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MANGA ComedyMy Deer Friend Nokotan
SPECIAL ComedyGorogura Gorogoro Gu ga Dekkai-hen

REVIEWS

• 

  SallyOtak

  50/100
  A quirky but redundant stag anime

  ╔════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ════════════╗

  REVIEW My Deer Friend Nokotan

  ╚════════════ ≪ °❈° ≫ ════════════╝ ____

  ｡･ﾟﾟ･Characters/Story :

  My Deer Friend Nokotan is a mainly humorous anime with an extremely eccentric side. The series is mainly based on gages that revolve around the main characters and especially around “Noko Shikanoko”.
  Story-wise, there's not much to say: there's no main thread, no goal for the characters to pursue.

  -

  The character of “Torako Koshi” initially wants to hide her delinquent past, but the further the anime progresses, the more she lets it show, eventually becoming something normal. The character doesn't make me laugh, but he's still the most realistic character in this series.
  As for the second main character, “Noko Shikanoko” will be the joke character, and all the jokes will revolve around her, or end up going her way in any case.*

  -

  I'd have to say that this duo is the main lifeblood of the anime, because when it comes to the more secondary characters, they don't really add much to the plot or the humor of the series.
  Speaking of “Torako Koshi's” little sister, “Anko Koshi” is a character with a personality that unfortunately doesn't make many people laugh these days, the addictive, lecherous, crazy little sister is something of a cheesy sense of humor, and unfortunately exploited a little too much in the past, making the joke less and less funny.
  As for the character of “Meme Bashame”, who is undoubtedly the character I like the most, her presence in the anime is unfortunately more than weak, and she will be quite invisible as a member of the group, despite her simply hilarious way of speaking. She's the only character who puts me in a good mood just by hearing her speak x)

  -

  As for the members of the BDE, they're generally nice but nothing more, they're based on a personality and won't do anything other than represent it.

  

  ｡･ﾟﾟ･Humorous :

  I mainly find the anime funny, but it also tends to be limited by its deer humor, which becomes rather redundant. I think the secondary characters could have enriched the humor even more, but they don't really manage to do so.
  The anime lacks renewal in its jokes over the 12 episodes, despite the fact that it tries to make jokes from every conceivable angle. But in the end, all the jokes come back to the same conclusion. For a 12-episode series, this isn't particularly annoying, but if this one were to get a sequel, I'd find it hard to develop the series' limited humor any further.

  (I reiterate that humor is purely subjective here, My Deer Friend Nokotan is carried primarily by its humor, if it makes you die laughing the series is probably perfectly adapted for you)

  In terms of animation, the anime is really very pretty and colorful, the jokes are really well illustrated and do perfect justice to the grotesque aspect of the anime.
  The opening is really great, with good music and editing.

  

  ｡･ﾟﾟ･Conclusion :

  In conclusion, My Deer Friend Nokotan remains a mainly humorous series, and everyone's appreciation of the anime will differ according to whether or not they are receptive to this type of humor throughout the 12 episodes. I laughed at the anime several times, but I also got bored several times as I neared the end.
  My Deer Friend Nokotan remains a very well-realized anime, with characters who can give you a good time (depending on who you are).

  __*Thank you for reading this review to the end :)*__
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• 

  befalt

  23/100
  A dry deer-saster that should have stayed in the forest.

  This review is spoiler-free.

  **〈 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦? 〉**

  ---

  At this point, I'm sick and tired of repeating the same thing I've been saying for the past couple of years, but it goes without saying that we all have our own unique sense of humour. What might have person A rolling on the floor laughing could leave person B completely stone-faced and unfazed, and the reverse is just as true. No single style or type of comedy stands head and horns above the others, and anything, no matter how bizarre it seems conceptually, can tickle someone's funny bone. That said, as much as I love absurdist comedy and tend to laugh at the dumbest stuff possible, Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan—much like both seasons of Pop Team Epic, which I've reviewed before—is not entertaining in the slightest, no matter how you decide to slice it. As harsh as it may sound, this fresh-from-the-oven seasonal is nothing more than yet another flavour-of-the-month, gimmick-riddled fad that'll soon fade into utter obscurity, leaving barely a hoofprint behind.

