As I noted in the Winter Check-in, this is shaping up to be a decent season. Historically average probably, but after the quality-bereft 2020 a veritable giant. Looking at the shows in the lineup, Kemono Jihen stands as my “Goldilocks series”. Horimiya has the feels, Beastars 2 is the intellectual powerhouse, Sk∞ is pure shut-off-the-brain fun. But this show has some of everything, in perfect balance. In footballing terms it’s a box-to-box midfielder, versatile and full of running. It does a lot of things so well, and manages to be a jack of all trades while still being masterful.
The only downside, really, is that at 12 episodes the anime is only going to be able to skim the barest surface of what the manga has to offer. I told myself I’d be grateful for what we get but damn, that’d be a real shame – I sincerely hope the signs of modest popularity we’re seeing are enough to get at least a second cour. Episodes like this are very faithful to the manga and I think quite critical to its success, but the anime just isn’t going to have the luxury of many of them if it really is a one and done. There’s a lot of story to cover and not much time to do it.
The anime is certainly dropping teasers of the larger mythology, for what it’s worth. There’s out first mention of Inugami’s ex-partner (“a sore spot”) who was the one who minded the bar half of the office (I’ll note that the bottles bore the names of actual Scotch distilleries). The client who popped in at the end of the last episode is a lovestruck loner named Yoruno wanting help in tracking down “Mao-chan”, the exotic dancer he’s fallen for. This sets off a discussion of Koi – both Kabane and Kon miss the boat on that in different ways – before the man starts chasing a mouse and reveals a rather disgusting surprise in his fanny pack.
Kabane is an innocent in the truest sense of the word (upon heating the man’s love is fruitless, he asks if love grows on trees), and it’s clear Inugami isn’t ready to do the sort of explaining that would be required here. So he sends Kabane and Shiki off to take the case (urging Akira to sit this one out) and learn about love, and promises Kon Kabane’s head as a reward if she helps. Mao-chan turns out to be a nekomata as Inugami suspected, but Yoruno surprisingly expresses an eagerness to be turned into a cat – like the others in Mao-chan’s harem – since he has nothing connecting him to the human world.
What’s really interesting here is that aftermath. Inugami transforms an orange to fool Kon, who leaves happy, and Kabane presents Inugami with a packet of tissues as – and there’s no denying it – a token of love. For Kabane, Inugami is the one who showed him that life was more than drudgery and loneliness – and love seems to be all about giving someone something useful. You really can’t get any more pure of heart than that if we’re honest, even if the picture Kabane has of the human heart is obviously more than a little incomplete.
After that the focus shifts to Akira, who’s feeling a little bummed out at how little he seems to be able to contribute to the cause compared to Shiki and – especially – Kabane. In fact after Kabane heroically removes (not kills – he only does that when given absolutely no alternative) a cockroach from the bath, Akira declares himself Kabane’s disciple. Inugami (who really is looking after these boys’ development in his own understated way) takes the opportunity to send the two of them off on a mission – to investigate mysterious deaths along the Shibuya River, now almost totally submerged beneath a concrete jungle.
The thing is, Inugami is actually one hell of a surrogate father. He always gives the boys the freedom to test their limits but he’s got his eye on things in case they get out of hand, as witness his intervention (in tanuki form) in the tunnels. Mainly, this mission was an opportunity for Akira to open up to Kabane about his background – he’s a yuki-onoko, along with his twin the only boys born into a village of yuki-onna in a hundred years. That, and to give Akira the perfect platform to show off his ability to Kabane – which he does, when the deformed and twisted urban frog kemono attack. Inugami was asked to do this by the local kaeru Kami and in truth could easily have handled the job himself. But in doing what he did he accomplished a lot more than satisfying the client.
The quasi-familial relationship within this core group of three boys and their surrogate dad is really the rock-solid foundation of what’s a very far-reaching story. Each of these four are excellent characters in their own right, but narratively speaking the whole is more than the sum of the parts – and that’s true of Kemono Jihen generally speaking. The humor, the action, the violence and horror, the genuinely heartwarming emotional depth – they all work in harmony to create a series that’s a winning blend of old-school shounen with very modern and sometimes edgy accents. Even if we only get to sample a little of it in anime form, that’s a hell of a lot better than nothing.
