drsnubbs

First things first: intro and outro songs in this are godly. That out of the way, the first few episodes might not be super gripping, but the meat of this thing REALLY rocks. It knows when to be comedic but when also to pull its punches and dial it back in for more emotional or character driven moments. Ruriruri is evidently a Rei clone from evangelion, but has enough bite and edge that it's an interesting spin on the character. Akito is basically an inverted Shinji, which is a fun play on the character. The end sort of peters out and rushes itself, so it doesn't come to a close too strong, but that mid section really did it for me. Just wish the movie was better.

Very interesting premise, and one that's not usually aesthetically touched on in anime very often. Seeing lovecraft (like actual cthulhu mythos stuff) in an anime is a welcome surprise, but the material really tries to lean hard away from what actually made a lot of those stories any good. The cosmic horror aspect of it all is mostly lost, except for jokes here and there (which granted are pretty funny), and the grotesque and strange monster/deity designs of the lovecraft world rarely make an appearance. The characters are pretty one-note, but it's an absurd comedy so it mostly works. Would've been a little nice to see them fleshed out more, as it would make Mahiro's change of heart towards Nyaruko a little more believable. Really catchy theme though, and Kuko is based. Would watch again maybe.

Finally, an adult animated show that doesn't rely on constant gross-out, shock jock, and in-your-face humor. This show really nails the sweet spot of being subtly and tonally funny while also not being so dry that you forget it's a comedy at heart. Plus the character designs are really pleasing, and the show has an overall aesthetic that's gripping and cohesive and unlike most other adult animated shows of the modern day. It's not anything crazy or abstract like Midnight Gospel, but it stands in its own lane and carves out a niche for itself instead of just copying Family Guy. Characters are funny but empathetic and not exaggerated hyperboles that scream every other line for comedic effect. Really hope this gets more episodes, cuz I'd watch em immediately.