  

  So, what's really wrong with the show? Why am I, along with so many other people, so hellbent on voicing our disappointment and frustration with its content? **Well, it may come off as a complete shock to some, but the series, despite all its supposed quirkiness and uniqueness, has no clue how to create and maintain a genuinely funny moment.** Most, if not all, of the jokes are inherently and extremely disorganised, nonsensical and haphazard. While that randomness and abnormality are what should make them interesting and compelling, in reality, they lack the timing, delivery and flow needed to pull it off and land effectively. Just because the comedy is meant to be absurd doesn't mean that the jokes themselves ought to be absurdly wishy-washy. **They're simply too lukewarm, scatterbrained and stag-nant to really pack a punch.** Naturally, the quality of each of these gags varies from one to another, but they always follow and fall back on the same predictable formula: the punchline is either about the protagonist being a deer, having antlers, or the characters yelling some gibberish at the top of their lungs. Now, you might argue that's exactly what an anime about animated deer should have to offer, and I'd agree with you if not for a small yet very crucial fact: there's no deviation from this formula at any point, and the jokes themselves are neither set up properly nor conclude in a satisfying manner. They come and go without affecting you in any way, shape or form. **As a result, once a gag concludes, you're left feeling like a deer in the headlights, unsure of what the hell you've just witnessed or how you're supposed to react to it.**

  But it's not just the writing that bears the blame for the stag-gering lack of humour and hilarity. The central gimmick and other adjacent quirks are equally responsible for completely screwing the show over and burying it alive before it even had the chance to spread its antlers. **Turning a generic, cutesy anime girl into our favourite car-loving animal might seem novel or even hilarious at first, yet there's no universe in which this silly premise can carry the entirety of the anime's humour on its back.** There's only so much you can do with such an idea, and it quickly becomes apparent how little wit the show possesses. The running gags are overused to the point of inducing nausea, and any and all deer-related skits aren't amusing in the slightest. The few scenes that have some comedic potential are the ones that don't rely on Shikanoko's appearance, supernatural "powers," or woodland heritage to do the trick. But, as you might've already guessed, they're too scarce and undercooked to be entertaining. But hey, at least the references the show is very fond of throwing in are silly and savvy, right? Pfft, as if. **I firmly believe that references aren't funny on their own.** Simply showing, mentioning or alluding to a well-known property isn't going to make everyone laugh. For references to be truly laugh-worthy, you have to be innovative and playful. You need to forge them into a ridiculous though respectful mockery of the source material that can and will stand on its own, even if the addressee doesn't recognise the thing that's being satirised. Instead of merely slapping them onto the screen and expecting the viewers to giggle out loud because they "get it," the series should've utilised them to create meaningful, well-thought-out skits. As it stands, all of those references peppered throughout don't enhance the jokes at all. **Take them away, and nothing of value is lost.** The only reference that really stands out to me is the one poking fun at Disney's extreme strictness for copyright violations. It's snappy, out-of-nowhere, and brilliantly introduced in the conversation. **Other than that, the references are a whole bunch of tedious drivel and add absolutely nothing to the scenes in which they appear.**

  

  What really doomed the show, in retrospect, was its runtime. **_Shikanoko's_ twelve standard-length episodes are painfully uneventful and boring to an excruciating degree.** While it's not unheard of for a comedy show to work wonderfully as a fully-fledged one-cour show or even a two-cour one, in the case of this daring darling, cutting the episode duration in half would've been a far more efficient but also more logical decision. Though it wouldn't have fixed some of the more inherent issues it suffers from, such a procedure would, at the very least, have made it less monotonous to watch. **Being unfunny is one thing, but being boring on top of that should be classified as a health hazard and come with a warning label.** With all of this in mind, it's not difficult to see how and why my enjoyment of the show was flat-out non-existent. **Again and again, I was forced to sit through each episode, watching whatever the hell it had in store for me with utter apathy.** None of the jokes really landed; none of the references were en-deer-ing or creative enough for me to appreciate them; none of the gimmicks had any staying power; and none of the episodes felt like they actually deserved and needed the twenty-or-so minutes of run time. Nonetheless, despite my extreme negativity, I wouldn't say that _Shikanoko_ is among the worst things I've seen. **In fact, I don't even feel particularly strongly about it as a whole.** To put it more bluntly, it's so lukewarm and indifference-engendering that it doesn't even warrant intense disdain or a SUPER harsh rating. In a few months, I'll probably forget about this show's existence, and that might be the most damning and destructive piece of criticism I can direct towards it.

