Torako Koshi is the epitome of perfection. With her peerless beauty, top-notch grades, and position as student council president, her popularity in school is unrivaled. However, she harbors a dark secret—she was a delinquent back in middle school—and this is something she conceals to the best of her abilities.
Unfortunately, when she meets the mysterious deer girl Noko Shikanoko, Torako's hidden shame is constantly on the precipice of being exposed due to Shikanoko's rather weird antics. To maintain the reputation she worked so hard for, Torako must go along with Shikanoko's whims, even going so far as to become president of the newly established Deer Club. All her efforts will be rewarded if she can prevent the menacing doe from accidentally blurting out damaging details about her personal history that will undoubtedly unleash Torako's greatest nightmare.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
SanaeK10
Have you ever got the feeling that a show was only "just good", even though you've had unreasonably high expectations for it to be an all-time classic? Shikanokonokonokokoshitantan was the show for me, and the part that scares me is how my negativity may be a reflection of the existential reality that I'm getting older and am slowly losing interest in shows like these. Let me explain. When I was younger, I've held Oota's shows (mostly from Doga Kobo, sometimes other studios) in high regard as some of the best examples of comedy: Yuru Yuri, Gabriel Dropout, Umaru, the first season of Minami-ke, hell even Uzamaidwere all classics in my book, being exceptionally well directed comedies that are just the right amount of wacky while having memorable characters and scenarios. And there is Sabagebu which is arguably the greatest show of all time. So, after a lull in the 20s with a fairly mediocre Onipan, which I then chalked up to being a kid's show, him and his team are coming back with a new proper full length show in the form of a funny deer show. The OP came out and became a huge meme on YouTube, I don't know why, but that just hyped me up even further. I was ecstatic, finally I could relieve all those carefree days where I didn't have to worry much and could enjoy anime all day.
Then I watched the show. And then I finished it. I enjoyed it. I even thought it was fine, with a handful of exceptional, really funny moments. But that's the thing, maybe it's an age thing, but something felt missing from the show. Something that would have taken this show to all new heights and become an all time classic, but as it stands it's mostly just fine. Not that the show was lacking in wacky and unpredictable moments, it has that in spades. But honestly this time round I'm more attuned to the show's negatives than I am to simply accept the show on its own. The show's humor can honestly feel overly referential (haha the artstyle changed isn't that hilarious), or overly random but without an actual meaningful point being made. Then the more I thought, the more I am aware that the shows I mentioned earlier, back in the second paragraph... don't those shows have the same issues as well?
I can't go back and take an objective look at the shows I once enjoyed. If I were to rewatch those older shows, I will most likely ignore the same flaws I can't help but notice in Shikanoko. But the thing is, I'm afraid to even go back to those shows, and that terrifies me. There is a part of me that seemingly realizes that maybe my tastes have changed over the years, I've gotten older, and I have way more occupying my life than anime. And so, this brings me back to the show itself. Is it good? Yeah, I think it's fine. It's funny in a lot of places. But for all its worth, it just didn't fully click with me the way other similar shows have.
But crucially, is it all that different from the shows I have mentioned earlier? The sad truth to this is that, it really isn't. It's at its core, a wacky comedy that is very similar to shows like Yuru Yuri or Umaru, and the fact that I can't bring myself to enjoy this show as much as those shows shakes me to my very core.
ZeroMajor12
OH MY DEER, this anime is just terrible. I can't stress enough how badly this anime does comedy and over relies on a single punchline repeated for 12 episodes straight. Where else would you find an anime that is called Brainrot other than Shikanoko? It is unfathomable how this anime managed to keep a fanbase after 3 episodes worth. I can't belie- "And now, while my logical side is rambling, welcome to the intermission break, where we discuss the sheer deer of the deer anime." Deer Mode: The deer opening is very endeering and by far the most deerlicious part of this anime. The cast brought outtheir A-game to elevate this opening up to an 11. It's also the single reason why my deer booty is watching the deer girl in the first place. Just as voice actress Megumi Han once said, "Don't think, just feel." To top it off, you're given front-row seats to some "Award-winning" ahh performances from Rui Tanabe and Megumi Han, particularly the former. She does the Yandere act so immaculately perfect, that you will be brought back to heaven from a single utter of her voice.
Deer Mode: I must stress further about the clever easter eggs the deer cast has managed to deliver, the deer eyecatchers, the 4th wall breaks, and pop culture as deeeee perfect reference for more laughs and giggles in the anime. In this catering of deer biscuits, we got your favorite memes appearing again in a deer anime, characters behaving normally in a chaotic situation, cults, Koshi Torako being the only sensible person in her group of crackheads. The deer card acts wildly. Maybe the true treasure were the deers along the way.
"Oops, looks like my logical side is getting louder. We'll be back shortly."
Logic Mode: The only good part about this anime is the easter eggs and pop references, anything else this anime has to offer is just complete garbage. The joke itself is so predictable that even a Scientologist can predict the next joke by a mile away, the delivery of the joke is so flat that any laugh you'll let out is just a blood-curdling one that makes you rethink about living life. It is just suffering to watch this anime and expect a single giggle from this anime. When you see Shikanoko open her head and you see the inside is empty, that's how much brain is given into these godforsaken jokes.
