My Deer Friend Nokotan Criticized for Not Being Funny

The recent anime adaptation of "Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan (My Deer Friend Nokotan)" has come under fire due to jokes towards the protagonist for "being a virgin," despite the opening sequence being extremely popular with fans.

"Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan" tells the story of Torako, a perfect student whose past as a delinquent is unknown to her classmates. Everything changes when Nokotan, a transfer student with antlers, enters his life. Antlers aren't the only strange thing about Nokotan, as his deer nose can sniff out Torako's secret past. Whether at school or at the zoo, chaos follows this deer-eyed girl at every turn. Torako has a lot of questions: is Nokotan a deer, a girl, or something in between?

The anime adaptation, currently airing and produced by WIT STUDIO, has received a mix of praise and criticism. While the opening sequence has captured the attention and excitement of many viewers, the anime's content has generated negative reactions, especially due to the repetitive jokes about the protagonist's virginity.

"Jokes about virginity are in bad taste and really made me uncomfortable... Although I admit that in the 2000s this would have pleased otakus."
"The opening is popular, but the main content is not up to par. The publicity was successful, but many find the anime 'boring' or 'too pushy and unpleasant' with virginity jokes."
"Jokes about virginity are old-fashioned, and bawdy jokes are too abrupt."
"The anime was about to lose me with its mediocre humor, and the jokes about virginity ended up ruining my confidence in the humor of the series. Although I am hopeful that it will improve over time."
"I lost interest in anime when they started making awkward jokes about virginity."

My Deer Friend Nokotan Criticized for Not Being Funny

Despite these negative comments, many fans are still tuning in to the anime, hoping that the story and characters will evolve positively.

"When someone without intelligence is given the task of doing comedy, it ends up being sexual harassment or bullying instead of something funny. This anime reminds me of the lesson that it takes intelligence to do comedy."
"Shikanoko: I read a little bit of the original and the jokes about virginity made me think that it was an old work that fans had been waiting for to be adapted into anime. But then I researched and saw that it started to be published in 2019, and I was surprised."
"Shikanoko: The comedy element doesn't quite gel and I was about to crash when the virginity jokes came along and ruined my confidence in the show's humor. Maybe it will improve if they put together a better team, so I'll continue to see it, but I don't know."
"Shikanoko: the drawings are cute and the comedy is good, but the jokes about virginity and Nokotan insistently revealing Torako's personal information (his past as a criminal), making fun of his bra and saying that he peed on the bed until he was 10 years old, are not funny at all, they are harassment."
"Shikanoko: As soon as they started with disgusting jokes about virginity, I lost the desire to continue seeing him."
"Shikanoko: I saw it because it was trending, but I found it so unpleasant that I gave up in the first half of the first episode. Aside from the comedy being boring, abrupt jokes about virginity are meaningless. It seems like they think that's going to attract otakus, but it's too much."
"The jokes about virginity are so old-fashioned and disgusting that I couldn't stand it, but what's worse is the insidious mentality that you can do anything to smart, proud girls, and that it's fun to humiliate them with sexual harassment. That attitude is unpleasant and reveals an insidious grudge."