  Still, before I leave you with the closing remarks, I have to acknowledge a few positives. **Mind you, there aren't many of those in here, but I'd look like a doe-eyed goober if I didn't mention them: the memes, the marketing, and the voice acting.** It's easy to see how impactful the anime's marketing was to its initial success and popularity; without the fawn-tastic opening, it would've never taken off the way it did. The same applies to the memes it spawned (and will continue to spawn for the foreseeable future) since they're a hundred times funnier than anything in the actual show. Finally, you can really tell the seiyuu had a blast voicing the characters, doing their best to bring life to the lines they'd been given, even though the final product leaves much to be desired. **They, the opening, the gifs, and the goddamn brain-rot memes infuse this sorry shitpost of a product with way too much longevity and liveliness for what it's worth, and it's impressive to a depressing degree how deer-ivative and drab it'd be without their presence.**

  

  **Oh, deer.**

  To cut to the chase and stop beating around the bush like an unruly beast, _Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan_ is undeniably a strange show, both on paper and in practice. Even if you go in with minimal or even zero expectations, the series will still find a way to let you down and bore you to tears. **It's supposed to be one of those turn-off-your-brain-and-let-it-rot kind of shows, but by the time you get to episode three, there's nothing left to keep you interested in its antics.** "Haha, she's a deer with antlers sticking out of her empty head! Haha, they're so loud! Haha, there are so many crackers everywhere! Hilarious!" This shtick can only take you so far, and man, do those gimmicks run out of steam fast.

  *But hey, at least it's over, right?*

  ---

  **〈 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦-𝘪𝘤. 〉**

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• 

  melamuna

  60/100
  A Normie's Guide to Surreal Internet Comedy

  ---

  Comedy is always synonymous with the anime scene. From the megahits of Shounen battle shows to the brush giggles of Shounen romance shows, there will always be a hint of comedy in the in-betweens of shows. Comedies are always there to provide a relief of entertainment that serves either as a resting point or a building punchline of the show. Comedy is mostly used as a supplement to an already well-established genre of the show, but let's not forget that comedy is still a fully fledged genre in and of itself. There are notable shows such as Nichijou: My Ordinary Life, The Daily Lives of High School Boys, Asobi Asobase, and many more that provide a fully fledged comedy series with surreal moments that give you the biggest laughs.

  In 2024, My Deer Friend Notokan appears in the anime scene by hooking fans in with its ingenious marketing that's tailored to target audiences who are in the internet scene, leading to a series with an immediate popup of a dedicated fanbase that you couldn't look away from and be curious about what the show is. ***

  There are many types of comedy available in the story space. The first one is the original comedy, where they make a punchline from a fresh scenario. The second one is subversion comedy, where you expect something to happen but the punchline is the opposite of what you have expected, resulting in a funnier scene. And the last one, which My Deer Friend Notokan used for the majority of its runtime, is referential comedy, or the type of comedy where it's reliant on a preview's knowledge the viewer has and trusts the audience to get the reference and laugh with it. When watching the anime, you will be bombarded with a lot of references from the anime scene, such as JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, to general pop culture references, such as using Titanic’s Official Soundtrack with their spin for a certain scene and Bully Maguire.

  Now, you would have noticed that I have put in the review summary saying that it's a “Normie’s Guide,” so to speak. One notable reason I'd say that is that the series sits in this position where it's a great entryway for normal people to enter the full-blown comedy genre of anime, just from how the show mainly revolves around memes. Memes are undoubtedly in a common space right now that has reached billions of people and has a subculture of its own, and when an anime that is tailored to take parts from that culture and incorporate it from the show will definitely bring people who might not be familiar with the other references, they will now seek to understand the context, thus hooking them in.

  That is just one side of the coin, but the other side of the coin might also drag the series down. Primarily, the overreliance on reference comedy can be so detrimental to the series, especially when you have a certain type of audience that is bombarded so much with constant references that they might get overwhelmed to the point where they just don't find the show appealing and would decide to drop it entirely. In addition to that, referential comedy doesn't usually last long in comparison to other comedy shows that rely on the original and subversion types, such as Nichijou. Another example I can provide is Lucky Star, which is a funny show for a specific type of audience that understands the references, but it can be less funny as time goes by as that comedic reference becomes irrelevant.

  Another thing to add is that the show tries too hard to have a plot. There's nothing wrong with it per se, as it serves to fill in the gaps from all of the laughter, but the gaps that the show tried to fill with these empty or inconsequential moments can be a bit dragging for audiences. The show isn't really that quick and snappy, such as Nichijou, but it has an identity of its own to take its time and build up with its comedy, but it can also be a double-edged show for the series with a genre that's designed to be quick and snappy.

  As of right now, if you come from the meme culture and would love to have a chuckle or two with some of your favorite memes and pop culture references all in one show, then My Deer Friend Notokan is definitely a perfect show for you. As for the rest of us, it's an above-average show that delivers funny moments as long as the references stay relevant. ***

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