HomeAnimeNyaruko: Crawling With Love! - Premium Edition Anime Review

Nyaruko: Crawling With Love! – Premium Edition Anime Review

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With comedy being one of the staples when it comes to anime genres, there are greater demands for something new and unique to help a title stand out from the other twenty or thirty major series that launch each season. Whether it is the not-so-everyday lives of restaurant workers in Wagnaria or the eccentric tales of residents living under a bridge in Arakawa Under the Bridge¸ Nippon Ichi Software America’s anime line-up features a strong line-up of comedy series to complement their range of equally entertaining video game releases. With cute alien girls (and boy) inspired by the deities portrayed in H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos merged with anime / video game references and plots, Nyaruko: Crawling with Love is one of the better comedy anime I have watched in recent years and perfectly matched with the publisher.

Episode 1 kicks off right into the action, with male protagonist Mahiro Yasaka finding himself forced into a dead-end by mysterious creatures, without anyone to rescue him and a red sky ominously looming above. When all hope is lost, he finds himself rescued by a girl named Nyaruko (Based on Nyarlathotep), an alien sent by the Space Defense Agency to protect him from those seeking to capture him. Even when the first “arc” concludes, he still finds himself under her protection and romantic affection, dragging him into a number of other events ranging from becoming trapped in a curse dating simulation with the only way to escape being a “Good Ending” to the kidnapping of his deity-hunting, retro game console collecting mother who is sought by two leading space video game console manufacturers. Each of the episodes prove to be entertaining, laden with references that well-versed anime and gaming fans should immediately recognize.

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It wouldn’t be a romantic comedy without some relationship conflicts, and the unlikely couple are quickly joined by two other aliens who only further drag Mahiro from his normal everyday life. The first is Kuko (Cthugha), who despite being addicted to anime / video-games and relatively quiet, harbors unrequited affection for Nyaruko. The second is Hasuta (Hastur), a young-looking boy who is a former classmate of the other two, son of a space gaming company CEO and holds a similar romantic attachment to Mahiro. Joining them is a small set of secondary characters which stand out in their own regards, although none really receive much in terms of development during this first season. With the second season just acquired by NIS America, let’s hope to see more of them come November 2014.

As with most of NIS America’s recent anime releases, the company decided to forgo the standard DVD release and distribute Nyaruko: Crawling with Love as a Blu-ray exclusive title. Should a company like Hanabee eventually pick up the rights for Australian distribution however, the series would likely be made available as a DVD release… something to keep in mind for those who have yet to make the jump to or don’t prefer Blu-ray. The visuals for Nyaruko are solid overall, with decent character and environment designs, coupled with some great attention to detail when making references to other series. Unlike Toradora!, NIS America has decided to not (At least yet) commission an English dub for Nyaruko: Crawling with Love, meaning that only the original Japanese dub with English subtitles is available on-disc. The Japanese dub is far from generic sounding, with good voice acting across the board – especially Kana Asumi as Nyaruko who makes for a perfect VA to Character match-up.

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Unfortunately for some, but fortunately or others, NIS America have made Nyaruko: Crawling with Love only available through a pricier ‘Premium Edition’ release. The collection features their usual full-colour, hardcover artbook which always makes for an interesting read with episode / character profiles in addition to interviews and concept artwork. Also included is the hardcover slipcase featuring unique artwork on both sides. On-disc content is a little weak however, featuring clean opening / ending sequences in addition to Japanese and NIS America trailers. There is unfortunately no word on a Standard Edition release as of this review.

While it isn’t a perfect anime series and has plenty of room to improve in its second season, Nyaruko: Crawling with Love has proven itself to be a highly entertaining romantic comedy that makes for an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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