Princess Usagi
February 2, 2021 at 12:51 amThe 1st case didn’t seem like it would be the best lesson for Kabane in what love actually is, but I’m glad he gleaned something good from it. The scene with the tissues was very touching. I really like how Inugami doesn’t keep the kids sheltered (which wouldn’t make sense to do anyway, given the things Kabane and the others have already gone through), but still makes sure to protect them from any real harm. The character development of Akira was good, seeing how he overcomes some of his aversion to gross stuff, in order to learn from and protect his friend, not just knowing that he can’t leave the dirty work up to his friends, but then actually going a step further to take action.
Guardian Enzo
February 2, 2021 at 7:42 amA very powerful moment, I would say, all the more so because the series doesn’t milk it for pushy drama. You could see Inugami was a little taken aback.
Toni
February 2, 2021 at 2:40 amPerfect ‘simple’ character design and a very wholesome feeling overall.
While there’s almost no talk about it in the anglo-sphere of the internet, I believe it’s quite popular in Japan. I believe the sales numbers are OK. Do you know how its doing there, Enzo?
Guardian Enzo
February 2, 2021 at 7:45 amWell, as of the last two weeks the series is up to #9 in total franchise volume sales, and I don’t think it’s ever ranked on Oricon before the anime. So that’s good – with an ongoing manga volume sales are a key metric. It actually does quite well in Western aggregator numbers too, though I have no idea what the hard streaming numbers are.
Red
February 2, 2021 at 6:12 amWe need more fluffyness, can’t get enough of that tanuki form. Traits of the man-eating kemono reminds me of a wen kamuy.
Snowball
February 2, 2021 at 6:42 amKabane’s interpretation of love is rather sweet. I quite prefer Inugami’s gentle and watchful approach to teaching the kids rather than the alpha male model approach that a lot of shounen use.
Guardian Enzo
February 2, 2021 at 7:46 amExactly. He’s not an emotionally expressive guy and has a tanuki’s deceptive nature, but Inugami is actually one of the better father figures in shounen.
Yann
February 2, 2021 at 11:58 amI completely agree… This show has a bit of everything. The first episode still remains a huge step above the rest for me, but it’s nevertheless become the series I look forward to the most every week.
Yukie
February 2, 2021 at 11:22 pmI can’t help laughing when the seiyuu for Akira’s brother turned out to be Kageyama’s xD
This show has definitely become the one I look forward to the most every week. I loved that while both of these cases are resolved simply, the underlying character developments were complex and surprisingly well-written. With just 4 episodes, I’m already completely invested in these characters, esp. the kids, and dying to know if they’ll ever reunite with their family members.
Magewolf
February 3, 2021 at 5:41 amThe hazmat suit reminded me of Manabi Straight. And I was right in my guess about the whole snow-(wo)man thing.
elianthos80
February 4, 2021 at 8:35 amHmmm something is fishy with the yuki-onoko twin my shoedroppingdar is pinging.
Kabane is a sweet boy indeed. For all how he was mistreated possibly since birth he’s a caring soul, whose lovee language for now at least is about thoughtful gifts & gestures. Awww.
The nakama motivator unleashing your potential saves the day! A classic, but well done.
– Seconding the comment about Inugami’s tanuki form. FLUFFY PLEASE. I wanna hug himmmmmm.
Guardian Enzo
February 4, 2021 at 9:01 amEven if he did flash his kids in that form…
All the major players get their turn in the spotlight in true old school shounen fashion (and there are a couple big characters we haven’t even met yet). As for Kabane, it’s funny (and maybe not totally coincidental) that this was a cat-themed episode because his way of expressing his love to Inugami was very feline – the whole business about bringing presents (like mice) to their humans.
Este
February 13, 2021 at 7:50 pmHad a look at Kemono Jihen Ep 1 out of curiousity. Now i’m hooked, and hoping it’ll produce another (or more) episode as evocative as the first (not that the episodes so far are wanting though 🙂 )
Guardian Enzo
February 13, 2021 at 7:52 pmThe first ep is pretty unique, in my opinion. But there’s a lot of tonal variety in the rest of the series – all the more so, obviously, if the anime continues for a while.