Nyanbo! (にゃんぼー!) is a Japanese anime television series by Shirogumi. It is a spin-off of Kiyohiko Azuma's Yotsuba&! manga, based on the cat versions of the Danbo characters within the series. It began airing on September 27, 2016, on NHK-E.[3]

Nyanbo!
Promotional poster featuring the main characters (from left to right): Kotora and Tora
にゃんぼー!
Anime television series
Directed byAkira Iwamoto
Produced byNYANBO FP
Written byAkira Iwamoto
StudioShirogumi
Licensed byCrunchyroll[1] (streaming)
Discotek Media (home video)[2]
Original networkNHK-E
Original run September 27, 2016 March 28, 2017
Episodes26 (List of episodes)

Figures

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The original Nyanbo or Nyanboard 60mm figures were created by Sentinel in December 2015.[4] The figure maker Kotobukiya released smaller 35mm versions called Nyanboard nyano in December 2016,[5] and larger 90mm versions called Nyanboard [mini] in January 2017.[6]

Characters

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Main characters

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Tora (トラ)
Voiced by: Romi Park[7]
A tiger-stripped Nyanbo and the leader of the group. He is the most eager to gather the UFO pieces and tries his best to motivate the others to help with it, with mixed results.
Kotora (コトラ)
Voiced by: Rie Kugimiya[7]
Another tiger-stripped Nyanbo and Tora's younger sister, she is the only child in the group.
Shiro (シロ)
Voiced by: Yui Horie[7]
A white-colored Nyanbo who is infatuated with Tora, and is always trying to win his affection.
Kuro (クロ)
Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei[7]
A black-colored Nyanbo who rarely speaks, but is kind and dependable. He is usually seen playing with Kotora.
Mike (ミケ)
Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi[7]
A calico cat-colored, carefree Nyanbo who usually gets himself and the other Nyanbos in trouble.

Nyanbo Angels

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Sabatora (サバトラ)
Voiced by: Ayaka Suwa
A member of the idol band Nyanbo Angels. She is infatuated with Tora and often competes with Shiro to win him over.
Kijitora (キジトラ)
Voiced by: Sachika Misawa
A member of the idol band Nyanbo Angels. She has the habit of going berserk when she loses her glasses.

Wild Black

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Blaze (ハチワレ, Hachiware)
Voiced by: Kazutoshi Hatano
The leader of Wild Black, a gang who loves the color black. He also is in love with Kuro, despite knowing the fact that Kuro is a boy. Kuro however, ignores his advances completely.
Magpie (シロクロ, Shirokuro)
Voiced by: Kiyohiro Yamaguchi
A member of Wild Black.
Socks (クツシク, Kutsushiku)
Voiced by: Yūji Kameyama
A member of Wild Black.

Mecha Nyanbos

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Alpha (アルファ)
Voiced by: Kenichirou Matsuda
The leader of the Mecha Nyanbo who is seeking the UFO pieces to assemble Omega, his fighting robot, usually leading him to conflict with Tora and the others.
Zeta (ゼータ)
Voiced by: Kiyohiro Yamaguchi
One of the Mecha Nyanbo who helps Alpha with finding UFO pieces. He, unlike the rest of the Mecha Nyanbo, are friendly towards the Nyanbo.

Other characters

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Narrator
Voiced by: Shinnosuke Mitsushima

Media

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Anime

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The anime began airing on September 27, 2016, on NHK-E as part of its "mini-anime" program. The opening theme for the series is "Uchū Kara Yattekita Nyanbō" (宇宙からやってきたにゃんぼー) by Trio Ōhashi.[8]

The series is simulcast on Crunchyroll outside of Asia,[9] who are also the master licensee for the series.[1] Discotek Media will release the series on home video.[2]