Logic Mode: I think the worst part about Shikanoko is that these characters are very inconsistent whenever you go into a new scenario. You can tell the jokes pretty much only focus on Shikanoko being an autistic deer for the entire anime and you have Koshitan watching her impulses going wild like a deer trampede. Any characters involved all act like nothing odd is happening and when you get to the extreme characters like Anko, she is just so tropey that it's exhausting. Nekoyamada and Bashame were acceptable at best because they were pretty adorable to watch. This is not a debate, you'll get some short giggles sure, but it is unlikely that you'll find yourself having a good time watching it from start to finish.
Deer Mode: But... the opening is fun!
Logic Mode: Well that's why you don't believe in the rumor "In every good anime lies a good opening.". I rest my case.
killerjdog51
It’s a solid good series, at the worst of times it can border from fine to annoying though. The series was really unique and had some great moments/jokes. Overall it was a fun watch thanks to the absurdity; I’d be content if it didn’t return for a second season, however if that happens I’ll be pleasantly surprised. Only complaint I have about it is how everyone except Koshi accepts everything that happens with a smile. I get that’s part of the joke: Shikanoko does something absurd and everyone else accepts it as normal behavior while Koshi is flabbergasted; but it kinda feels overused by theend of the show. I did like the Treasurer’s brother and would have liked to see him more outside of the coffee shop scene, it was nice to have someone other than Koshi point out the absurdity.
MrKessler
Yes, I know, everyone will give this a 10/10 because it's the new meme around, but I'll give my real thoughts on it. This show relies pretty much 100% on "random = funny" which just doesn't do it for me. It got me chuckling maybe a few times in the first and second episode but that's about it, the "randomness" aspect stops working very early, specially when it stops being random and its just expected. I think the show could've been better if it had a structure simillar to Saiki, where each episode is 5 minutes long. Then you would consume it in small burstsinstead of 20 minutes where jokes get old really fast.
All of this to say that JK THIS IS THE BEST SHOW EVER MADE THE CHARACTERS ARE SUPER DEEP AND RELATABLE AND THE PLOT IS MORE INTRICATE THAN A GEORGE MARTIN BOOK 10/10
KANLen09
My Deer Friend Nokotan - Has AniManga gone too far trying to find a fit into cultural relevance, being too much of something that never ended being a good thing...or is it? Also, why are humans not deer? Take a gander around the AniManga industry since the turn of the millennium, and a quarter-century later, anime has become quite the boom since post-COVID 2020s globally. But within its home region, Japan has always been headfirst at setting the anime Billboard trend of What's Hot to decide since its boom in the late 1970s and early 1980s to now, and the cultral effect is still felt today...withthe overwashing of bad to mediocre Isekai/fantasy works, with some standing out amongst the pack to (objectively) good degree.
However, there is one genre that plays this game differently, and that is comedy, and for a very good reason. The "Comedy is Subjective" argument has been a mainstay, especially within the last 15 years or so for works that embrace comedy quite literally. Works like famed mangaka Hideaki Sorachi's juggernaut of the Gintama franchise, to Kenji Inoue's double-whammy works of the great Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu a.k.a Baka and Test series to the masterpiece that is Summer 2018's Grand Blue, as well as my subjected favourite of Rin Suzukawa's Asobi Asobase (from the same season), there are great reasons to why these shows could be part of the lists of Top 10 comedy anime of all time. And in this Summer season, more than anything, we have yet another contender for the exact same argument that couldn't have come at a better time: Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan a.k.a My Deer Friend Nokotan, the AniManga industry's second coming(?) of KyoAni's Nichijou, but only manifested in brainrot to the point of absurdity and disbelief, made by the one and only Oshioshio a.k.a Oshio-mama, the mangaka best known for being the famed VTuber character designer for Hololive's Amane Kanata and Nijisanji's Sorahoshi Kirame. And loyal followers will say that this work is her revenge against Hololive for what they did to Kanata with the disservice that she got.
Shika! Shika, Shika, Shika, Shika, Shi...ka!
It's actually interesting how Oshioshio came up with this rather surrealistic premise...or rather, INTENTIONALLY made. The story goes like this: "One day, by chance, I came up with the idea of a girl character whose antlers were stuck on a door. I thought this could be interesting, so I thought of a story and other characters, and the work “My Deer Friend Nokotan” was born. Nokotan was not just any creature with horns, but I wanted it to be familiar and new, so I decided on a deer. In Japan, there are tourist attractions where deer are famous, which everyone knows, so I thought it would be familiar."
And believe it or not, Wit Studio producer Naokado Fujiyama took that assignment to heart and basically elevated Oshioshio's gag manga, with the help of the one-and-only person who is right for this rather insane job: director Masahiko Oota, who's directorial duties have always been with Doga Kobo in the 2010s with shows like the Yuru Yuri series, Winter 2013's Kotoura-san, Winter 2017's Gabriel DropOut, and many more. However, it's his work adapting managaka SankakuHead's Himouto! Umaru-chan in the mid-2010s, that would capture Fujiyama and the producers enough to want to have the acclaimed brainrot director to collab on the now insanely viral anime that has made quite the waves all around the internet, digging at our already inept human society's IQ down the drain even further. Even Gigguk a.k.a Garnt, has the cheek to exclaim that "this (Masahiko Oota) is a director that had his brainrot training arc, he was like: I've given the world (Himouto) Umaru-chan, but I have not gone far enough...we need to go further, we need to go further!" This is the personification of a shitpost anime, and lose your brain cells now because this ride is finna be a wild Skibidi toilet located in Ohio, Gyatt.
