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 It's pretty late, but this show is really starting to blow up in Japan, and it seems to be making some more waves over here as well, so I figured a thread might be nice since there's some interesting things to talk about regarding the show, and there seems to be more and more fanart by the day. Anyway, Kemono Friends is the story of a young girl who's lost her memories and suddenly wakes up in the middle of Japari Park, a gigantic safari park where the mysterious "Sandstar" substance has caused the animals to change into partially human forms. They seem to have adapted their lifestyles to their new forms, but keep many of their animal instincts.  The girl comes across a friendly and energetic Serval Cat, who is fascinated by her and wonders what kind of animal (or as she calls it, "Friend") she is.   Unfortunately, Serval can't figure it out and the girl doesn't remember, so she gives her the nickname Bag-chan because she's got a large backpack with her. At Serval's suggestion, they set off together for the Library so they can figure out what kind of Friend Bag-chan is.  Meanwhile, Raccoon and Fennec Fox appear to be chasing the two, as Raccoon believes something bad will happen to the park if they can't catch them.  Along their journey, they'll meet lots of new Friends and help them with their problems, have tons of fun, and maybe uncover the secrets of Japari Park! So you're probably wondering why a show with such janky looking CG is worth a poo poo. But despite it's limitations in that respect, there's a lot of care put into the characters. The staff seem to have gone the extra mile to ensure their costumes, movements, and mannerisms evoke the animals they represent, and have done their best to portray that with the limited tools they have. Add some fantastic voice acting on top of that, as well as a simple and charming story where Bag-chan and Serval help various Friends deal with their problems and conflicts on their way to the Library, and you wind up with a wonderfully calming and heartwarming show that's rather endearing in it's limited animation. There's lots of Cool Animal Facts along the way as well so you might pick up something you didn't know before! It's also got a pretty interesting undercurrent of mystery surrounding Bag-chan and the nature of the park, with little hints here and there as to what's really going on outside the park. I think this pic sums it up the best:  Or maybe this:  At any rate, Japan definitely seems to have latched on to it pretty hard after the first couple of episodes. It's a bit of a shame that the manga is over and the game has already shut down, so this is somewhat of a last stand for the franchise, but maybe the popularity spike will help revitalize it. Anyway, please give it a try, especially if you're into into healing-type shows or cute-girls-doing-cute-things sort of stuff. I think you might enjoy it despite it's initial appearances!  (ps the OP is catchy as gently caress) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeq2M6_sJP8
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Feb 15, 2017 13:51
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 16:30 |
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hell yeah, kemono friends ftw "friends' IQ changes while they're watching kemono friends" https://twitter.com/q_d__b_p/status/829995093117460480 https://u.nya.is/pmztht.webm  https://u.nya.is/cmyoda.webm thoughts on the dark past? personally i think some sort of science experiment got interrupted by a volcanic eruption caused perhaps by the sandstar meteorite. it would explain all the destruction (and lava duh) and why new kemono friends are still popping up. i figure the kemono friends that recognize bag are some of the older ones, from back when humans hadn't died out yet. though of course the alien invaders remain unexplained, unless they too are the consequence of the experiments... who knows
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Feb 15, 2017 14:08
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Why do they have 4 ears?
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Feb 15, 2017 14:23
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I'll probably check a couple of eps to see what the fuss is about. Thanks for the good OP cathead.
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Feb 15, 2017 14:46
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idgi
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Feb 15, 2017 15:05
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Davincie posted:thoughts on the dark past? personally i think some sort of science experiment got interrupted by a volcanic eruption caused perhaps by the sandstar meteorite. it would explain all the destruction (and lava duh) and why new kemono friends are still popping up. i figure the kemono friends that recognize bag are some of the older ones, from back when humans hadn't died out yet. though of course the alien invaders remain unexplained, unless they too are the consequence of the experiments... who knows I still think the Ceruleans are related to the Sandstar somehow, like they might have been responsible for getting it there in the first place, but it's also possible that they were generated by it or something. At any rate the show kind of ignored them after the first ep or two, which is probably for the better as the character interaction stuff is way more interesting. One interesting thing after the latest episode is that Raccoon has a red feather that will get Boss/Lucky Beast to talk. Bag-chan has a green feather. The guide character from the game has both:  Her hat also looks very similar to Bag-chan's, so I'm curious to see if she's shown in the anime at all. One other neat thing I noticed is that in each episode, Bag-chan seems to be the one to provide the sort of logical thinking and problem solving that the Friends don't usually think of, and it's usually that thing that winds up being the push that helps sort out whatever issue they have. So, as a human, that's sort of her "special ability" and the thing that sets her apart from other Friends. Naksu posted:Why do they have 4 ears? Because they're halfway in between human and animal, so they ended up with both!
