Damekko Doubutsu
Title: Damekko Doubutsu
Genre: Comedy
Opening song: Sekai de ichiban boku ga suki! By Shintani Ryoko
Rating: 6/10: This song is cute, different, but definitely grows on you.
Ending song: Life Is Free By Shintani Ryoko
RatingL 8/10: I really love this song. It’s so sweet and calming. It really fits the anime, and it is perfect song to relax to.
And thus my first review. :3 I decided to start with one of my favorite anime series, Damekko Doubutsu!
Synopsis:
Uruno, a useless wolf wonders into the forest of animals that do not live up to their roles. He’s hungry, and so when she sees a rabbit in the bushes, he attacks. This is when we
meet Usahara, a ‘gangster’ like rabbit who proceeds to beat poor Uruno to a pulp. After that, he is accidentally attacked by Takaoka, the short-sighted eagle. Depressed, and reminded of his uselessness, Uruno is about to leave the forest when he meets Chiiko, a clumsy female cheetah who he falls for immediately. Thus he changes his mind to live in the forest.
Later we meet the other characters, some that appear randomly throughout the anime. But more main characters appear, such as Yunihiko, the not-so-shy unicorn, and my personal favorite, Paganonosuke. Each episode takes you through the year, seasons, and holidays, with short, heartwarming and humorous stories.
My thoughts:
I first encountered this anime while visiting my friend Melissa’s house, who happened to show it to me. When I first saw the opening, my mental reaction was ‘Whaaaa….?” But as soon as I finished the first episode, I was hooked!
Each episode in this anime is about 5 minutes, with the opening being about a minute and a half of that time, so the episodes are actually quite short. I finished the entire thing in about two and a half hours. There are 26 episodes in total.
I must say one of the reasons why I love this anime is the fact that everyone is an animal, and yet look like they are just people in costumes. And in opposition to other anime, where a character will sometimes go Chibi to lighten the mood or to be humorous, in Demekko Doubutsu it’s the opposite: The characters and constantly in a chibi form, and when they get serious they turn ‘realistic’ and dramatic, that even includes a voice change (That also sound really niiice </fangirl rant>).
The animation is adorable, and well done. The characters are each unique and each bringing their own deep and yet simple characteristics to the Useless Forest. This anime is cute, light-hearted, and perfect if you want to watch something humorous and entertaining. It’s a great anime to just sit back, relax, and laugh too.
Content warning will contain spoilers.
Suggested Age level: 5+
Language: A few D and H words (If I remember correctly) scattered here and there
Adult/suggestive content: Usahara is constantly smoking, and Yunihiko is always drinking sake. On one or two occasions he and Usahara get drunk, which might be considered a bad influence on younger children. In episode 20, when Uruno is playing by himself with hand puppets he made, he imagines Chiiko, his crush and himself as siblings in love, but as different species, so nothings ‘wrong’.
Extras:
Wallpaper: LINK (Credit: Naniesan.free.fr)
If you’ve seen this anime, please share your thoughts!