To say that Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan both set the trend and destroyed its record throughout the Summer 2024 season, is literally an understatement to the surreal degree. The TL;DR is this: the female MC, a former delinquent inspired by Tokyo Revengers's Mikey, turned goody-two shoes of her school being the student council president, meets a deer-human-hybrid, because she can be one hell of a mixed-gender odd ball of a Shika, being a girl but with antlers that only male deers will have. That coincidence meets both girls together in school to produce one heck of an insanity show where it's like the movie "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once," but you still won't know what shenanigans you're exactly in for. With a pristine walk filled with boss music that rivals Kimetsu no Yaiba a.k.a Demon Slayer's main villain antagonist Muzan Kibutsuji's Michael Jackson-inspired slow moonwalk, everybody accepts the deer-human-hybrid, Noko "Nokotan" Shikanoko for who she is, except that the student council president, Torako "Koshitan" Koshi, knows her shtick so well that she begins to question the sanity of her classmates and teacher who just goes with the flow and act like she's just a regular schoolgirl. To make matters worse, the mayhem doesn't stop there as Nokotan's antics force Koshitan to have second thoughts being forced to her will, even going as far as to create the eponymous Deer Club, adding in even more hysterical people who're just as crazy as they come...because no one's normal in their aforementioned Hinominami High School in Hino City.
That's Episode 1 in a nutshell, and it's unironically one of (if not) THE BEST premiere episodes of the season, telling us, the audience, that we are NOT ready for what's to come of the weird and batshit insanity that is Nokotan. Also, don't think too much about the show being a turn-off-your-brain delulu comedy series, because it is intentionally made that way, laden with deer crackers that can only be Fanum Tax-ed by Nokotan herself.
The VAs stocks arise stonks this season, thanks to famed stars like Saki Fujita for being famed Vocaloid Hatsune Miku, as well as Megumi Han, whom IMO, steals the spotlight for the Summer season in the female Seiyuu department, as not just the Bell Pepper child idol Kana Arima for Oshi no Ko's return for Season 2 with the much-anticipated Tokyo Blade arc, but also the titular weirdo of the hybrid deer. It's without a doubt that both VAs had a wild time of recording sessions just to showcase the limitless potential of Oshioshio's manga when it comes to pure, unhinged idiocy, so much so that as the series progresses, you don't start to question if the show was truly great or bad to begin with, but how far this acid trip of a gag manga will showcase anything AND everything that it so desires just to achieve what the staff team wanted out of the anime. Even it's side cast from Koshi's crazy yandere of a siscon through Anko, the rice-paddy fanatic of Meme Bashame (yes, her name is exactly just that, VA-ed by Fuuka Izumi as Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete a.k.a Gushing Over Magical Girl's female MC Utena Hiiragi/Magia Baiser), and even the student council members (none of which they're typical), you can loathe them all you want, but they're excellent characters who do their role justice, even if it's just for the sacrifice of the comedy alone. And however you deem the anime eventually to be the masterpiece or the dumpster fire that it is, it achieves the one SOLE thing that it's supposed to do: be viral and meme the hell of what is already an incomprehensible source material work to extreme insanity. And it worked.
Seriously though, the single-handed best trait of the anime is in its marketing (please SERIOUSLY take notes, producers), and this is where the series finds its strength being ingrained towards cultural relevance, not just on a domestic, but on an unpredecent global reach. More than just the erratic PVs, which get weirder with every release, within just the month before its debut, the Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitan opening jingle has become the talk of the town...and slowly becoming a viral riot hit all across social media, racking up millions in views and inspiring a whole host of influencers to take notes from the OP and make it their wholly own, from literate cosplays of Nokotan dancing to real-life deers, to MVs ranging from LittleVMills's Metalcore cover song, to the far ranges of Bollywood being a musical fusion fest that fits so perfectly, you could even make it your ringtone for your smartphone device. There's even an hour-long version of the jingle to test your mental capability of lasting just the repeated 5 second-long jingle for 60 minutes on end, so have fun with that.
All jokes aside though, the request from both anime and music production companies of Twin Engine and Lantis requesting music director Masamitsu Fujimori and composer Yuxiki Waga to concoct an out-of-this-world OP song that they ever mustered, and I have to say that Shikairo Days is the PERFECT brainrot of an OP song for the job. It has everything you ever needed to get to know the series in depth from the get go, from purely anime-only references like the all-female cast jumping together (which was a staple trait for moe shows back in the day, because everyone jumping together in the OP makes it a god-tier masterpiece), to clear-cut references like Dark Souls with the "You (Dead) Deer" reference, as well as Tokyo Ghoul with all the deer and the sky-land reflection. Even the title itself is a reference to Gurren Lagann's OP "Sorairo Days," and more by the stretch of imagination. You can't tell me that you've gone out and about the past 3 months, and NOT see a hint of the series' now signature brainrot of a jingle that completely took both the internet and social media to meme-level territory of hypnotic infamy levels. The ED, which is just a glorfied Nara Prefecture advertisement to see the creation of Shika-senbei a.k.a deer crackers, ehh...it's alright.
