If you could be friends with a god, would you? Personally, I don’t think I would, unless it was someone like Zeus. I can see myself next to him as a threat to society. What if your say in the matter was irrelevant? What if, by the time you realize it, you’re already friends with a being much greater than yourself? Well, in My deer friend Nokotan Episode 8 is the scenario in which Koshitan finds himself.

A new year, a new Nokotan?

I’ve never understood the point of New Year shrine visits. Personally, I’d rather violently stomp on Lego bricks than welcome the New Year surrounded by people I don’t know. My ideal way to welcome the New Year involves a tent and being miles from civilization, but I’m different than Koshitan. My transgressions tend toward treason and sedition. Koshitan’s transgressions involve beating up high school girls in dingy alleys, so maybe she enjoys visiting New Year shrines. Whatever the case, My deer friend Nokotan Episode 8 begins with the Deer Club visiting a shrine, but without the actual deer, which is problematic. Everyone knows that there is only one thing more dangerous than a deer you can see than a deer you can’t. This is especially true for Nokotan, as she surprises her club members by revealing that she is the god of the shrine they are visiting.

As Koshitan freaks out about this and makes sure she goes to an early grave for all the stress she puts on herself, a few things occur to him. Is Nokotan a real god? If you make antler soup by boiling Nokotan, isn’t that just regular game soup? And if a gamer girl’s bath water is the same as the water a dirty gamer gets soaked in, is it human soup? Or is it only soup when fire is involved?

Life is just a game

After their idle New Year’s visit, the Deer Club enjoys a relaxing episode where most of them spend a lazy afternoon playing board games. The second part of the episode wouldn’t appeal much to anyone other than slice-of-life lovers. However, I certainly wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to tell strangers on the internet that it made me really happy to see Koshitan dancing around dressed as a half-deer, half-human, half-idol – a Mandeer idol, as the kids call it.

My deer friend Nokotan Episode 8 – Comments

There’s never much to comment on during slower episodes like this one. But that doesn’t mean I find it boring. I can spend all afternoon watching clouds and be the happiest person around. My love for shows like this stems from that feeling. I want a peaceful life doing things I like without sacrificing too much of my time and soul to work. But I’ve come to realize that it’s easier to make 100 girlfriends, defeat a demon lord, and create world peace than it is to live a peaceful life in this day and age.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning something that English viewers may not be aware of, but everyone south of the border certainly knows. There is a song by Los Cantantes that is heavily associated with this anime in Latin America. All anime viewers have heard the “sub vs. dub” argument. While I’m not a fan of English dubs, I believe that Spanish dubs can hold their own against the original Japanese audio. That’s because Spanish speakers never hold back, and neither do Spanish voice actors. The Latin American streaming service Anime Onegai has elegantly showcased this by featuring in My deer friend Nokotan Episode 8. In the scene where the old lady sings while Nokotan is stewing, the chorus of “El Venado” is actually used as the singing melody.

I watched this a few hours after watching the English dubbed version on Wednesday and laughed so hard that even now, as I write this on Saturday, I still can’t speak properly. I’m pretty sure my voice failed me. Thanks for that, Anime Onegai. Now if only someone would explain to me why humans aren’t deer, I could die happy.

Screenshots via Crunchyroll
© Oshioshio, Kodansha / Hino Minami High School Deer Club