NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE and Sister Other Paranoia writer, nyalra, opened up his Anime Expo panel to a no-holds-barred conversation. In a discussion with curious fans, the creative mind candidly answered every question about his life, his work, and his influences. Eventually, he would turn his loneliness into writing and make a name for himself through his blogs and, later, his books.
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The first question straightforwardly asked the Internet personality how he became a “Twitter influencer.” Without missing a beat, he stated that he started tweeting about “how he didn’t have any friends.” Admittedly, he wasn’t a great student and turned to social media, which is where he found great success. Although he doesn’t have any special recommendations, the NEEDY writer simply described that he suddenly “became nyalra,” much like the title of his book.
As a well-versed internet devotee, he’s very familiar with subcultures such as Vocaloid, visual novels, and VTubers. However, he also browses many forms of social media, including Reddit and 4chan. After he discovered how people insulted his mental health, he “never wanted to use it again.” Unexpectedly, he also finds himself awake at odd hours, so he ends up learning English by watching Hololive EN’s VTubers.
Despite building his platform on social media, the NEEDY writer has sought to strike a balance amid online negativity. The game’s popularity was a double-edged sword since he faced increasing criticism. Much of the game’s inspiration was taken from his own personality and background, which made the critiques feel (understandably) very personal. Now he finds inspiration in movies rather than on social media platforms.
Turning to game development, a developer asked the panelist for advice on creating independent games. First, nyalra recommends speaking with someone “higher up” and “matching their opinions.” When it comes to releasing a game for free or commercially, he weighed both options. Although a no-cost game would encourage people to play, it would be “harder for you to survive.”
The next fan asked about nyalra‘s upcoming work, Sister Other Paranoia, and its inspirations. nyalra shared that his firsthand experience as a hikkikomori led to the creation of the younger-sister character. When he crafts a story, he works inward, starting with the personality and characteristics of the individual characters rather than the story itself. However, to him, the most important part of the brainstorming process is getting enough sleep. Other fun fan questions included his favorite visual novel, which is Gen Urobuchi‘s Saya no Uta.
Of course, many attendees wanted to ask him specifically about NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE and nyalra‘s involvement with the anime series. Tying back to his desire to develop friendships, he enjoyed the anime’s character development and the emotional connections viewers have formed through it. Regarding Ame-chan, nyalra said she’s the embodiment of “panic.” She’s the personification of that emotion in its entirety, and he wanted to make her as “realistic” to his feelings.
But when asked if he specifically likes “menhera,” an internet slang term for people with mental illness, he answered no. “Although I understand and resonate with how ‘menhera’ people feel, I don’t particularly like them. Because I’m a timid person, I definitely don’t like people who are mentally strong too.”
He admitted the game was heavily criticized at its release, so now he’s much happier that others enjoy it. Understandably, he couldn’t have imagined how loved the series would become, since the initial reviews were very negative. Given how that game touches on sensitive topics, such as death, nyalra had to step away and get a second opinion. Even for his current project—which he described as “grotesque” at times—he had to check with staff to make sure it doesn’t come off as “too grotesque.”
In a fitting bookend to the Q&A discussion, nyalra drew on all his internet knowledge to answer one last question: yaoi or yuri? His answer? “Boys-love.”