To make the icing on the cake even better, this is produced by one of the most GOAT-ed anime studios of all time at the helm. Wit Studio is in the midst of its comeback shedding its masterful past and trying to be different going forward, but IMO, Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan is the studio's newest Shingeki no Kyojin a.k.a Attack on Titan face of the 2020s, that the uncanny resemblance down to its Japanese-equivalent first-letter initials (SnK) has people like Gigguk exclaiming, "Wit Studio, quit Attack on Titan, to work on this show (My Deer Friend Nokotan)...we've gone from one of the most iconic anime of all time, to yet another new iconic anime of all time...but, BUT, DEER". From the insanities of the 3DCG deer that just baffles both the mind and the laughter-inducing medicine the first few times that they appear on screen for no absolute reason other than to be (extra) comedy relief, to the no-surprise great animation that Wit Studio is known for (despite having Studio Massket for production assistance), these two things shouldn't have worked for something that is completely pedestrian to the average Joe. But you know what, Wit Studio and Nokotan's staff team under director Masahiko Oota defied the odds to give us Oshio-mama's series that, for all intents and purposes, is something worth remembering in 2024 alone.
At the end of it all, Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan a.k.a My Deer Friend Nokotan may have been a show where not all the jokes landed, and some were on the verge of just being braindead and having nothing to offer to the point of being bland (which I totally understand and have been in those shoes within the weak episodes themselves), but this series is truly the pinnacle definition of "it's not for everyone", and the most important quote of all: Comedy IS Subjective.
Even if Nokotan gets all the love and hate one and all the same for 1001 reasons, I'd recommend you to at least try the 3-episode rule on this and see if it's your cup of tea. Either way, it's definitely a standout amongst the rather lukewarm Summer 2024 season, for better or for worse, for one thing and one thing only: being a perfectly curated PEAK brainrot of a WTF show.
Now, are you deer-ing enough to be willing to convert yourself to the cult of the deer? Come along for the ride...we're all en-Deer-ing for your arrival. Reject Humanity, Return to Deer...Shiiiiika!
Dangerous_Boy
It's not terribly unfunny and unwatchable, it just doesn't know how to do comedy or a comedy series cast. I can compare it to two anime, Bocchi the Rock and Cromartie Koukou. Bocchi has great visual comedy, an emotional core and a colorful interesting cast, that adds variety to the gags. Shikanoko would most likely profit from being only Koshi and Noko, as the rest of the cast is just white noise, they don't add anything, they don't have any interesting routines or gimmicks to the add to the comedy. They have a singular line (joke) and repeat it whenever they are on screen. However, evenif the rest of the pointless cast was removed, there'd be one issue remaining: Koshi is a terrible tsukkomi. The straight man only being able to explain the joke is where comedy goes to die. There were very few gags in which Koshi's commentary added to it, instead of dragging it down. When Koshi is the boke and there's no tsukkomi's is when the gags flow the best, and the creator not being able to realize that and invest more in it probably shows how they're just doing whatever, instead of trying to learn and improve at their art.
As for Cromartie, it also has more characters than the author can write gags for, and sometimes it also has a series of gags that just don't land. BUT 1) Kamiyama isn't the one ruining the jokes, and the series learned that having him join in can be more interesting than just freaking out at the outlandish events surrounding him. 2) Even when the joke isn't a killer, you can be engaged in the overall story or situation, or a character gimmick that wasn't very funny on their first gag does better on their return. Shikanoko has no love for its characters, so the viewer also won't be invested on what can happen to them, and neither for the gags, as they never evolve.
The first two episodes are the best the show can offer, and while there were some gags between 3 and 11 that were smirkable, the overall rate of bombing makes the show one that can't be recommended to anyone looking to have a good time with a funny anime. If the last episode was funny, I'd be willing to say it was an okay show, at least, because it'd at least end on a high note, but it was 70% as unfunny as any episode. "It's the final episode, so this HAS to happen" isn't so funny a joke you get to do it 5 times, and the events that took place weren't interesting enough to forgive using genre staples as an excuse to write a bad finale. It's still shitposting even if you're just pretending.
If you need to experience the deer, watch the first two episodes and the finale, then go on with your day. It won't add anything to your life, but losing an hour of your day with a tentative bland comedy won't kill you either.
m3lvnn
I gotta admit, I was one of those people hyping up this series before it came out. I mean, I really did enjoy the first two episodes. However, it didn’t take long for the jokes to stop working on me. They felt forced Randomness ≠ funny. They're overusing the cartoonish style of comedy (whatever it's called) and parodies, some of which I don’t even recognize. Also, 4th wall breaks aren’t as effective now as they were 10 years ago. Leaving all that aside, the foreshadowing in EP.1 is actually good—I'll give them that one. I wait for an episode every week only to fall asleep while watching? Ifyou're looking for a cute girl doing cute and funny stuffs (real funny stuffs) anime, then I highly recommend watching Asobi Asobase and Dragon Maid instead.
