Shirogumi is the creator of the Japanese anime television program Nyanbo! It is a manga adaptation of Kiyohiko Azuma’s Yotsuba&! series based on the feline adaptations of the Danbo characters. On NHK-E, it debuted on September 27, 2016.
The “Nyanbo” are alien beings that arrived on Earth with square bodies, ears, and tails. They include Tora, who wants to fix their damaged UFO and go back to space, in addition to his sister Kotora, the little Shiro, the naughty Mike, the enigmatic Kuro, and many others.
Each of these Nyanbos are currently contentedly residing in locations that humans are unaware of, acting like wild cats who occasionally cause mischief.
| Director | Akira Iwamoto |
| Streamed | Sep 27, 2016 – Mar 28, 2017 |
| Licensors | Crunchyroll Discotek Media |
| Initial Broadcast | NHK-E |
| Studio | Shirogumi |
| Source | Yotsuba to! manga |
| Genre | Comedy, Animal, Cats, Family Friendly, Short Episodes |
| Episodes | 26 |
| Production | NYANBO FP |
| Duration | 5 mins per episode |
| Cast | Kugimiya Rie as Kotora Sanpei Yuuko as Kuro Takeuchi Junko as Mike Horie Yui as Shiro Paku Romi as Tora |
| Official Website | https://nyanbo.jp/ |
Story of Nyanbo! anime
The entities known as Nyanbo are known to adore having fun, despite the fact that it is unclear what they are or where they originated from. That could have diverse meanings for many Nyanbo.
While Kotora, his younger sister, and his pals are satisfied to live carefree lives on Earth, the young Tora is delighted to labour toward his dream of repairing his UFO and reaching the stars. There is never a dull day for the small creatures known as Nyanbo, regardless of how they live.
The thing with Nyabo! is that its quality is independent of the characteristics. Simple, consistent, and, well, childlike describe the characters. There isn’t really a plot per se. The basis of each episode is these things:
A idea or lesson needs to be taught, a piece of a UFO has been discovered, and the Nyanbo have made a new companion with whom to play.
To be fair, though, anime, especially short-form productions, frequently lack plots, which is neither unusual nor harmful.
Sentinel produced the first Nyanbo or Nyanboard 60mm figurines in December 2015. In December 2016 and January 2017, the figure manufacturer Kotobukiya launched smaller 35mm versions called Nyanboard nyano and larger 90mm versions called Nyanboard.
Characters from Nyanbo!
Following are the characters appearing in the Nyanbo! anime series.
Main Characters
Tora
The group’s leader and a Nyanbo with tiger stripes. He is the most anxious to collect the bits of the UFO and makes valiant efforts to get the others to assist him, with varying degrees of success.
Kotora
She is the sole child in the group and another tiger-stripped Nyanbo. She is Tora’s younger sister.
Shiro
A Nyanbo with white skin who is obsessed with Tora and is constantly vying for his favour.
Kuro
A quiet, good-hearted Nyanbo with dark skin who hardly ever speaks. He frequently sees Kotora playing with him.
Mike
A carefree Nyanbo with the colour of a calico cat who frequently gets himself and the other Nyanbos into trouble.
Other Characters
Sabatora
A member of the Nyanbo Angels idol group. She has a crush on Tora and frequently faces off against Shiro to win him over.
Kijitora
A member of the Nyanbo Angels idol group. When she misplaces her spectacles, she has a tendency to lose her mind.
Blaze
The gang’s leader, Wild Black, is a fan of the colour black. Despite knowing that Kuro is a boy, he is also in love with him. Kuro, however, absolutely rejects his advances.
Magpie and Socks
Members of Wild Black.
Mecha Nyanbos
Alpha
The leader of the Mecha Nyanbo is always at odds with Tora and the others because he needs the UFO parts to build Omega, his war robot.
Zeta
One of the Mecha Nyanbo that assists Alpha in tracking down UFO fragments. He is amicable to the Nyanbo, in contrast to the other Mecha Nyanbo.
Where to watch Nyanbo! anime for free?
There are various options for watch this anime. You may watch this anime with subscription/payment options at sites such as Crunchyroll, Hulu, Bandai Channel etc. Good thing is you can watch in high quality with subtitles and without any advertisements.
