©Oshioshio・Kodansha/Hinominami High School Deer Club
With its horned protagonist, disturbingly realistic deer, and offbeat absurdist humor, My Deer Friend Nokotan has become one of the most popular shows of the summer 2024 anime season—both in and out of Japan. Copy. To find out why, ANN toured Wit Studio's Tokyo offices and spoke directly with director Masahiko Ohta—and producer Naokado Fujiyama and commercials producer Aya Okano via email. We quickly discovered that they were as surprised by their worldwide success as anyone else.
Director Ohta is an industry veteran. He joked: “I entered the profession when I was 18 years old, now I'm 57 years old, it's been quite a while.” “I saw things like Space Battleship Yamato and Mazinger Z when I was younger and loved them, so I wanted to do things like that. That’s how I got into the industry… I was an animator until about 35, and then I started feeling like I wanted to try directing a little bit, so I started doing that.”
Since then, he has directed many anime, including comedies such as Yuruyuri, Himouto! Umaruchan and Gabriel DropOut—all of which explain why he was asked to direct My Deer Friend Nokotan. “I wasn't familiar with the original work until I was approached,” Ohta explains, “but Wit Studio gave it to me and asked if I wanted to direct the anime version of the manga. I read it and decided to do it.”
Manufacturer Fujiyama, on the other hand, is better known for serious works like PSYCHO-PASS. “I started working in anime production with Fuji Television's 'Noitamina' anime segment before joining Twin Engine in April 2015,” he began. “Since then, I have served as producer for Scum's Wish, Vinland Saga, The Ancient Magus'Bride Season 2 and My Deer Friend Nokotan.”
Ad producer Okano's biggest anime project to date is far from a comedy: Hell's Paradise. “My previous work mainly had heavy plots with deadly characters, bloody fights, and messy love stories,” she explains. “This is the first time I've acted in a comedy like My Deer Friend Nokotan. It was challenging in every way.”
For both Ohta and Fujiyama, seeing absurdist comedy in motion was the big draw for making anime. “Since the manga revolves around Nokotan's crazy antics, I found it fascinating to be able to express that in motion through animation, as this couldn't be done through the manga,” Fujimiya told me. “In the end, Manga doesn't move,” Ohta said on the same topic. “But in anime, you can have all kinds of movements, so you can depict things in a more exaggerated way—and you can also add sound and music. By bringing in those aspects—by making it more cutting edge—I feel like you can make it easier to connect.”
Keeping the comedy relatable despite its surreal premise was important to the team. “The charm of this story lies in the fact that the normal lives of cute girls are turned upside down by the appearance of a mysterious girl with deer antlers… it's a setting that just hearing about it makes you happy. It's hard to imagine,” Okano explained.
Masahiko OhtaOhta thought the same lines and tried to use humor around Nokotan to attract viewers' attention. “Nokotan is a mysterious and confusing character, but I think the way she makes people laugh is quite standard. I tried not to make it too confusing.”
Of course, securing the hit comedy wasn't the only challenge for the team. Ohta faced numerous problems that are common when directing anime. “Something always happens when you make anime: sometimes things don't quite meet the schedule or the animation process is a bit difficult. There's always something you have to persevere through—or rather, you just think it's inevitable and keep going.”
While Ohta handled the day-to-day production, Fujiyama was tasked with creating the theme song, or as he puts it, “the face of the piece.” There was just one problem: “Our company didn't have the know-how to create 'character songs' (i.e. songs sung by the cast), so we started by choosing a music label. music for collaboration. Personally, I thought it would be best for the anime to collaborate with Lantis, who makes songs about characters I like, so I contacted them.” Fujiyama continued: “After listening to the director's vision, we were able to create a theme song that people can enjoy more than we initially imagined.”
In terms of advertising, Okano has had her own challenges. “Because the original work is full of humorous details, the challenge was how to deal with that chaos during the promotion process. I'm thinking about how to convey the message 'If you think about it, you will lose! This is an anime about chaos deer!'Since the decision is made, I will be in charge [khía cạnh này] of work. We even spent hours debating what exactly a ‘deer’ was,” she recalls fondly. “But one thing that's consistent is we want to have as much fun as possible […] with My Deer Friend Nokotan in its own unique way.”
Luckily, the production team wasn't the only one transferring the manga from page to screen. The original author, Oshioshio, is also available to help with everything from finding the perfect cast to fleshing out the story. “With Oshioshio's cooperation, we added new comedic elements that were not in the original work.” Fujiyama explained. “This way, people who have read the original can enjoy the anime even more.”
In fact, Fujiyama's favorite joke on the show is one of the extended comedy bits. “Personally, I like jokes [âm nhạc]'Go, ex-thug Koshitan!' was originally in chapter 17 of the manga and was shown in episode 3 of the anime. In the original, it was a relatively short comedy that ended quickly, but in the anime, it was extended. I also think that letting Saki Fujita [nữ diễn viên lồng tiếng của Koshi] singing this song that she promoted on the spot will make the inherent charm even more obvious.”
Ohta's favorite joke is the image from episode 5: “I think the idea of Nokotan stuffing a banana inside his horn — like the banana is neatly arranged following the curve of the horn — is pretty cute.” Meanwhile, Okano is in love with one of the running gags in the series. “I especially liked the scenes showing realistic 3D deer between cute girls. The deer have no facial expressions, which only adds to the chaos. It made me realize that cuteness and chaos can be compatible.”
Naokado FujiyamaBut while the staff certainly found their anime fun, none of them expected such a positive reaction from outside Japan—or as Fujiyama put it, “Elements of'deer The ‘and’joke” in this anime has reached overseas and transcended language barriers—but we don’t really know why people are paying attention to it.”
Ohta echoed this sentiment, “To be honest, I was a little surprised by the trailer's success overseas. My Deer Friend Nokotan is an unusual kind of anime—or maybe a strange anime—and I think it has a slightly different atmosphere than American comedies. I wonder if foreigners will understand-since the Japanese used is a bit difficult and I think it might be quite difficult to translate-so I'm not sure how much they will understand. But it seems they are more satisfied than I expected and that makes me happy!”
As an advertising producer, Okano has the most insight into My Deer Friend Nokotan's popularity abroad. “I think it's mainly because deer are widely known around the world. They are a comedy goldmine. With their beautiful appearance and facial expressions that made it difficult to understand what they were thinking, I felt that there was endless fun to be had. I'm sure everyone finds the combination of 'deer and pretty girls' funny and crazy.”
But the setup isn't the only aspect of the show that crosses borders. “There are a lot of funny scenes in My Deer Friend Nokotan, so I think people from all countries and all ages can enjoy it. There aren't many works that show a girl wearing deer antlers with her head broken!” Okano laughed loudly. “I think there are a lot of jokes that can be seen and understood […] is something that foreign audiences can enjoy.”
My Deer Friend Nokotan is available on Crunchyroll, Prime Video and Amazon Freevee, Tubi, ADN, Anime Onegai and many other streaming services in more than 140 countries and territories.