SLIME-_-SAN
Well I won't write some sort of professional review since I don't think this is an anime that has to be taken seriously. It's obvious that Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan it's an anime made for the brainrot and memes, something that you can watch while the brain is in shut down mode, which I feel it's the only indicated way to watch this anime. Personally I didn't understand a thing from these 12 episodes beside some memes since everything is so random. Like I said, the anime was most likely made for the brainrot and memes so those that started the anime expecting to see plot,character development, flashback stories and so on I'm sorry but you choose the wrong anime.
I have no idea what score I could give it so I'll leave that field empty.
Gwynbleidd_Alan
Before the anime even started airing I had seen so much advertising about it alongside the famous brainrot dance video that it was really hard to miss this one. So when it comes to advertising, one has to say that they did a masterful job. Every Anime fan I knew was aware about the existence of "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan", and was at least curious to check it out. When it comes to the actual content of the show I can only say that it was peak brainrot. This was packed with references to pop culture, memes, and even other anime and consisted of mostly gaghumor that was hit or miss. When adding to it the fact, that it lacked a coherent plot, it made for a chaotic viewing experience. I'm not exaggerating when I say that if you asked me what the anime is about, I couldn't give you a clear answer. Honestly, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
It's important to mention that Animes like this are not meant to be taken serious, which is why it is always hard to give honest critique. So it's better to answer it in very simple terms. Can this anime be enjoyed? Most definitely. I had a fun time watching and found myself laughing to most of the gags which lead to an overall positive watching experience. Some of the running gags get old rather quick because they get overused a bit too much, but it doesn't get obnoxious. It all sorta works because the anime does not try to be more than it sets out to be and does not take itself serious.
This is one of those Animes where you just have to turn your brain off and enjoy the utter madness that is unfolding on your screen without thinking too much about it. When it comes to the plot, you can't really expect too much from "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan". The voice acting was fine and the opening remains deeply ingrained into the deepest corner of my brain, where it will probably remain for a while. If you enjoy comedy and gag humor and are looking for something light without a plot, where you can just turn your brain off, you'll probably enjoy this anime.
Yukilol_1
I'm going to miss it now that it's over, it was so fun and made me laugh a lot in that last episode, I'll miss the references and the nonsensical scenes with Nokotan that made me laugh or even give me a little relief for the day. I liked it, I laughed, I was "moved", and I got involved during the episodes, just as the narration itself says, you shouldn't care about the details or anything, just so you can enjoy the anime more, just watch and appreciate without understanding . In a way, I felt there was a lack of more involvement for the secondarycharacters to be more involved in the story than just being present in the scenes or giving opinions, but having nokotan and koshitan was good.
I understand that you don't like it, but the majority who say they don't like it have barely finished the anime, or at least like the humor genre (yes, I saw most of the profiles that wrote reviews), so there isn't much to say.
Enjoy the anime, it's fun, get the references, you don't need to turn off your brain to watch the anime or anything like that, just watch it normally with the intention of enjoying nokotan by bringing problems to koshitan.
NUUUUUNT
Kranst
While there is nothing inherently wrong with My Deer Friend Nokotan, the initial enjoyment slowly began to fade as the episodes continued. The absurd and referential quips paired with the random antics of the cast did make for some hilarious moments. However, the relatability of the humor became lost in this randomness. Or perhaps the growing number of meta jokes and tropes found in entertainment has lost its sincerity. Regardless, when keeping the interest of the audience is dependent on the comedy hitting, there is not much remaining when it does not meet expectations. Unfortunately, there was more of the latter here than the former.
GeNeTiC7123
So i actually checked it out because people seemed to talk about it a bit once it came out, and it actually seemed promising to be honest. So I watched the first episode and……. it wasn’t bad to be honest. Actually enjoyed it but oh boy….. little did I knew that Was going to be the only good episode… After that it was “Worst’s character tropes in anime: The animation ” Every character introduced afterwards was just horrible. The crazy obsessive one, the stupid one, the serious one… they just choose the worst tropes to put into this anime. Not only that but this anime’scomedy is literally that scene in SpongeBob of “Look at the funny face!” Its comedy relies on Nokotan’s funni face/behavior and the funni deer… as if it wasn’t funny the first couple of 20 times. :D So yeahh…..and it never goes anywhere.. (Not that an anime that’s a comedy needs to have one but, at least, you know, be funny?) Even if you don’t mind your anime cliches and just want to ironically laugh at something, yeah it’s still not good. Unless you want to laugh at the same joke for the 20th time. It had potential to be good but oh well.