You may purchase the DVD version from the official website here.
If you would like to watch sub and dub for free then you may do so on these websites: here or here.
Watch the anime on YouTube from below. Note that all the episodes may not be available.
Episodes list along with description
On September 27, 2016, NHK-E aired the animation as part of their “mini-anime” programme. Trio Hashashi’s “Uch Kara Yattekita Nyanb” serves as the show’s opening theme.
Outside of Asia, the series is simulcast on Crunchyroll, which also holds the series’ master licence. The show will be made available on home video via Discotek Media.
Following are the list of episodes along with story on what happens in each of them:
Episode 1: The Cats That Come From The Stars
In the first episode, Tora and his companions are introduced along with their search for the missing UFO bits.
Episode 2: We Love Sparkly Things
Kotora tries to insert a ball into a UFO component, but the UFO rejects it. The group encounters the Nyanbo Angels while looking for potential puzzle components.
Episode 3: Mike the Hard Worker
Mike makes an effort to show Tora that he is not as indolent as he appears to be.
Episode 4: I Want to Be Cute!
Shiro tries different techniques with Kotora to look more attractive in an effort to impress Tora.
Episode 5: Tora and Kotora
Where are their parents, an anxious Kotora queries Tora. He and the others try to uplift her even though he is unable to respond.
Episode 6: The Black Nyanbo
As Tora and his pals encounter the Nyanbos of Wild Black, conflict quickly develops when their leader develops feelings for Kuro.
Episode 7: Friends
Tora and Blaze are looking for bright objects so that it will react with a fragment of a UFO. They return later, and Tora and Blaze end up being close friends.
Episode 8: The Nyanbo’s Secret
Mike begins to investigate whether the Nyanbo behave similarly to cats after realising that they do.
Episode 9: Is This a Rival?
The Mecha Nyanbos, a gang that is also assembling the pieces of the UFO for themselves, are introduced to Tora’s team.
Episode 10: In Search of a Swirly
Tora notices that an important component of the UFO is still missing, so Kotora sets out to find it despite having a sketchy description of it.
Episode 11: The Greatest Friends
Tora attempts to reunite his troops under his command once more after learning that they have other goals in mind after losing more piece of the UFO towards the Mecha Nyanbos.
Episode 12: The Battle Is Soccer?!
The Wild Black choose to look for assistance with their training, and the Mecha Nyanbos choose to resolve their differences with a soccer match.
Episode 13: Let’s Have a Party
The Nyanbos come together to celebrate Christmas as it approaches, but they each have an own idea of how to go about it.
Episode 14: No Stress
When Tora points out how carefree and stress-free Mike’s life is, Mike, unexpectedly, decides to take action.
Episode 15: The Microphone of Terror
The Nyanbos engage in karaoke competition after discovering a piece of a UFO that serves as a microphone.
Episode 16: A Day in Kuro’s Life
In an effort to understand more about Kuro, Black and Shiro choose to follow him, and what they learn astounds them.
Episode 17: Everyone’s an Idol
The Nyanbo Angels welcome Shiro and Kotora, as the four of them get ready for their first live together.
Episode 18: Mecha! Mecha! Mecha!
The gang is visited by Alpha, who claims he wants to play with them but really only wants to take Tora’s UFO parts.
Episode 19: I Hate You, Nii-chan
After playing with Mike, Kotora loses her teddy bear. Tora scolds her, which makes Kotora flee. Later, Kotora is sought for by Tora and the group.
Episode 20: Stop, Time
A component of a UFO that can pause time is discovered by Alpha and Tora. When the UFO piece’s batteries run out, Alpha takes it for himself.
Episode 21: I Want to Go to School
Kotora and the group plan to have a lesson before each Nyanbo is expelled after learning what school is.
Episode 22: Evening Picnic
The group suggests that they go together as Tora extends an invitation to a picnic while displaying the UFO from which he intends to depart alone.
Episode 23: This Is Big Omega!
After taking Tora’s UFO components from his room to construct Big Omega, Alpha pursues him, Shiro, and Mike in an effort to take another UFO component.
