Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Yuuritard
It’s crazy how this anime was popular in the first place, it is so painfully unfunny because it relies too much on randomness and the jokes felt repetitive. I know it’s a brain rot anime, but that doesn’t excuse how atrocious the writing and its jokes are. The voice acting are annoying asf, it gives me so much rage to hear the characters’ voices, might be just as bad as listening to vocamid 💔. Also the pacing is way to fast, I can barely tell wtf is happening at some points. This show tries so hard to prioritize enjoyability over writing yet fail MISERABLY at both 💔.
Read at the sourcewalshc25
I watched this to completion so I could provide a review after seeing all episodes.
Premise: Noko gets helped by Koshi and tells Koshi she knows about her past history of being a delinquent. In an effort to conceal her past, she decides to be nice to Noko. Noko then guilt trips Koshi into forming the deer club with Noko, a club centered around taking care of Noko. Antics ensue.
The premise is actually pretty good for a comedy and the first episode set-up isn't so bad. It's funny that Noko created a club called "Deer Club" but is just an excuse for Koshi to basically be Noko's caregiver. There's also hints that Koshi might ruin her image or record if she fails to do so since she is the president, which keeps the comedy going as Koshi feels obligated to clean up after Noko.
It's a clas…
Read at the sourceSpriteDrawsStuff
I remember the day so clearly when seemingly everyone everywhere online was talking about this anime and how 'brainrot' it was. Many months later, I remembered this anime and how the entire internet was hyping it up to be this amazing masterpiece of a comedy.
And so I watched it, and... was left pretty disappointed. Had to take a long break after five episodes, and literally forced myself to watch the rest just to get it over with.
There are many things Shikanoko does that are just subjectively done bad, but the biggest by far was the comedy.
Shikanoko is an anime where it's comedy is partially derived from 'the crazier it is, the funnier it will be,' which leads to some of the most bizarre 'stories' (if you could even call them that) you can ever witness. However, most of the time they…
Read at the sourceLeilameow
I unironically recommend this if you generally like anime. But, only about 3-4 eps, and if you still find it funny afterwards, your humor is really cooked but feel free to continue watching.
This was the most stupid and pointless anime I've watched, and I've watched one called Merman in my bathtub so it really isn't an understatement. This anime feels like starting a bag of chips that got really hyped up all over the internet, and you realize it's not really that good but you still keep reaching in and in because you hope it'll get better, but it really won't, and when you finally finish it you don't know how to feel like, it feels like you've wasted your time but you don't really regret it because it still filled you up, somehow.
All that aside, the animation and details in this are real…
Read at the sourcemanusirbu05
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 yandere type 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, reco…
Read at the sourcePixelB
SHIKA.......NOTSU. If you're not Japanese, you'll still probably understand these phrases after watching the show (not that notsu is an actual word...)
Actually, despite all of the great opening you have, the comically bad but also funny deer CGI, and overall a great premise of Noko being a boke in a gag manga, the actual show is pretty tame. I'd say the show is not the highest production value, but it definitely nails all of the comedic execution. By taking liberties of animation Noko as a blob sometimes, Torako as a chibi when acting as a tsukommi, and a few other shorthands, the comedic value stays the same while still providing good entertainment value. I have nothing negative to say about how the anime decided to create multiple sound tracks with only the word SHIKA. By changing the…
Read at the sourceKranst
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.
Read at the sourceWhe3333
Spoiler-less, TL;DR, fast, simple, and easy-to-digest review:
Deer, Shika, Brainrot
5/10
(After this review, from then, reviews will be much more spoiler-lesser (or not), TL:DR'er, faster, simpler, and easier-to-digest)
Animation? Ok (+)
Really? This is animated by Wit Studio? It shows... kind of... kinda shame really. The animation and art style of this anime really suits and well done. The chibinize scenes, explosions, Jojo-mode moments, and a good goddamn art really attracted me to watch it. My only gripe for this criteria is when Torako walks in episode 2 and the background just moves effortlessly. Looks promising... but really a shame. It was all smoke and mirrors. Characters? Meh (-)
Goddamn the main duo really got their backs torn-up and hurt for all the carrying they did in the…
Read at the sourceJJMFREAP
Truly, the most deer series. It's so deer, I couldn't help but rice to a deerer plane of existence. It's a deer philosophical exploration into the mental and emotional state of deerkind in the climate of the modern world. How does a man cope with the crushing unceremonious existence within the confines of the vapid emotionless civilized world when one only years to till rice paddies. We were deer to be free and we yearn for the rice paddies. The cycle of seasons dictates how we deer. And no other story has ever captured the strife and the tribulations of modern deer quite like this literary masterpiece.
You see the humour is but a deer veil to conceal the allegorical explorations into the deerest crevices of the mind, into the deerths of philosophy and mental condition. It's a thrice str…
Read at the sourcem3lvnn
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?
If you'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.
Read at the sourceChuy_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 of Japan. 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…
Read at the sourcesix20
Shikanoko is a mediocre comedic anime. When I look for comedic animes, I look for some semblance of fairness of the jokes. Torako is mostly the butt of the jokes and she just doesn't deserve it. Shikanoko gets away with practically everything making the show seem mean-spirited. This is especially bad during the school festival episode. The other comedic characters barely factor into the jokes which is a shame as it would finally allow Torako to stop being clowned on.
The story and set up of the jokes has the narrator openly call out about how forced the situation is. I appreciate the awareness but wish there was more to that as it frankly doesn't excuse the failure to make the situation funny.
Overall a medicore comedy that doesn't live up to its internet hype.
Read at the sourceDangerous_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, even if 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 ver…
Read at the sourceGwynbleidd_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 gag humor 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 cl…
Read at the sourceEmpireDeLuna
Try so hard to walk in the golden way of absurdist, that they've boringly started making sense.
I would pay tons of money just to have this anime's marketing team. Because what they've done is basically taking a student school project and then promoting it as a competent show.
My Deer Friend Nokotan has to be the driest sense of humor in anime that I've seen. And yes! You might say that comedy is subjective, but you can't deny that even they are trying so hard to clap at their own jokes most of the time here. Everything is competently made, but the source material is like being written by a nerdy guy who watched too many anime and pop culture just to look cool.
Read at the sourceMrKessler
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 bursts instead 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
Read at the sourcekillerjdog51
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 the end 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.
Read at the sourceZeroMajor12
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 out their 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…
Read at the sourceSanaeK10
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 Uzamaid were 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 Sabag…
Read at the sourceKANLen09
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...with the 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 th…
Read at the source