epicninjask123
Others: This anime is brain rot. Me: Yes. And? My Deer Friend Noko-tan is one of the better comedies to come out in recent seasons. It's certainly one of the most memorable, if nothing else. The sheer amount of gags they manage to create from deer is ridiculous and fantastic in equal measure. That's one of the things I respect most, when anime can take a singular focus and go all-in, taking it far beyond any conceivable limits, and Noko-tan exemplifies this completely. (But what about the accusations that this show is just mindless brain rot? Didn't your intro to this review imply you agree with it?) That'sthe point. The point is, it's pointless. Noko-tan is dumb, insane, all over the place, and it's all the better for it. A coworker of mine commented a while ago that Dadaism seems to be on the rise, a hundred or so years after it was originally coined. The idea behind that artistic movement is that not everything needs to have some profound point, not everything needs to be taken seriously. I genuinely think my coworker is onto something, though I'd peg the 21st century resurgence to be a little bit earlier than now, nearer to the era of YouTube Poop. But it still rings true. You don't need to turn your brain off completely, so long as you can sit down comfortably in the roller coaster, buckle up, and let yourself get taken for a ride. That's precisely the experience Noko-tan attempts and succeeds at giving the viewers.
Is this anime peak comedy? No. Is it great comedy? Deer god, yes! The timing and setup for gags are executed wonderfully, taking turns and twists out of nowhere, while maintaining a rapid-fire pace that achieves a lot of comedic payoffs in its runtime. All this because the creator apparently had a wacky idea one day about a girl with deer antlers, and imagined a world around that girl, and this anime is their vision brought to life. Everything that happens is a direct result of this insane type of world-building, with gag setups that are as ingenious as they are psychotic. Everything might be centralized on deer, but that in itself is a major achievement. In that respect, Noko-tan is one of the most creative animes I've ever seen.
To offer a bit of pointed criticism, I think Bashame is a bit of an underutilized character. Between the main cast, her personality is the most one-dimensional, and most gags beyond her introduction are just, girl likes rice because deer haha. There's no chaotic antics like Shikanoko, no sharp straight-man retorts like Torako, and no spicy siscon obsession to counterbalance the deer hijinks like Anko. Plus, I said this anime is memorable, and taken as a whole, it is, but individual scenes and setups blend together, and I find it difficult to remember what all happened during the middle section, having watched the anime as each episode aired. I could rewatch them and enjoy it just as much, but it doesn't have the same lasting impact as other great comedies.
I had two goals with this review: to leave a positive rating and wholehearted recommendation, and to address the disparity between existing positive and negative reviews, because as of time of writing, the number of reviews that don't recommend Noko-tan dwarf those that do with a tally of 27 negative to 17 positive. I'm not trying to disparage those reviewers or imply in any way that they're wrong - this anime genuinely isn't for everyone and that's fine! - but I find the ratio strange. Compare the user ratings for Noko-tan to Joshiraku and The Vampire Dies in No Time, two other shows with wacky, bizarre, rapid-fire, barely-continuous comedy and plot progression, both with a similar average user score (7.44 and 7.27 compared to Noko-tan's 7.31). Both of those shows have barely a handful of negative reviews compared to swathes of positive ones. (Incidentally, I recommend all three, for virtually identical reasons.)
So why are people just now feeling compelled to voice their displeasure? Is it some kind of societal pushback against meme culture and its impact on the broader Internet? Is it just because it's vogue and trendy to attack and vilify Generation Z? Should I invoke the spirit of Alex Jones and claim it's a far-left conspiracy to condemn and eliminate dumb and simple fun anime that refuse to push any sort of liberal agenda? Are these people just unhappy and don't like fun? Really, only one of these thoughts makes any amount of sense (obviously the third one) but even so, it still baffles me how this anime specifically has come under fire. As someone born in 1997, I consider myself to be between the Millennial and Z generations, and this has led me to having a bit of a nuanced perspective. I remember recently enough, how much flak the Millennial generation was getting for being terminally online and dumb, too idealistic to have any meaningful real-world practical knowledge - and I agreed with a lot of this at the time, but I've come around to see it all as mostly baseless criticism levied against them by Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y. We're seeing the exact same thing happening again, but towards Gen Z. Because of that, I think it's far too early to draw any major conclusions about the broader societal impacts of these trends, since all it amounts to is stereotyping. All this to say, criticizing this anime purely on the grounds that TikTok is dumb and so is the generation that uses it, is doing a huge disservice to the actual quality and creativity shown by this anime, as well as being willfully ignorant of the other myriad absurd shows and elements that have been in the anime medium throughout the 21st century, not to mention the Internet in the mid-2000s.
At the end of the day, just look at the premise for this show, and a small handful of the things people are saying about it. You'll know immediately whether it's hot trash or a comedic gold mine. Because you will lose brain cells from having watched this anime. To me, it was completely worth it.
kirA_-_
Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan is your typical gag humor anime with new absurd situations every episode. We have a two main characters Koshi and Shikanoko. Koshi is a young girl who was a gang member before and now try to be a perfect girl in her new school and hide her past. While Shikanoko is….a deer? Well it was not full explained but we know she is a deer. Basically in the anime Koshi opens a deer club where the main point is to take care of deers ( just Shikanoko) and we have two other member. Mostly we see very absurd situation happening in theclub and mostly Koshi is the main victim.