Episode list

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No. Title Original airdate
1"The Cats That Come From The Stars"
"Hoshi Kara Kita Neko" (ほしからきたネコ)
September 27, 2016 (2016-09-27)
The first episode introduces Tora and his friends, and their quest to find the lost UFO pieces.
2"We Love Sparkly Things"
"Kirakira ga Suki" (キラキラがすき)
October 4, 2016 (2016-10-04)
As Kotora places a ball into a UFO piece, the UFO piece rejects it. While searching for pieces that could fit, the group meets the Nyanbo Angels.
3"Mike the Hard Worker"
"Ganbariya Mike" (がんばりやミケ)
October 11, 2016 (2016-10-11)
Mike attempts to prove Tora that he is not as lazy as he seems.
4"I Want to Be Cute!"
"Kawaiku Naritai!" (かわいくなりたい!)
October 18, 2016 (2016-10-18)
Shiro wants to look cuter to impress Tora, thus she looks for ways to look more pretty with Kotora, with mixed results.
5"Tora and Kotora"
"Tora to Kotora" (トラとコトラ)
October 25, 2016 (2016-10-25)
A worried Kotora asks for Tora where their parents are. Unable to answer, he and the others look for ways to cheer her up.
6"The Black Nyanbo"
"Kuroi Nyanbō" (くろいにゃんぼー)
November 1, 2016 (2016-11-01)
Tora and his friends meet the Nyanbos of Wild Black and trouble ensues when their leader gets infatuated with Kuro.
7"Friends"
"Tomodachidoushi" (ともだちどうし)
November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08)
Tora and Blaze are finding colorful objects in order for it to react with a UFO piece. They later visit the group, where Tora and Blaze become friends at heart.
8"The Nyanbo's Secret"
"Nyanbō no Himitsu" (にゃんぼーのひみつ)
November 15, 2016 (2016-11-15)
Mike realises that the Nyanbo behave like cats, and starts to see whether they act like cats.
9"Is This a Rival?"
"Moshikashite Raibaru" (もしかしてライバル)
November 22, 2016 (2016-11-22)
Tora's group meet the Mecha Nyanbos, a group that is also collecting the UFO pieces for themselves.
10"In Search of a Swirly"
"Guruguru wo Sagashite" (ぐるぐるをさがして)
November 29, 2016 (2016-11-29)
When Tora discovers that a crucial part of the UFO is still missing, Kotora tries to look for it, despite having a too vague description of it.
11"The Greatest Friends"
"Saikō no Nakama" (さいこうのなかま)
December 6, 2016 (2016-12-06)
After losing another piece of the UFO to the Mecha Nyanbos, Tora discovers that his group have other interests in mind, and tries to rally them under his leadership again.
12"The Battle Is Soccer?!"
"Shōbu wa Sakkā!?" (しょうぶはサッカー!?)
December 13, 2016 (2016-12-13)
The Wild Black and the Mecha Nyanbos decide to settle their disputes with a soccer match, and the Wild Black decide to look for help with their training,
13"Let's Have a Party"
"Pātī Shiyō ze" (パーティーしようぜ)
December 20, 2016 (2016-12-20)
Christmas is at hand and the Nyanbos gather to celebrate, but each of them have a different concept in mind about how to do it.
14"No Stress"
"Nayami ga Nai" (なやみがない)
December 27, 2016 (2016-12-27)
Tora points out how Mike lives a carefree life with no stress at all, and surprisingly, Mike decides to do something about it.
15"The Microphone of Terror"
"Kyōfu no Maiku" (きょうふのマイク)
January 10, 2017 (2017-01-10)
The Nyanbos find a UFO piece that works as a microphone, triggering a karaoke competition between them.
16"A Day in Kuro's Life"
"Kuro no Ichinichi" (クロのいちにち)
January 17, 2017 (2017-01-17)
Black and Shiro decide to follow Kuro in order to learn more about him, and what they discover astonishes them.
17"Everyone's an Idol"
"Minna de Aidoru" (みんなでアイドル)
January 24, 2017 (2017-01-24)
Shiro and Kotora join the Nyanbo Angels and the four prepare themselves for their first live together.
18"Mecha! Mecha! Mecha!"
"Meka! Meka! Meka!" (メカ!メカ!メカ!)
January 31, 2017 (2017-01-31)
Alpha visits the group, saying that he wants to play with them, but does so to steal Tora's UFO pieces.
19"I Hate You, Nii-chan"
"Nī-chan Kirai" (にいちゃんキライ)
February 7, 2017 (2017-02-07)
As Kotora loses her teddy bear after playing with Mike, Tora scolds her, causing her to run away. Tora and the group later try to find Kotora.
20"Stop, Time"
"Jikan'yotomare" (じかんよとまれ)
February 14, 2017 (2017-02-14)
Alpha and Tora find a UFO piece which can stop time. After the batteries die for the UFO piece, Alpha steals the piece for himself.
21"I Want to Go to School"
"Gakkō ni Ikitai" (がっこうにいきたい)
February 21, 2017 (2017-02-21)
After finding out what school is, Kotora and the group decide to have a class before each Nyanbo gets kicked out.
22"Evening Picnic"
"Yoru no Pikunikku" (よるのピクニック)
February 28, 2017 (2017-02-28)
As Tora invites the group for a picnic, he shows off the UFO, where he plans to leave the Earth by himself, before the group tell him that they should go together.
23"This Is Big Omega!"
"Kore ga Biggu Omega da!" (これがビッグオメガだ!)
March 7, 2017 (2017-03-07)
After Alpha steals Tora's UFO pieces from his room to build Big Omega, Alpha chases Tora, Shiro and Mike in order to steal another UFO piece.
24"The Zoo Incident"
"Dō Butsu Enji Ken" (どうぶつえんじけん)
March 14, 2017 (2017-03-14)
Tora and Mike find a UFO piece which give the Nyanbo different characteristics of animals.
25"Tora Gets an Idea"
"Hirameita Tora" (ひらめいたトラ)
March 21, 2017 (2017-03-21)
Losing motivation after his UFO couldn't reach space, Kotora invites the Mecha Nyanbo to try help Tora.
26"Cats Heading for the Stars"
"Hoshi e Yuku Neko" (ほしへゆくネコ)
March 28, 2017 (2017-03-28)
The group launch their UFO into outer space, and say their farewells to the others.

Production

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The series was announced in February 2016 by the NHK after as a "mini anime" corner program for NHK-E. The series is produced by Shirogumi.[3] The anime series does not adapt any part of the original Yotsuba&! manga series, although its main character Yotsuba Koiwai has a speechless cameo on the credits in every episode.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Crunchyroll Announces Winter 2017 Anime Lineup". Anime News Network. January 24, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Discotek Licenses Dear Brother, Sgt. Frog, Kashimashi, Nyanbo! Anime". Anime News Network. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Cat Version of Yotsuba&!'s Danbo Character Inspires TV Anime in October". Anime News Network. February 22, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  4. ^ "株式会社千値練 / ニャンボー figure collection". 千値練 センチネル (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2017-06-18. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  5. ^ "ニャンボーnyano | フィギュア". Kotobukiya (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  6. ^ "ニャンボー[ミニ] | プラモデル". Kotobukiya (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Romi Park, Rie Kugimiya Star in Nyanbo! Anime About Cat Version of Yotsuba&!'s Danbo Character". Anime News Network. August 23, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "にゃんぼー!". NHK (in Japanese). Retrieved November 3, 2016.
  9. ^ "Crunchyroll to Stream Nyanbo! Anime". Anime News Network. September 27, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
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