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Feb 15, 2017 15:20
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Just watched the first ep. The CG definitely looks cheep in motion and several bits look ugly (I swear the grass in the chase scene was literally a 2d sprite). The actual story bits weren't bad, but they were pretty generic. It looks like episode 2 will be better, though, since it's setting up all these characters. I'll probably check that episode out to decide of I'll continue or not, but yeah, the first episode was pretty mediocre overall
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Feb 15, 2017 17:06
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Julias posted:Just watched the first ep. The CG definitely looks cheep in motion and several bits look ugly (I swear the grass in the chase scene was literally a 2d sprite). The actual story bits weren't bad, but they were pretty generic. It looks like episode 2 will be better, though, since it's setting up all these characters. I'll probably check that episode out to decide of I'll continue or not, but yeah, the first episode was pretty mediocre overall I wasn't sold at all on the first ep either, honestly. It wasn't until they started running into the other characters and interacting with them that the show really took off for me. Anyway MORE FANART  Obligatory jojo ref:        
cathead fucked around with this message at 18:32 on Feb 15, 2017 |
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Feb 15, 2017 17:39
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not watching this drek but shoebills are huge assholes and the video of a japanese zookeeper cuddling one makes me very uncomfortable
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Feb 15, 2017 19:15
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There's something very hypnotic about the show, I like it a lot. I'm very upset that the keeper segments don't have actual footage of the animals though.
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Feb 15, 2017 19:38
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ah but there's actual zookeepers from japan and america, and also a random guy who likes imaginary snakes
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Feb 15, 2017 20:11
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I haven't caught up yet on the later episodes, but I'm liking the aspect of Baggins human superpower is kind of a low level epitome of "Humanity gently caress Yeah!" and I'm excited if that keeps going on. And Humans are technically just smarter animals so I can forgive the Kemono's not recognizing a human as a human.
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Feb 15, 2017 20:23
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Raenir Salazar posted:I haven't caught up yet on the later episodes, but I'm liking the aspect of Baggins human superpower is kind of a low level epitome of "Humanity gently caress Yeah!" and I'm excited if that keeps going on. Yeah just about every episode at some point tends to involve Bag-chan figuring out some way to help out by just seeing things from another perspective or thinking things through logically. I also think Serval deserves some credit for her relentless optimism and the fact that her whole worldview seems to be that everyone's got something that they're good at or that makes them special, and if you think you don't then you just haven't figured it out yet. She seems to get very excited when she learns what cool thing someone else can do. It's also kinda admirable how she just up and decides to help this rando girl that showed up one day trek across the entire park just so she can find out what she is. The whole thing is very positive and pretty heartwarming. 
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Feb 15, 2017 23:53
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Oh, I was wondering what show this was from: https://twitter.com/ktwfc/status/831443993930051585
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Feb 15, 2017 23:58
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In case you were wondering why Crested Ibis was singing about searching for her friends:Wikipedia posted:At one time, the crested ibis was widespread in Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, and Russia. It has now disappeared from most of its former range. The last wild crested ibis in Japan died in October 2003, with the remaining wild population found only in Shaanxi province of China until reintroduction of captive bred birds back into Japan in 2008. They were previously thought to be extinct in China too, until 1981 when only seven ibises were seen in Shaanxi, China.  Wikipedia posted:On September 25, 2008, the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Preservation Center released 10 of the birds as part of its crested ibis restoration program, which aims to introduce 60 ibises into the wild by 2015. This marks the first time the rare bird has returned to the Japanese wild since 1981. 
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Feb 16, 2017 04:30
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honestly the first two episodes of this kinda sucked (the montage of animals in ep2 was fun though. "I'm Tasmanian Devil!") but just like in the pic in the OP, something about ep3 and its character interaction was actually compelling. really enjoyed the show from then on, since they kept introducing interesting characters to focus episodes around. though i could do without all these samey beige/orange catgirls and:kater posted:I'm very upset that the keeper segments don't have actual footage of the animals.