This anime is a mediocre comedy for me. There were a lot of joke that I just didn’t find funny and even had moments that I felt bored. Which shouldn’t happening in comedy. My biggest problem is that there were a lot of great jokes that can done and a lot of great scenarios that the anime just leaves and continuous with something unfunny. My second biggest complain is the side cast. Expect of Neko everyone was boring. We didnt have interesting moments with them. They were just there…for example Bashame is a girl obsessed with rice and lazy. Thats all. We dont get any different joke from here and after second time its start to be repetitive. Same with others.
As a main cast is the best part of the series. Koshi and Shikanoko works perfectly together and the best jokes were made when it were just them. Koshi's reactions saved so many moments
I defiantly enjoyed the art style and chibi and ghost Shikanoko. Her changing appearance every minute actually worked for me I liked her expressions it was funny and cute. Every character looks cute and different which I appreciate.The voice acting was done perfectly for me. Everything was just perfect.
Lastly yea the Opening is perfect. Its catchy its fun and sounds good Im sure a lot of people started this anime must because of Opening. Its a good one.
Who should watch it? If you like a gag humor with cute characters a still think you should try it. Im sure a lot of people gonna like the humor in it. Its not the worst comedy out of there just pretty mediocre
Chuy_diazz
An anime that was the victim of the hype of those who only heard its opening and those who did not understand its objective from the beginning. Nokotan came with one goal in mind, to be a 12-episode commercial for the preservation of deer in Japan. This means that by trying to promote a local cause, all the humor, references and jokes would also be for the locals. Obviously if you are familiar with Japanese humor, you will be able to find the humor in the jokes in this work. As for the references, a little knowledge or research is needed if you live outside ofJapan. There are allusions to many events, places or famous people that only a Japanese would recognize. Not everything is like this, since the anime knows that although its references are local, absurd humor is a universal language. Nokotan will always try to challenge your capacity for amazement, trying to create the most ridiculous scenarios possible. When you let the wave of absurdity absorb you, those 20 minutes of the episode can be the most fun of your day. The promotion section is very well done. Many times they will make you hear facts about the deer or encourage tourism in a certain area, in a way that you won't realize until the scene ends.
If you try to rate each of the anime episodes individually, I think the rating would be average or very low, except for a couple. When you get to the final episode, you understand that an individual evaluation would be meaningless, because you realize that 11 episodes are there to build the 12th episode. The last episode is a festival of characters, jokes and references to past episodes that manage to pull off the maneuver of putting everything seen in the anime in a single 20-minute episode.
People were very hard on this anime simply because they bought into the idea that this would be on the level of a Gintama or Grand Blue, due to them sailing in a similar humorous vein. If you can go in with zero expectations and see the charm of Nokotan and company, you can find a good source of fun.
manusirbu05
My Deer Friend Nokotan is a great gag humor anime, the low score makes me believe people dont know how to apreciate good little animes these days. Everything from soundtracks to graphic style is amazing, the only thing missing is more episodes with Nokotan T-T. After the first three episodes you really get into deep relationships with the characters and they are just addorable. Nokotan is the star so she MUST be silly and funny but at the same time ADDORABLE, Torako is the typical tsundere that doesn't want people finding out about her true self but at the same time failing hard at that Anko is really the yanderetype that can k**l you for someone else 0-0 and Bashame is the foodie who cant think about anything else but Their favourite food.
Everything about this anime is perfect, recommending this with a big R!
MarlsMarsBars
Out of all of the “hype” anime that have been released and will be releasing this year, My Deer Friend Nokotan has to be the strangest out of the bunch. The only real reason why it even became popular this year was because the trailers for this anime, which also featured the OP, were so goofy that people were flocking to see this once it actually aired. Now, with that in mind, I hate to be that guy, but My Deer Friend Nokotan is… okay. It’s fine. I’m gonna keep this short because I don’t have a lot to say, but this anime is absolutely overhyped.What further drove the hype train for My Deer Friend Nokotan is that this anime is basically Nichijou 2.0, but with deers, and I guess you could call it that. This anime is just pure brain rot and there’s nothing wrong with that. There’s nothing wrong with having a movie or show, especially an animated project, being completely goofy and devoid of logic. I’ve said in other reviews that I actually prefer if comedic animated movies and shows, especially anime, fully embrace the comical nature side of things since you can do more in an animated medium over an on-screen, live-action venture. My Deer Friend Nokotan 100% accomplishes that quota, however, that doesn’t automatically make it “peak.”
What really holds back this anime has to be the actual comedy itself. This show is yet another self-aware comedic TV show that breaks the 4th wall a lot. I don’t mind when the writing is fully self-aware and understands just how stupid the overall atmosphere is, however there is a point where it becomes tiresome and over-bearing, and My Deer Friend Nokotan crosses that threshold over fifty times over. What I mean by that is every episode has both the characters, the narrator, and the overall setting of the show break the 4th wall in almost every other joke. I think it would’ve been fine if the show implemented this form of comedy sporadically and through what the characters do, but this anime utilizes this comedic element in almost every nook and cranny in the writing. Again, I fully understand that I’m supposed to turn my brain completely off while watching this anime, however there are times where I got annoyed with this show and how the comedy is implemented. If the characters are constantly talking about being *in* an anime and being a part of legacy TV media in every episode, it gets to a point where I’m just turned off by the show because it’s conveying how the peak level of humor that My Deer Friend Nokotan can muster up has to be constant 4th wall-breaking dialogue. The novelty wears off by the halfway point of the season and it just becomes very repetitive.
