Lovecraftian Anime Announced: Moe Lovecraft

The announcement of an explicitly Lovecraftian anime, which features Nyarlathotep as a silver haired schoolgirl, is perhaps one of the oddest destinations yet for HPL's international influence. The Moe Lovecraft anime is reportedly slated for production in the near future. The website AnimeNation has the full details:

Publisher Softbank Creative has announced that Flash animation production studio DLE (Eagle Talon) will produce a Flash Haiyoru! Nyaru-Ani anime adaptation of author Manta Aisora’s “high-tension, chaotic comedy” light novel series Haiyore! Nyaruko-san. The novels star high school boy Mahiro Yasaka who encounters the Cthulhu mythos god Nyarlathotep, who inexplicably chooses to appear as a cute silver-haired girl. Aisora’s H.P. Lovecraft & moé inspired light novel series premiered this past April. The third book hits Japanese shelves this month, along with a new drama CD.

The “Cthulhu mythos” created by American writer H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) has been quite influential in anime. References to the mythology Lovecraft created have appeared in anime including Iczer-One, Armitage the III, Digimon, Dirty Pair, Demonbane, and Soul Eater.

It's difficult to say how this project will turn out. In my own limited observations of Lovecraft's place in Japanese animation, his creations have enjoyed both serious and humorous treatment. However, a series that stars Nyarlathotep as a young girl strongly suggests it will tend toward the "Cutethulhu" model that's nearly as prominent in Japan as it is in the West. English viewers may have to wait some time to see what direction the artists and writers take, since no mention has been made of either subtitles or bringing this project to an English audience yet.

-Grim Blogger