Episode 24: The Zoo Incident
Mike and Tora discover a piece of a UFO that gives the Nyanbo various animal traits.
Episode 25: Tora Gets an Idea
After his UFO failed to reach space, Kotora lost motivation and asked the Mecha Nyanbo to try and assist Tora.
Episode 26: Cats Heading for the Stars
The gang bids the others farewell before sending their UFO into orbit.
Interesting facts about Nyanbo! anime
Following are some of the interesting facts of this series:
- This is a unique instance where every character is impacted by it before the show even starts.
- In the opening credits, Yotsuba herself may be seen colouring different images of the Nyanbo. Of course, she doesn’t have any lines to say.
- The fur patterns on the animals Tora, Kotora, Sabatora, Kijitora, Shiro, Kuro, and Socks all inspired their names.
- Tora carries a set of safety goggles around his neck for the majority of the time. Although it is implied that he wears them while working on the UFO, he is never seen on camera with them on his face.
- While the surroundings are entirely live-action video, the characters and the majority of the props are all computer-generated. The protagonists also converse with real cats on several occasions.
When Blaze learns that Kuro is male, he collapses (although in later episodes, Blaze persists in trying to capture Kuro’s affections, switching back and forth between still referring to Kuro as “she” and admitting that Kuro is male but still wanting “him”).- Over Tora, Shiro and Sabatora frequently get into cat fights.
- Kijitora is a Meganekko because she resembles a cat and she is wearing glasses.
Reviews on Nyanbo! anime
For a program that is undeniably geared toward kids, there is a peculiar kind of beautiful and approachable quality present that is difficult to discover elsewhere. A show’s target audience does not automatically make it good or unworthy of a passing glance.
That may not fit the social stereotype of an older man enjoying children’s programming, but that doesn’t make it untrue.
We all have those childhood favourites that we have either grown out of or still hold onto for nostalgic purposes. However, I’ve found that whenever I revisit my old favourites, a part of me still finds enjoyment in them for different reasons.
These justifications can differ from person to person, but in my case, I can now appreciate the finesse with which a moral lesson can be conveyed, the subtlety in a side character’s joke, or the level of work and quality that went into the production of the program.
This last factor in particular is what pulled me in and held my interest in this children’s program about cardboard-box-made felines.
The figures’ out-of-place appearance on top of the actual world background seems suitable given that the Nyanbo’s ultimate goal is to reassemble their UFO and travel back to space. It’s not unexpected that the Nyanbo’s presence in these settings isn’t intrusive or even inappropriate because they have also assimilated elements of our culture into their personas.
Thus, the performance as a whole explores the interesting contrast between not belonging and welcomeness on Earth. The Nyanbo are entertaining and unforgettable, but they eventually have to go, just like so many other aspects of our youth.
But until then, they’re here to play, learn, and have fun with the kids who own them. The fact that I was able to enjoy this show as an adult with more mature preferences and an eye for more complicated concepts and nuance remains true, even though I may be reading too much into it. In addition, I had a sneaking suspicion that my young nieces might appreciate it as well (if only they could read subtitles).
Similar Anime Recommendations
Following are some of the similar other anime recommendations for Nyanbo! anime
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Will Bananya ever realise his longstanding desire to someday turn into a fashionable, chocolate-covered banana? You’ll have a tonne of fun with this purr-fect collection of Bananya adventures, that much is certain.
Mitchiri Neko
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Donyatsu
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Summary
Square bodies with ears and tails…they are “Nyanbo” from outer space. Tora, who dreams of the day when he can repair a broken UFO and travel to space, his sister Kotora, the shy Shiro, the mischievous Mike, the mysterious Kuro, and so on. Such “Nyanbo” friends live freely and happily like cats, sometimes making a big fuss, in a place where humans don’t know.
They are invisible to humans. Even though they resemble cats, they are not cats. They are the Nyanbo, a mysterious bunch of friends. The manga series Nyanbo!, a spin-off of Kiyohiko Azuma’s Yotsuba&!, follows Tora, his sister Kotora, and their friends Shiro, Kuro, and Mike as they live in our world while putting their UFO back together to fly home.