Speaking of repetitive, the characters and character dynamics are very monotonous. Don’t get me wrong, the comedy does have a bit of charm at first, but when the characters have the same interactions in almost every episode, I just lose interest because there is rarely anything unique or surprising that stood out to me or made it memorable. The two main characters, Noko Shikanoko, aka Nokotan, and Torako Koshi, aka Koshitan, share a lot of screen time with one another (obviously), but most of the scenes they do share are super formulaic and loses its charm very early on; Nokotan does some goofy shit and Koshitan acts surprised and gets mad at Noko. Other characters like Anko Koshi and Meme Bashame don’t really add much to the show as well because they have only one almost only one personality for like 90% of the show. Anko *really* loves her sister Torako and threatens anyone who so much as says anything adjacent to what can be perceived as negative to Koshitan while Bashame eats, grows, and talks about rice 24/7. I’m not looking for character development, but I really think that there could have been a fun and unique spin to all of the scenes with these characters so that the content written for them isn’t repetitive by the fifth or sixth episode.
Now, with all of that said, I don’t hate this anime. Despite all of the paragraphs in this review so far, it might seem like this anime is repulsive, but it’s really not. In fact, with how terrible the Summer 2024 seasonal slate has been, My Deer Friend Nokotan definitely adds a ton of life to my seasonal watch schedule. There have been moments where I did let out a slight chuckle, and the pop culture references are goofy and surprisingly implemented really well. Despite not being a massive fan of the comedic content in this show, I did have “fun.” Whenever the anime isn’t breaking the 4th wall, I was admittedly enjoying myself, however that really happens only half of the time.
I know this review might seem overly negative, but overall, My Deer Nokotan does achieve at being goofy fun and not shying away from that. Even though I really did not like the self-aware moments in the show, it still filled my fix for a goofy brain rot anime to watch. However, My Deer Nokotan isn’t really *that* funny. A lot of the jokes get very stale by the sixth episode or so and that can be attributed to how unoriginal and repetitive the quipping can be. Constant 4th wall breaking elements loses the specialty of being a self-aware comedy, but again, this is just a dumb goofy school anime featuring a human-deer hybrid. That said, there has been another anime that aired earlier this year that had similar tropes, but executed it just a little bit better, that being ‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess. That anime was just a tiny bit more smart with how it wanted to implement its comedy and I honestly had more fun watching that over My Deer Friend Nokotan. Again, this anime isn’t bad, but it isn’t really the “peak comedy” that it was hyped up to be. But that’s just my opinion.
Spartakus3
🦌 The My Deer Friend Nokotan anime brings a vibrant and whimsical charm that’s perfect for anyone who enjoys surreal and lighthearted series. The jokes and the way the characters break the 4th wall in almost every episode made me laugh more than ever. This anime is peak of human evolution. I personally would recomment this work of art to anyone who likes deer and deer crackers. There are many unique characters with totally random personalities and goals and I'm sure you will find atleast one that you will like (it will be Bashame). This anime left a big impression on me. I have neverin my life watched something so perfect and beautiful. 🦌
c---5
A good entry into the "shitposting sitcom" genre that particularly works well while we wait for more Dropkick on my Devil. If you like Dropkick or Bocchi the Rock you'll be right at home here. The comedy pulls every out-of-left-field thing possible and constantly got me giggling. It almost feels like an anime version of Green Acres in the sense that the straight man character, Koshitan, is the only person who expects any kind of real-world logic but everyone in the town around her just immediately accepts whatever insanity Nokotan brings. I do think there are some critiques that can be made however. While the coreduo of Koshitan and Nokotan is hilarious, it doesn't really have a strong extended ensemble like Dropkick or Bocchi do. The exception being Bashame who is perhaps the most casually unhinged of the group, a sort of anime Creed Bratton if you will, but the other characters outside of Bashame are all kind of interchangeable in terms of basically existing to *fawn* over Nokotan. Koshitan's sister has a weird incestuous streak and Nekoyamada wants to destroy the deer club, that about it as far as other personalities go and none of the side characters really have any kind of depth. Even as hilarious as the main duo are, there isn't really much of a discernable character growth, Koshitan becomes more tolerant of Nokotan, but it's not like in Dropkick on my Devil where we gradually see Yurine and Jashin-chan appreciate each other more, here they just seem to get along better all of the sudden and since things are pretty strictly focused on the gag you don't get those deeper character moments that elevate similar zany comedies.
Still, when the show is funny it's hilarious and it's basically always funny. The sheer breadth and variety of gags is amazing and the running gag of realistic deer being rendered with completely jarring CGI never gets old. All the ways they work various deer-related elements into every little aspsect, the "shiiiii-ka (deer)" chanting, the slapstick, it's all gold. The visuals are also much nicer than you'd expect for this type of show and the animation and character designs are deeply appealing. I think this is a new absurdist classic in terms of comedy, but don't expect anything deep.
