My Deer Friend Nokotan

Deer Club

• Noko Shikanoko (鹿乃子 のこ) / Nokotan (のこたん)
• The title character of the series, a deer-girl hybrid and transfer student who starts the school's Deer Club. She possesses unusual abilities, such as being able to remove her antlers and use them in various ways. She seems to have the power to influence others around her (except for Torako), as they do not appear to be bothered by her antics. Either way, even though Noko's abilities and life clearly go beyond normal human ones or even violate the laws of reality, it seems that almost no one except Koshi is worried about it. In the final episode of the anime, it is revealed that she came from an organization called the Deer Hole.
• Torako Koshi (虎視 虎子) / Koshitan (こしたん)
• The main protagonist of the series, Torako is the school's Student Council President at her high school and a former mafia delinquent, although she only tried to act tough most of the time. She tries to put on the image of a dignified, ideal honor student. She later becomes the president of the school's Deer Club, started by Noko, where she and her other friends meet after school. Noko's antics prove to be a serious annoyance to Torako on most occasions, almost to the point of driving her insane.
• Anko Koshi (虎視 餡子) / Koshian (こしあん)
• Torako's psychotic younger sister, who is obsessed with her. Torako is often terrified of Anko, but forces herself to pretend as though Anko's behavior does not affect her. Although it is rarely emphasized deeply, some scenes involving her suggest that she has an open incestuous attraction to her sister.
• Meme Bashame (馬車芽 めめ) / Bashame (ばしゃめ)
• A freshman who claims she wants to become a deer after being given deer crackers from Noko before the opening ceremony of school. Bashame is obsessed with rice and is always seen eating some or planting rice fields. She also wants to become a deer, like Nokotan. She has illeism, referring to herself as "Bashame".

Student Council

• Neko Nekoyamada (猫山田 根子) / Nekochan (ねこちゃん)
• The Vice-President of the school's Student Council. She sees Torako as her arch rival, and attempts to abolish the Deer Club and depose Torako from the Student Council but is never successful. She is very short and frequently carries a step stool.
• Kinu Tanukikōji (狸小路 絹) / Tanuki (たぬき)
• The neurotic secretary of the Student Council, who tends to overthink and overreact to issues that affect her.
• Chiharu Tsubameya (燕谷 千春) / Tsubame (つばめ)
• The treasurer of the Student Council who seems quiet and aloof, but is secretly a big fan of Nokotan and all things deer.

Deer Hole

• Kyun-chan (キュンちゃん)
• A Hokkaido tourism mascot from the Deer Hole. He comes to Hino Minami High School to challenge Noko, but loses to Torako.
• Chikamaru-kun and Hana-chan (ちかまる君とはなちゃん)
• Two Deer Hole mascots from Ojika, Nagasaki. They come to Hino Minami High School to challenge Noko, but loses to Neko.
• Sento-kun (せんとくん)
• The Deer Hole's strongest mascot. He is from Nara City. He is the last mascot to challenge Noko and although he wins, both he and Noko are deemed winners.
• John Miura (三浦ジョン)
• A researcher who works for the Deer Hole and serves as the host of the final match between Noko and Sento-kun.

Other characters

• Narrator
• An unseen narrator who often breaks the fourth wall.
• Tsunoda (角田)
• A deer from the Hino Zoo who sometimes appears in the Deer Club's room.
• Yoshiharu Tsubameya (燕谷 善治)
• Chiharu's big brother and the owner and sole barista of the Swallow Cafe. He goes to great extents to try and satisfy his customers.
• Ukai (鵜飼)
• Torako and Noko's homeroom teacher, as well as the consultant teacher of the Deer Club. She is very supportive of Noko's antics, much to Torako's frustration and annoyance.
• Mitsu Inukai (犬養ミツ)
• An elderly shrine maiden who hides a demonic side. She is also supportive of Noko.
• Tsucchi (つっちー)
• A creature that resembles a ball wrapped in flexible antlers, and acts like a domesticated pet to Neko. It was given its name by Chiharu, and is the pet of the Deer Club.
• Sōichirō Kumatori
• An old-fashioned hunter who comes to the school to hunt down Noko, but leaves following a phone call from his wife and is arrested for illegally carrying a gun. He escapes arrest, but finds himself face to face with one of the Murdeerers from the Deer Hole.

Manga

Written and illustrated by Oshioshio, My Deer Friend Nokotan began serialization in Kodansha's manga magazine Shōnen Magazine Edge on November 15, 2019.[6] After the final issue of the Shōnen Magazine Edge was published on October 17, 2023, the series was transferred to the Magazine Pocket website on December 20 the same year.[7] The series' chapters have been collected in eight volumes as of January 2026. The series is licensed in English by Seven Seas Entertainment.[8]

Volumes

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in March 2024. It is produced by Wit Studio and directed by Masahiko Ohta, with Takashi Aoshima writing and supervising scripts, Ayumu Tsujimura designing the characters, and Yasuhiro Misawa composing the music. The series aired from July 7 to September 22, 2024, on Tokyo MX and BS Nittele.[24] The opening theme is "Shikairo Days" (シカ色デイズ) performed by Megumi Han, Saki Fujita, Rui Tanabe, and Fūka Izumi as their respective characters in the Deer Club, while the ending theme is "Shika-senbei no Uta" (シカせんべいのうた) performed by Han and Fujita as their respective characters.[25] Remow licensed the series[26] and announced worldwide streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Anime Onegai, ADN, Crunchyroll, and Tubi.[27]

Episodes

Anime

Although the work was relatively little known outside of Japan before the anime adaptation, after the show's premiere, first the anime and then the manga went viral and acquired a memetic reputation. In particular, the anime's title trended on TikTok and won several "buzzword" awards due to its rhythmic repetition in the show's opening theme. While the original story initially had some potential of this as a gag comedy, the staff of the anime adaptation admitted to being shocked by the speed of development and the scale of its popularity.[31]