Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan – 01
I’m pretty darn sure this isn’t for me. In the same way that other comedies of this ilk aren’t. Some find them funny, I don’t – that’s how comedy works. The approach here is saturation bombing, and a few of the jokes hit because of that. But the overall success rate it too low for me to think Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan has much of a chance of winning me over.
As I noted in the preview I was mainly motivated to check this series out because Oota Masahiko is directing, and he’s one of the true giants of comedy anime. Not to mention it’s produced at Wit, although that doesn’t carry the same cachet it once did. The basic premise is that a deer girl shows up at a high school and immediately starts ruining the life of a pretentious school idol who’s desperate to hide her delinquent (it will never not be amusing that the modern Japanese word for this is “yankee”) past. Of course no explanations are yet forthcoming for any of this but I think this is just the sort of series that doesn’t do explanations.
I laughed a couple of times I guess – some of the detail work in the backgrounds was impressive (there are a lot of “blink and you’ll miss it” sight gags). And Han Megumi’s work as the deer girl “Nokotan” is generally amusing. But the main gags kind of whiffed for me, and since they get repeated over and over that’s a bit of a problem. One likes to think that there was something to the manga that made Wit and Oota (who rarely directs these days) keen to work on this show. But it’s not making itself immediately obvious. I’ll check out one more episode but I don’t have real high hopes.
2.5-jigen no Ririsa – 01
I hadn’t really planned on doing a post on this one – it didn’t make the preview. But I heard pretty decent feedback on the premiere so I gave it a look. In point of fact there are quite a few romcom this season as it turns out. None of them have stood out as “it” – and 2.5-jigen no Ririsa certainly doesn’t either – but this wasn’t a bad premiere. “Inoffensive” is the word that springs to mind for me, in spite of the premise. With just a little bit of uncertainty about that premise inserted to keep things interesting.
As a romcom about a cosplay enthusiast girl it obviously calls to mind Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wa Suru a bit, but the two series aren’t much similar. In this case we have an otaku kid named Okamura who’s the only member of the manga club at his high school (which I didn’t think was allowed). Basically the club is a pretext for him to fetishize Lilliel, his favorite 2D waifu. Having had bad luck with wimmin (including his mother) Okamura has vowed to never show interest in a 3-D one. So he’s naturally aghast when one shows up and asks to join the club – and shocked when she turns out to be as big a Lilliel fan as he is.
I do have some questions here – mainly whether there’s any intent behind Ririsa’s (the girl) approach to Okamura. Somehow I vibed that this might be a con job on her part (or a pursuit) but it’s probably legit. In any event the two of them are fairly funny together and I could see that relationship having a modicum of charm to it. There are a whole slew of girls still to be introduced and I worry this could go the harem route, and generally speaking I’m dubious the story will have much staying power. But for one week at least 2.5-jigen no Ririsa was entertaining enough, and comes as as pretty good-natured on the whole.
L0ken
July 9, 2024 at 1:24 amApparently there is a lot of complaints that subtitles for Nokotan is quite bad, another recent case of subs being provided by licensor. It really can hurt new show, like “Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction” anime adaptation keep suffering from same issue. Though this trend of declining quality of streaming services regarding even basic stuff like decent subs pushed people back to piracy and fansubs, so I can’t blame them seeking alternative.
Simone
July 9, 2024 at 7:05 pmYes, mostly it’s typesetting mistakes really rather than translation errors. Seems a rush job that didn’t get a proper editing pass. Might have to do with how Nokotan is streaming on a multitude of platforms (including YouTube) and perhaps they wanted to unify the translation, but obviously they should have put a bit more effort into it. Maybe they thought that the shitpost-y nature of the show meant any mistakes would have been overlooked or taken in stride, but it obviously wasn’t the case.
Missingnoleader
July 9, 2024 at 11:32 amAs a fan of the series, I was pretty pleased with the first episode of 2.5 Dimensional Seduction. It introduces the characters and their dynamic, while also initiating the necessary plot threads that are gonna be explored in the next 23 episodes. The first chapter is probably the one I was most curious with how it plays out alongside the rest of the initial chapters. And I think it did a fine job having to thread the needle between what it has to adapt. Okumura and Lilysa’s VAs have quite the work to do given the passionate nature of both characters. The OP and ED have a lot of heart too as they utilize the characters rather well.
Okumura’s got an self sufficient attitude where he’s practically a well worn veteran of his opinions and the background reinforcing his rather narrow view of the rest of the world. He’s content with just taking photos of his acryllic form waifu. He’s even prepared to go down with the ship as you most certainly noted, no one can keep a club room with one member. Or even two members…
Lilysa’s passion and ability to disrrupt by just being herself lends a certain view beyond just the love interest. She has the vibes and energy of a male shonen protagonist, one who shakes up the view of the older mentor figure, but needs encouragement to be the best at what they want to be. Her passion being replicating the one character she admires the most, Lilliel. And there’s a whole lot of Lilliel to go around. She’s after all the main love interest of a Shonen Jump manga in universe. And apparently she’s got as many form and costumes as someone like Lucy from Fairy Tail.
But you can see her passion in the ED especially compared to her co-star in the ED dance number. The best way to describe her is unabashed. A real otaku’s otaku. The other girl, we’ll see her next week. She’s my favorite for how much she contrasts but also compliments Lilysa. She might be embarrassed to be on stage and doing the dance, but she shines exactly for one person only.
It might be a hard fight to stand out among the romcoms, but there’s one thing this series has that no other has this season: A second cour after this season. Its an endurance race, but one that JC Staff is hedging their bets on if the massive media push in Japan is anything to say about it. Only time will tell if this will be a successful gamble. But I’m hoping it works out.
Guardian Enzo
July 9, 2024 at 11:48 amThank you, very informative comment. I don’t know if it’s going to stick in the rotation but I’m certainly going to give it at least another week.
Nicc
July 10, 2024 at 8:04 am“Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan” has made waves around the Internet since its first trailer dropped. So, about the show itself… I thought it was just OK. Liked you said, humor is always subjective and for me there were more misses than hits. However, it could get better once the other characters come in and so I’m willing to throw in some leeway. I also learned how deer crackers are made and I may still stick around for deer knowledge.
We’ve got our MC, Torako Koshi. She’s the definition of a model student who’s good at everything. That’s to hide her past as a delinquent back at middle school. Everything seems to be going smoothly for her, but it appears that the deer spirits won’t let her past go unpunished.
She then unfortunately runs into Noko Shikanoko, who is some kind of human-deer hybrid. I don’t expect that we’ll get any explanation for that. After Noko peer pressures Torako into resucing her from power lines, Torako is rewarded by having Noko stick to her. Karma, perhaps? That’s followed by a bunch of gags in which Torako has to play the straight woman to Noko’s antics and it ends up with her being the president of the Deer Club. There’s really not much else to write about and I’ll watch one more episode to see if the rest of the cast can liven things up. Oh yeah, and I have visited Nara (Noko is probably from there?) once before and saw the deer there.