Cats hiding in bananas.
"Banana. The name given to large perennial plants of the genus Musaceae Musa, whose fruits are used for food. It's the very same sweet, delicious, nutritious fruit you all know and love. This is a story about the secret of bananas that nobody knows..."
Bananya is a Summer 2016 anime by studio Gathering based on one of Japanese stationary company Q-Lia's cute mascots, a miniature cat named Bananya (combining the word "banana" with "nya", the sound a cat makes) who lives inside a banana. The Narrator claims to have discovered a species of tiny cats who hide inside bananas and only come out to play when humans aren't around, describing the results of his research.
In addition to Bananya we meet his various friends, such as Black Bananya, Tabby Bananya, Bananyako, Long-haired Bananya, Daddy Bananya, and Baby Bananya. Towards the end of each episode the Narrator opens the Bananya identification book and focuses on the personality of one of the characters. The show consists of thirteen three-minute shorts.
Discotek has licensed the series in the US, with the English dub narrated by Michael Toole.
Received a sequel series, Bananya And The Curious Bunch during the winter 2019 season.
This anime provides examples of:
- All Love Is Unrequited: Tabby loves Bananyako, who's obsessed with Long-haired Bananya, who's too obsessed with himself to notice.
- Cute Kitten: All of the Bananyas are cute, but Baby Bananya is even more so for being, y'know, a baby. Droopy-Eared Bananya is also this in The Curious Bunch.
- Cuteness Proximity: Droopy-Eared Bananya has this effect on everyone who meets her during her introductory episode in Bananya and the Curious Bunch.
- The Dandy: Long-haired Bananya doesn't care about anything except looking fabulous, and loves to spend all day brushing his beautiful fur.
- Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: In the episode "Bananya and Music, Nya" of Bananya and the Curious Bunch, Droopy-Eared Bananya can be heard singing the ending credits song from the first season.
- Dude Magnet: Bananyako has Tabby, Mackerel Tabby, and Calico all crushing on her.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Droopy-Eared Bananya's cuteness has even made female Bananyas gush over her.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: Bananya shoots fire out of his mouth from tasting Namaste Bananya's curry.
- Hopeless Suitor: Tabby Bananya is infatuated with Bananyako, who won't give him the time of day.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Every episode title ends with the Verbal Tic "nya", such as "Bananya and the mouse, nya", or "Bananya goes out, nya".
- Like Brother and Sister: Bananya and Droopy-Eared Bananya have this kind of relationship in Bananya and the Curious Bunch with her becoming something of the Deuteragonist of the season. Might be because he was the first one who she saw when she was "born".
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Long-haired Bananya is the cat equivalent, who despite being a boy has dainty manners and is very proud of his long, beautiful hair.
- Masquerade: The Bananyas don't want to be discovered by humans, and they go back to pretending to be regular bananas whenever people come home.
- Mystical India: Namaste Bananya, a turbaned, mustachioed banana that Bananya meets at the supermarket, comes from the land of curry and will offer a plate to anyone he meets. He's even accompanied by sitar music.
- Ojou: Elizabeth Bananya is a fancy banana with blonde Ojou Ringlets and a frilly pink parasol and bonnet who daintily sips tea from a fancy teacup.
- Overly Long Gag: In episode 1, the narrator keeps trying to say Bananya's name, but each time gets cut off at "Ba-" or "Bana-" before Bananya interrupts with "Nya!" This keeps repeating for a full 30 seconds, to the point where the narrator says "Ba-" one more time, gets no response, and finally thinks he's going to finish when Bananya says "Nya!" again.
- Plant Aliens: As revealed in The Curious Bunch, the Bananya's hail from another planet.
- Pokémon Speak: Aside from the Narrator and other human characters, the main bunch communicate by nya'ing.
- Proud Beauty: Long-haired Bananya knows he's beautiful and loves it, although he seems so satisfied with just admiring himself that you wonder whether he even cares what other people think.
- Prequel: Bananya And The Curious Bunch.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Bananya's species are miniature cats who wear banana peels the same way that hermit crabs wear discarded shells. The equation goes something like this: Everybody loves bananas; everybody loves cats. Therefore, combining the two will produce the best animal. If it's cute, it doesn't have to make sense!
- Sequel Hook: The final scenes of Bananya and the Curious Bunch features Droopy-Eared Bananya taking a rocket ship to Earth/the first Bananya series.
- The Smurfette Principle: Bananyako is the only girl in the main gang.
- Standard '50s Father: Daddy Bananya is a good old-fashioned dad with glasses and a combover who can often be seen reading the newspaper.
- Sweet Tooth: The Narrator says that Bananya is fond of sweets, and his dream is to become a chocolate-covered banana.
- Vanity Is Feminine: Bananyako, the only girl in the house, is fussy about her makeup and looking cute. Even Long-haired Bananya comes off as kind of effeminate for grooming himself so much.
