Šikanoko nokonoko košitantan

The Ministry of Health warns: Deer may cause brain cell loss! Wait, what? Deer! Why? Because DEER! Don't try to make sense of it, you won't win. You'll just end up thinking that Nokotan was probably born one day when a manga artist, under the pen name Oshioshio, went for a walk in the woods, locked eyes with a majestic deer, and thought, "If you were a cute girl, we'd be having a lot more fun!" And so, Nokotan was born, a manga whose entire joke hinges on that one magical word—Deer! Meanwhile, WiT Studio seemed to be going through an identity crisis. Maybe they were tired of hearing that all their recent works—Owari no Seraph, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, The Empire of Corpses—were just Attack on Titan knockoffs. So, they ditched the Titans and brought in some new directors, including the legendary troll Masahiko Ohta, the man behind Yuru Yuri and the unforgettable Umaru-chan. With a fresh approach, WiT was expanding its horizons, dabbling in more genres. Even Ohta got involved, directing Onipan!, which built its own loyal fanbase. It was time for their next quirky project, and with Deadpool still trending, they decided to go all in on breaking the fourth wall with something creative, unexpected, and... well, absurd. Enter: Nokotan. Legend has it that one day Yasuhiro Misawa got a commission to create the opening theme for an anime, with just one condition: the song had to include the series' name, "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan." What the anime was about or how the song should sound? Nobody told him. So, while working on it, he repeated the tongue-twisting title in his head until he realized—hey, that could be a catchy chorus! And well, we all know what happened next. The creators decided to release that chorus to the world, and overnight it became a total meme. Word about the show spread like wildfire, and when the first trailer dropped, it was clear this was going to be completely ridiculous but potentially hilarious. Fans, including myself, started hoping for a new king of absurd comedy, maybe something that could stand alongside Nichijou and Azumanga Daioh. The hype was real. The full opening turned out to be addictive—millions of views later, it's still stuck in my head. Hours before the first episode aired (and even now, after the finale), people were playing the same chorus on a loop. So, did Nokotan manage to take the anime throne? Did it revolutionize modern anime? Sadly, I have to say... no, it didn’t. It quickly became clear that the whole series was built on one joke (deer) and endless variations of it. Fourth-wall breaking can be brilliant when done right, with a clever meta context, but you can’t just spam it and expect magic. I also realized I'm getting kind of tired of the constant self-aware shtick in so many shows. The jokes about Nokotan’s antlers were amusing at first, but after a while, they barely got more than a chuckle out of me. Even the deer cracker ads started to wear thin. The humor only really landed about half the time, and unfortunately, most of the best jokes were already spoiled in the trailers. The pop culture references were cute, but I would've liked to see more of them. The characters were likable enough—Nokotan was undeniably adorable, and I can see how caring for her would be fun—but she didn’t quite pull me into the "deer cult" (I’m sticking with Mitama). The other characters were fine too, though aside from Torako, they didn’t do much to stand out. What really hurt the show, though, was the botched English subtitles on Crunchyroll’s release of the first episode, which were probably AI-generated and made a rough first impression. Overall, my expectations weren’t fully met. I was hoping for something even more chaotic and high-energy. That said, don’t get me wrong—I don’t think My Deer Friend Nokotan is a bad anime at all. It kept me entertained, made me laugh a few times, and the animation by WiT Studio was solid. But given all the hype and what I thought this series could be, I’m left a bit disappointed. The humor, which was supposed to be the main draw, was often just... average. Nothing groundbreaking here—this deer-centric series is worth about seven out of ten deer (6.8/10). And I’ll end with this: you can’t stop the deer march! (18/09/2024) (moins) (plus)