The Staff of My Deer Friend Nokotan Were Shocked by Its Worldwide Popularity

With its horned protagonist, disturbingly realistic deer, and off-the-wall absurdist humor, My Deer Friend Nokotan has been one of the most popular shows of the Summer 2024 anime season—both inside of Japan and out. To find out why, ANN toured Wit Studio‘s office in Tokyo and spoke with director Masahiko Ohta in person—and producer Naokado Fujiyama and promotional producer Aya Okano via email. We soon discovered they were as surprised by their worldwide success as anyone else.

Director Ohta is an industry veteran. “I joined the industry when I was 18, and now I’m 57, so it’s been quite a long time,” He joked. “I watched things like Space Battleship Yamato and Mazinger Z as a kid and loved them, so I wanted to make things like that. That’s how I got into this industry… I was an animator until I was about 35, and then I started to feel like I wanted to try directing a little, so I started doing that.”

Since then, he has directed numerous anime, including comedies like Yuruyuri, Himouto! Umaruchan, and Gabriel DropOut—all of which explain why he was offered the director’s chair for My Deer Friend Nokotan. “I wasn’t familiar with the original work until I was approached,” Ohta explained, “but Wit Studio gave it to me and asked me if I would like to direct the anime version of the manga. I read it and decided to do it.”

Producer Fujiyama, on the other hand, is more well-known for serious works such as PSYCHO-PASS. “I began working in anime production with Fuji Television‘s ‘Noitamina’ anime block before joining Twin Engine in April 2015,” he began. “I have since served as producer for Scum’s Wish, Vinland Saga, The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2, and My Deer Friend Nokotan.”

Along the same lines, promotional producer Okano’s biggest anime project to date is far from being a comedy: Hell’s Paradise. “My previous work was a mostly heavy plot with characters dying, bloody fights, and messy love stories,” she explained. “This is my first time working on a comedy piece like My Deer Friend Nokotan. It’s been challenging in all sorts of ways.”

For both Ohta and Fujiyama, seeing the absurdist comedy in motion was the big draw for making the anime. “As the manga revolves around Nokotan’s crazy antics, I found it appealing to be able to show that in motion through animation, as this cannot be done through manga,” Fujimiya told me. “Manga doesn’t move, after all,” Ohta said on the same subject. “But in anime, you can have all kinds of movements, so you can depict everything more exaggeratedly—and you can also add sound and music. By including those aspects—by making it more over-the-top—I feel that you can make it easier to connect with.”

Keeping the comedy easy to understand despite its surreal premise was of key importance 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 setup that is difficult to picture just by hearing about it,” Okano explained.

Ohta thinks along the same lines and tries to use the humor around Nokotan to keep watchers invested. “Nokotan is a mysterious and enigmatic character, but I think the way she makes people laugh is pretty standard. I tried not to make it too confusing.”

Of course, making sure the comedy hit wasn’t the only challenge ahead of the team. Ohta faced the myriad of common problems that come up when directing an anime. “There is always something that happens when you’re making an anime: sometimes things don’t quite meet the schedule or the animation process is a bit difficult. There’s always something you have to steadily overcome—or rather, you just keep thinking that it can’t be helped and keep going.”

As Ohta handled the day-to-day production, Fujiyama was left to create the theme song, or as he put it, “the face of the work.” There was just one problem: “Our company did not have the know-how to create ‘character songs’ (i.e., songs sung by the cast), so we started by selecting a music label to work with. I personally thought that it would be best for the anime to work with Lantis, who creates character songs that I like, so I contacted them.” Fujiyama continued, “After listening to the director’s vision, we were able to create a theme song that everyone was able to enjoy more than we had originally imagined.”

On the promotional side of things, Okano had her own challenges. “Since the original work is full of gags, the challenge was to bring that chaos out in the promotion. I have been thinking about how to convey the message, ‘If you think about it, you lose! This is a chaotic deer anime!’ ever since it was decided I would be in charge of [this aspect of] the work. We even spent hours debating what exactly a ‘deer’ is,” she fondly remembered. “But the one thing that was consistent was that we wanted to have as much fun as we could […] with My Deer Friend Nokotan in its own unique way.”

Luckily, the production staff wasn’t alone in transitioning the manga from page to screen. The original author, Oshioshio, was on hand as well to help with everything from finding the perfect cast to making additions to the story. “With the cooperation of Oshioshio, we have added new comedy elements that were not in the original.” Fujiyama explained. “This way, people who have already read the original can enjoy the anime even more.”

In fact, Fujiyama’s favorite gag from the show is one of the expanded comedic bits. “I personally love the [musical] gag ‘Go forth, former delinquent Koshitan!’ that 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 gag that ended quickly, but in the anime, it was expanded in length. I also think that having Saki Fujita [Koshi’s voice actress] sing this song that she ad libbed on the spot makes the inherent charm all the more apparent.”

Ohta’s favorite gag was a visual one in episode 5: “I think the idea of Nokotan having a banana inside her horn—like with the banana neatly wedged in the curve of the horn—is quite cute.” Meanwhile, Okano loves one of the series’ running jokes. “I especially like the scenes where very realistic 3D deer are shown among the cute girls. The deer have no facial expressions, which just adds to the chaos. It made me realize that cuteness and chaos can be compatible.”

But while the staff no doubt find their anime hilarious, none of them expected such a positive response from outside of Japan—or as Fujiyama put it, “The elements of ‘deer’ and ‘gags’ in this anime have reached overseas and across 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 bit surprised at the success of the trailer overseas. My Deer Friend Nokotan is kind of an unusual anime—or maybe a weird anime—and I think it has a slightly different atmosphere than American comedies. I wondered if people overseas would understand it—as the Japanese language used is a little difficult and I think it might be quite difficult to translate—so I wasn’t sure how much they would understand. But it seems like they were more pleased than I expected, and that makes me happy!”

As the promotional producer, Okano had the most insight into My Deer Friend Nokotan‘s popularity abroad. “I think it’s mainly because deer are commonly recognized around the world. They are a comedic goldmine. With that beautiful appearance and facial expressions that make it hard to understand what they’re thinking, I feel that there are infinite possibilities for fun to be had. I’m sure everyone finds the combination of ‘deer and beautiful girls’ to be funny and crazy.”

But the setup isn’t the only aspect of the show that crosses borders. “There are a lot of visual gags in My Deer Friend Nokotan, so I think people from all countries and of all ages can enjoy it. There aren’t many works where a girl with deer antlers has her head pop off!” Okano laughed. “I think the fact that there are many gags that can be both 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 more streaming services in over 140 countries and territories.