Haiyore! Nyaruko-san Opening and Ending References
References in the opening:
～< ｀･ω･´> (0:03)
The white creature is the Twitter profile picture of Aisora Manta (逢空万太), the author of the "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" light novel series. Screen capture for reference:
(0:24)
The paper being held up has a depiction of the Yellow Sign, which is used as the sign of Hastur in the Cthulhu Mythos.S1 Image from the 5th edition rule book for the "Call of Cthulhu" RPG for reference:
(0:41)
The style of this scene mirrors a scene of Aida Hikoichi in chapter 34 of volume 4 of "Slam Dunk" (スラムダンク), a manga series written by Inoue Takehiko (井上雄彦) and published from 1990 to 1996.S1 Image for reference:
(0:57)
Mahiro's house has a gambrel roof. Buildings with such roofs often appear in the Cthulhu Mythos, like in the fictional city of Arkham, Massachusetts.S1 A description of Arkham goes as follows:
What lay behind our joint love of shadows and marvels was, no doubt, the ancient, mouldering, and subtly fearsome town in which we lived—witch-cursed, legend-haunted Arkham, whose huddled, sagging gambrel roofs and crumbling Georgian balustrades brood out the centuries beside the darkly muttering Miskatonic.This is an excerpt from "The Thing on the Doorstep", a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft and first published in 1937.
(1:04)
This scene is referencing "GameCenter CX" (ゲームセンターCX), a Japanese TV show that aired starting from 2003. The show is about Arino Shinya (有野晋哉) playing video games, and in each episode he tries to reach the ending of a game within a day. In the above scene there is a blue package that appears to contain cooling pads. On the package there is an image of a cooling pad on a child's forehead, and there is text that reads "Hie Hie" (冷え冷え), which roughly translates to "Chilly Chilly". Also a lot of snacks can be seen. These are referencing how during the show Arino often wears forehead cooling pads and has a large pile of snacks next to him while he plays games. In addition, the chair Yoriko is sitting in resembles the chair that Arino sits in after he receives it as a gift in episode 100 of the show. Lastly, the appearance of this scene with Yoriko playing a game in front of TV screen and the back of the TV screen facing the viewer is referencing a similar camera angle often used on the show. Images from episode 100 for reference:
(1:11)
The girl on the right, Kurei Tamao, is eating a piece of baumkuchen, a popular pastry in Japan. This is referencing her voice actor, Ootsubo Yuka (大坪由佳), who is nicknamed "JK Baumu" (JKバウム). "JK" is a shortening of the term "joshi kousei" (女子高生), which means "high school girl". This nickname is referencing how Ootsubo Yuka is known for liking baumkuchen and was in high school when she debuted as a voice actor in 2011.S1 Interview with Ootsubo Yuka for reference: https://www.hmv.co.jp/news/article/1108170031/
(1:22)
The pose Nyaruko makes here is based on the cover art for the first volume of the "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" light novel series. Image for reference:
Source of image: http://ga.sbcr.jp/novel/nyaruko/01.html
(1:27)
The Japanese text that appears in this shot goes as follows, "Meijou shigatai seisaku iinkai no you na mono" (名状しがたい製作委員会のようなもの), which translates to "Unspeakable production committee-like thing". The word "unspeakable" (名状しがたい meijou shigatai) is an adjective that often appears in Cthulhu Mythos.S3
References in the ending:
(0:01)
The space ship that appears here is based on a space ship called the Fortuner (フォーチュナー号) that appears in "Uchuu Eiyuu Monogatari" (宇宙英雄物語), "THE FUTURE-RETRO HERO STORY", a manga series written by Itou Takehiko (伊東岳彦) and first published from 1988 to 1992.S2 Image for reference:
～< ｀･ω･´> (0:04)
～< ｀･ω･´> (0:11)
(0:38)
There are three references here:
* The blue book nearby Mahiro's head reads "Kutouuruu Shinwa no Nazo to Shinjitsu" (クトゥルー神話の謎と真実), which translates to "Mysteries and Truths of the Cthulhu Mythos". This is referencing a book with the same title that was published in 2007.S5 Here is an isolation that might be easier to read:
* Nyaruko and company are playing the "Call of Cthulhu" role playing game. Nyaruko is rolling percentile dice that the "Call of Cthulhu" RPG uses, the screen in front of her is the keeper's screen often used in tabletop RPG's.S4 Image for reference:
Source of image: http://mundotentacular.blogspot.com/2010/10/atras-do-muro-screens-de-call-of.html
* Additionally, the keeper's screen itself bears the image of Derleth's version of Lovecraft's Elder Sign.S4 Image from the 5th edition rule book for the "Call of Cthulhu" RPG for reference:
(0:45)
Nyaruko's puppets are a references to "Romeo and Juliet", a play written by William Shakespeare.
(0:59)
The maid outfit Nyaruko is wearing is the same as the one she wears on the cover of the volume 4 of the "Haiyore! Nyaruko-san" light novel series:
Source of image: http://ga.sbcr.jp/novel/nyaruko/04.html
～< ｀･ω･´> (1:07)
～< ｀･ω･´> (1:15)
List of sources:
S1. Japanese Nyaruko References Wiki (這いよれ！ ニャル子さん 元ネタwiki)
S2. Commie Subs translators
S3. A blog post by convexity
S4. Comments on this post
S5. A blog by servitors about Cthulhu Mythos inspired works (クトゥルー／クトゥルフ神話作品発掘記)
Thanks to everyone who contributed! This list wouldn't be nearly as long without you all. See you next episode!
情報を教えてくださって本当にありがとうございました！皆さんがいなかったら、このリストはぜんぜん長くありません。またこの次までね！
Last updated May 25, 2012
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