed lunch, let alone Luhy's takoyaki.
  • No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Mahiro spends a lot of time keeping Nyarko's advances at bay. Also Nyarko does the same to Cuuko.
  • Nominal Hero: While technically a space cop doing her job, Nyarko is protecting Mahiro out of a crush, takes on the bad guys with too much enthusiasm and does a little personal smuggling of the kind she's supposed to stop.

Nyarko: "It's not a crime if no one finds out."

  • Not-So-Innocent Whistle: In Episode 1, Mahiro was worried about what kind of chicken he had just eaten, and doubly so when Nyarko starts whistling. And Nyarko can't whistle.
  • Not What It Looks Like: When Yoriko arrives home at the beginning of Episode 4, the first thing she sees is her son entangled with two girls in highly suggestive positions.
  • Otaku Surrogate: Nyarko shares the same obsession her race has with Earth (specifically, Japanese) entertainment.
  • Overt Operative: Despite taking human forms, Nyarko, Cuuko, and Hasta use their real names when introducing themselves to Mahiro's class. Nyarko even goes so far as announce that she travels the stars and fights villainous deities.
  • Phantom Zone: The "convenient barrier" Nyarko uses to fight in privacy.
  • Pixellation: Used several times in the first flash anime. For our own good too.
  • Prehensile Hair: Noden's beard can grab people.
  • Product Placement: The shop in Episode 1 of the anime series has covers and posters all over the place for GA Bunko, the Light Novel label under which this series is published. An instantly recognizable one is the cover for Volume 1 of Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru.
  • Race Against the Clock: Used in Remember my Love(craft-sensei). After the initial short is over, it cuts to a scene of a massive Borg-ish ship heading towards Earth, with the days left "Until The End Of Mankind". Then again, the shorts have nothing to do with the ship, until the last episode or so.
  • Rapunzel Hair: Nyarko's hair goes below the hip. Useful for covering up.
  • Real Place Background: Nodens' action house front just looks like the Sagrada Familia, a famous church and touristic spot of Barcelona, Spain.
  • Red Sky, Take Warning: Nyarko's "convenient barrier" to keep The Masquerade turns the scene dark and tinted red, sky and Moon included.
  • Reference Overdosed: Counting the Kamen Rider, Gundam and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Shout Outs alone is daunting.
  • Rule of Three: Whenever Mahiro asks somebody to make a long story short, he asks for three lines or less. The fourth will always be entirely unrelated.
  • Schoolgirl Lesbians: Cuuko has a one-sided crush on Nyarko. More of a post-schoolgirl case since both have already graduated from space elementary school but attend Mahiro's alma mater, Boryo Municipal High School to keep an eye on him.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Playing with Lovecraft's love of colorful, obscure adjectives and words, Nyarko sometimes gives ominous, long descriptions of mundane things. For example, in Episode 1 of the anime, after Mahiro alerts her to a Nighgaunt attack with a bump on the head...

Nyarko: I'm suffering from abnormal and blasphemous amounts of ominously chaotic pain.

  • Share the Male Pain: A nightgaunt may be a creature seeking to abduct him for who knows what, but Mahiro definitely felt this way towards the poor sucker Nyarko kneed.
  • Shout-Out: See the the subpage under the Trivia section.
  • Slapstick Knows No Gender: The comical abuse actually comes from Mahiro using a fork to stop Nyarko's crazed binges and unsolicited advances.
  • Small Reference Pools: Those not familiar with the expanded Mythos won't know Cthugha or Atlach-Nacha. As a result, some have mistaken Cuuko as Cthulhu because of the similarities of their names. Also, Elder Gods, Great Old Ones and Outer Gods are not synonymous.
  • Space Police: The Planetary Defense Organization has sent Nyarko to stop a smuggling and human-trafficking ring.
  • Space X: Nyarko and Cuuko refer to the alien equivalents of CQC, Kindergarten, etc. by simply adding the word "Space" before them.

Mahiro: "Stop adding 'space' onto almost everything!"

Mahiro: "Obviously the last one is of your own making."

  1. ↑ In Japanese, "decade" is pronounced di-kei-do.
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