TV-Series
Description
Nyarome is a stray cat who appears in Mōretsu Atarō as one of its most memorable supporting characters. He is a slender, bipedal cat with long triangular ears and a large mouth that tends to hang open in a triangular shape; in his earliest appearances he walked on all fours and had smaller eyes and a smaller mouth. He is unusual among cats because he walks upright and speaks human language, and he considers himself a Nyangen, a made-up word that blends the Japanese term for human with the sound a cat makes. Because of this self-image, he becomes angry when treated as an ordinary animal. His frequent exclamation Nyarome, which resembles a growled insult, became his signature catchphrase. According to an in-series episode about his birthday, his birth date is July 17, 1941.
In personality, Nyarome is irritable, stubborn, and mischievous, but he also has a pure, simple, and kindhearted side. He can be the one playing pranks and the one suffering from them, often within the same story. His intelligence is roughly that of a young child: he can handle basic arithmetic and speak fluently, though he knows only a few written characters, which still makes him more capable than an ordinary cat. His main motivation is romantic: he dreams of marrying a human woman and frequently proposes to women he meets, promising to make them happy, but his advances always end in rejection or failure. He craves acceptance and tries hard to win affection, yet his overbearing and loud manner tends to push people away.
In the story, Nyarome lives in a vacant lot in the town alongside his two companions, the caterpillar Kemunpas and the frog Beshi, and the three are often seen together as a group. He is frequently bullied, teased, or tricked by other characters, including Atarō, Dekoppachi, Butamatsu, and Kokoro Boss, but he never stops getting back up. This resilience is his defining trait: no matter how often he is hurt, rejected, or deceived, he keeps trying with the same energy. Although the series centers on Atarō, Nyarome gradually became one of the most important figures in the cast, appearing constantly in the later stories and gaining so much popularity that he nearly took over as the main focus. In the second anime version, he is given a girlfriend named Nyaroko, adding a new layer to his romantic side.
Visually and narratively, the character developed over time, moving from a smaller, more animal-like design to the larger-mouthed, two-legged look that became his best-known form. His notable abilities are tied to that design: walking on two legs, speaking like a human, performing basic calculations, and enduring endless setbacks with a stubborn, never-give-up attitude. Within Mōretsu Atarō, he stands out as a comedic figure whose blend of loud confidence, hopeless romanticism, and unbreakable persistence makes him one of the series' most recognizable personalities.
In personality, Nyarome is irritable, stubborn, and mischievous, but he also has a pure, simple, and kindhearted side. He can be the one playing pranks and the one suffering from them, often within the same story. His intelligence is roughly that of a young child: he can handle basic arithmetic and speak fluently, though he knows only a few written characters, which still makes him more capable than an ordinary cat. His main motivation is romantic: he dreams of marrying a human woman and frequently proposes to women he meets, promising to make them happy, but his advances always end in rejection or failure. He craves acceptance and tries hard to win affection, yet his overbearing and loud manner tends to push people away.
In the story, Nyarome lives in a vacant lot in the town alongside his two companions, the caterpillar Kemunpas and the frog Beshi, and the three are often seen together as a group. He is frequently bullied, teased, or tricked by other characters, including Atarō, Dekoppachi, Butamatsu, and Kokoro Boss, but he never stops getting back up. This resilience is his defining trait: no matter how often he is hurt, rejected, or deceived, he keeps trying with the same energy. Although the series centers on Atarō, Nyarome gradually became one of the most important figures in the cast, appearing constantly in the later stories and gaining so much popularity that he nearly took over as the main focus. In the second anime version, he is given a girlfriend named Nyaroko, adding a new layer to his romantic side.
Visually and narratively, the character developed over time, moving from a smaller, more animal-like design to the larger-mouthed, two-legged look that became his best-known form. His notable abilities are tied to that design: walking on two legs, speaking like a human, performing basic calculations, and enduring endless setbacks with a stubborn, never-give-up attitude. Within Mōretsu Atarō, he stands out as a comedic figure whose blend of loud confidence, hopeless romanticism, and unbreakable persistence makes him one of the series' most recognizable personalities.