Nyaruko-san W is a somber reminder as to what’s wrong with anime today.
In a world where anime is done right, Nyaruko-san would be the most powerful, most popular anime on the air right now. How can you possibly not like an anime that combines boardgaming, Cthulhu mythos, moe harem, and countless (in a near-exaggeration) pop culture reference from the 60s and onward? It has BL, yuri, straight, and forks. I have a hard time figuring out how is it possibly not invincible. It doesn’t even have chalkboard references and it achieves a reference density of a bijillion. It’s got fanservice … and even fans (as in, fans of pop culture are in the show). While it probably does not have everything, it’s got more than most. A lot more.
And the answer why? Nyaruko-san is the anime we deserves, but not the one we need right now.
April 7th, 2013 at 9:50 pm
“Having yuri and BL” is not necessarily a plus. Talk about lack of focus. Also, having something for everyone to roll eyes at. Remember Nichijou? Fast-forwarded large chunks?
April 8th, 2013 at 12:30 am
Your comments describe perfectly the sentiment of an time when anime is done wrong. Every last bit of that comment.
April 8th, 2013 at 7:00 am
to be perfectly serious for a second, I think if you roll your eyes at one of those you will probably roll your eyes at a lot of them. It’s not as if all those things can be connected within the same theme.
ok. Nichijou? LOL wut.
April 8th, 2013 at 4:21 am
Is Nyaruko the savior who will die for the Flowers of Evil?
April 10th, 2013 at 2:20 pm
Unless this is some kind of belated April Fools joke that I wasn’t in on, I have to disagree; Nyaruko-san, with its emphasis on fan pandering and references over interesting characters or at least a well-executed premise, -is- what is wrong with a nice chunk of anime today, not something that would or should be championed in a world “where anime is done right.”
April 10th, 2013 at 4:57 pm
No, it’s not an April fools joke. I think you just don’t get the joke in the post, so don’t worry about your opinion being contradicted.
The truth is much more nuanced as you give it, however, so even if I agree with you I would disagree with your representation.
Anyway, I’m glad you have responded because this is kind of the opportunity I’m looking for to explain the meta-narrative in my post. Which is to say, unless you know Batman Dark Knight, you might not get it? Which is basically the same with all the people who complain about Nyaruko-san that invariably aren’t familiar with the Kamen Rider series.