Nyaruko Triggers Lovecraft Boom
- Categories: Anime, News
- Date: Apr 14, 2012 03:20 JST
- Tags: Adaptations, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Horror, Light Novels, Marketing, Moe, Otaku, Translation
The popularity of Haiyore! Nyaruko-san has apparently triggered a Cthulhu Mythos boom amongst otaku, with sales of Japanese editions of Lovecrafts’ works soaring the instant the anime aired.
For those as yet unaware, Nyaruko is actually a moefied anthropomorphisation of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos and one of the Outer Gods from legendary American horror writer H.P. Lovecraft’s hugely influential Cthulhu Mythos.
Lovecraft’s cheerful introduction of the entity might just be considered at odds with her presentation in the anime (although the chaotic nature of both portrayals do at least match):
And through this revolting graveyard of the universe the muffled, maddening beating of drums, and thin, monotonous whine of blasphemous flutes from inconceivable, unlighted chambers beyond Time; the detestable pounding and piping whereunto dance slowly, awkwardly, and absurdly the gigantic, tenebrous ultimate gods — the blind, voiceless, mindless gargoyles whose soul is Nyarlathotep.
To preserve the viewer’s sanity at least until the comments begin, only images of the dread entity in its guise as Nyaruko may be shown here:
The Amazon salesrank of H.P. Lovecraft’s Complete Works Vol. 1 (in Japanese and first published in 1974) boomed massively the instant the anime aired, although how one of his works got into the “light novel” category in the first place is likely something known only to the fungi from Yuggoth:
How well Lovecraft’s stultifying prose actually translates into Japanese is probably rather less relevant to this performance than the popularity of Nyaruko in her chaos love comedy incarnation.
The total mismatch between the impassively grim darkness of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos and the consumer banality of otaku culture is puzzling many, although given the (still ongoing) boom in guitar sales prompted by K-ON! it is probably not surprising them:
“I can’t but think a lot of these anime influenced buyers will not be reading their copies…”
“Volume 6 is good. The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath and similar are great fun.”
“I expect a lot of the people will be making sanity checks as a result of the huge disparity in content between the anime and the books…”
“Will the Cthulhu Mythos spread amongst anime otaku now? At least they might read something apart from manga and light novels.”
“I love The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, in volume 2.”
“She actually introduces herself as Nyarlathotep on the classroom blackboard, but says ‘please call me Nyaruko, nyan.'”
“How many people picked that up I wonder…”
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As a long-time fan of Lovecraft, I thought the anime was cute. Anything that exposes more people to Lovecraft is a good thing.
like your mum tits
OOHHHHH OWNED!!!!
lool that was a grat one XD
Unfunny samefag.
AH...I remember the first time my parents let me use the internet unsupervised. Good times...good times.
ahahha well done vile smile :P
Digimon Adventure exposed me to Lovecraft some 10 years ago. First season ist btw pure awesomeness. (Watch japanese version, not the changed english dub.)
>Digimon Adventure exposed me to Lovecraft some 10 years ago.
Care to explain? Don't remember anything like that...
He's referring to episode 13 of 02, The Call of Dagomon (Or His Master's Voice in the English version). It's where Hikari is called to the Dark Ocean so its inhabitants may mate with her (or become their queen in the english version). The episode is famous amongst Digimon fans for a variety of reasons--some because of it's awesomely dark and well written setup (which was ultimately abandoned by other writers of the show), some because its writer, Konaka, would eventually go on to do the equally dark Tamers series, and some because the dub changed a lot of dialogue to make Hikari and Takeru look like they were all head over heels for each other, even though the Japanese version had her calling for her "onii-chan" most of the time, not stupid hat boy.
Very interesting professor oak. I do remember seeing that episode in Chinese and was confused... I better rewatch it in Japanese I suppose.
Huh... Onii-chan, unexpectedly cute of her
Hikari is especially cute in one of the last episodes from season one (japanese version). The one were she is sick and Taichi has to find some medicine. And of course the legendary 21. episode (season 01) :3
I also like how the kids first land und file-island, move on to continent server and finally defeat some evil that came from behind the wall of fire.
Just another day in Japan.
Worshiping yet another crazy God.
Keep Haruhi out of this!!
Cthulhu fhtagn IÄ IÄ...
Bluebeard would be proud.
They just need something to replace their previous god since that anime is over >.>
Well, technically she's an alien and not a god -_-
Next a moefication on Ishihara... and a certain paper door penetration book sales will hit the top chart...
no : ishiharaizer will be defeated by pure pink rose aso-chan
If Japan manages to moe-fy Yogg Saron, then I will be surprised.
i dont think many native japanese play wow. i knew a guy who moved to japan who raided with me then.
WoW is huge in Japan. Even before a localized version existed.
Nowhere near as big as Final Failtasy XI
I think you mean Yogg Sothoth?
Yogg saron is not of the mythos, nor is chtoon before
people ask. As a longtime fan of H.P. Can`t think of a better way to market to a new audiance.
Ia shubniggurath.! The black goat of the woods with a thousand young.
Yog-Sothoth is the gate!
As someone that has a nice, very heavy tome containing all of Lovecraft's fiction, anything that gets him read is fine by me. The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath is my favorite story, but At the Mountains of Madness is really good too.
and the key, don`t forget..
Nice to see all us mythos nerds in one forum lol
and if you want to delve deeper children.
"Yog Sothoth, he is the one in all and the all in one, being both the gate and the key"
mind burn anyone?
Shub-Niggurath? The boss from Quake?
Yogg-Saron is from WoW.
Yog Sothoth is what you mean.
I'm impressed. This triggers the boom instead of all the Cthulhu rages F/Z is having right now?
if you like this post gimme thumbs up
Yeah, I could just imagine another one of those polls/lists.
"Top anime deities of the new century:
1. Nyarlathotep
2. Madoka
3. Haruhi
4. Nagi
5. Yurie
... etc."
You 4got the K-on gods.
Not gods but always on top ten
my god needs about an entire civilization worth of courage powered warheads to destroy, how bout yours?
Belldandy is always #1 in my list anyway.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY Goddess.
Great show..
triti
Do you suppose Lain counts as a goddess?
I could dig it.
Tita from Plastic Little is an embodement of my pehophilic dreams
My goddess kyouka is both omnipotent and omniscient
Somewhere, someplace in some time, Nyarlathotep will be clasping its extremities, or what passes for them, and wearing what look like an approximate of a smirk and say, in what sounded like words, something equivalent to 'Just as planned!', as it watches the otaku population descend into madness.
see madoka would've been first, if the forsaken gods of the abyss didn't scream out a mobile suit name from gundam EVERY TIME SHE IS HIT!
Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.
Casters chant in fate/zero by any change?
Yes and no, Caster actually uses chants from the Lovecraft Mythos like the above one :p
Bali Jal Hobin
Bali Magdhi Kali-Ma
Shakti Degi Kali-Ma
Kali-Ma... Kali-Ma... KALI-MA Shakti De
Bali Jadhao teia de... oopps wrong referrence.
Reminds me of that scene in CLANNAD when Kotomi recites a chant to Shub-Niggurath, the Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young...
I bet some sick japanese bastard developed this concept only because the word Nya in Nyarlathotep.
i did read all those books when the hype from the movie cloverfield came out...you are slow japan...