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Feb 16, 2017 04:59
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I was wondering why the Japanese internet was going crazy over this show so I jumped in to episode 5. 5 minutes in: WTF am I just watching a NHK educational kids show 10 minutes in: why am I still watching this and why can't I turn it off End: すーごい！ たーのしー！
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Feb 16, 2017 07:53
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There is an absolutely insane amount of fanart getting turned out at this point.        
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Feb 16, 2017 23:40
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Feb 16, 2017 23:51
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 I tried and I still can't figure out what's going on in that picture.
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Feb 17, 2017 00:10
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a performing friend!
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Feb 17, 2017 00:11
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Hell yes.
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Feb 17, 2017 00:28
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Found some sweet OP covers too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5H7iwUYvW58 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeWIDFNEy1E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JKPnZT86vU
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Feb 17, 2017 00:44
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Srice posted:Hell yes.
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Feb 17, 2017 13:20
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cathead posted:
It's Popee the Performer! If you haven't ever seen an episode or three, I suggest you look it up. It's transcendent art. 
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Feb 17, 2017 13:30
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Fart more like
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Feb 17, 2017 13:35
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This show is a great example of how a visual medium can overcome limited visuals well. The cgi is jank and really just kinda not needed at all and the general concept is incredibly simple and silly, but the sheer amount of effort every other step puts in makes it better than the 'eh, ok that happened' show it'd normally be. This is a cute show with fun animal bits, the simple story is treated actually as an important thing regardless and they manage to blend the whole typical 'MY PAST IS HIDDEN FROM ME BUT I BET IT'S NOT HAPPY' trope with silly fun, and the voice actors and designers go hard to bring their character ideas to life. Any show that gives you a shoebill girl who matches the animal's creepy way too intense death stares who's actually not that bad but just has a case of resting murder face is a solid show in my book.
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Feb 17, 2017 16:00
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Looks like I should try episode 2 after all.
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Feb 17, 2017 16:15
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Julias posted:It's Popee the Performer! Haha yeah, I watched a few eps of that and now it makes way more sense. And here I thought I was pretty up to date on all the weird poo poo coming out of Japan! Next week is going to be some kind of cooking battle with some owls:  Also, I found out that Friends that were previously extinct don't have the white highlights in their eyes, like Aurochs in this pic. Apparently extinct species were able to be cloned Jurassic-Park-style in Japari Park before the Sandstar hit, so afterward they turned into Friends too.  Anyway, a bit more fanart:    https://u.nya.is/mqaerc.webm https://u.nya.is/nfisqd.webm    
cathead fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Feb 17, 2017 |
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Feb 17, 2017 16:23
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https://u.nya.is/mpetil.mp4 https://twitter.com/Gundam_TV/status/831837987658797056
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Feb 18, 2017 00:11
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Apparently we've gotta get some monster hunter up in this.
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Feb 18, 2017 00:21
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Feb 19, 2017 08:50
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Feb 19, 2017 12:44
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Tatum Girlparts posted:Any show that gives you a shoebill girl who matches the animal's creepy way too intense death stares who's actually not that bad but just has a case of resting murder face is a solid show in my book. Have you seen a shoebill hunt before? They're one of the birds that makes it totally obvious that they clearly evolved from dinosaurs. https://youtu.be/4ArjlPAU_X4
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Feb 19, 2017 14:52
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The Fan art is really the best   OPs been stuck in my head for over a week now. Especially this version by the guy who wrote it http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm30600722
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Feb 19, 2017 15:14
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.Clash posted:OPs been stuck in my head for over a week now. Especially this version by the guy who wrote it http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm30600722 welcome to youkoso hahahahahah
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Feb 19, 2017 18:13
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TIL that Mine Yoshizaki did character designs for this and that Nexon isn't reviving the mobile game. https://twitter.com/yosRRX/status/823119094274658304 https://twitter.com/yosRRX/status/823962191292289024 https://twitter.com/yosRRX/status/821462632519450625 https://twitter.com/yosRRX/status/757157090972491776
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Feb 19, 2017 21:31
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Feb 19, 2017 21:47
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every character being designed by the same artist is why they aren't such a clashing mess of designs like many other mobages
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Feb 19, 2017 21:49
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Davincie posted:every character being designed by the same artist is why they aren't such a clashing mess of designs like many other mobages pretty much every aesthetic thing about kemono friend besides the animation is surprisingly high quality: the character designs themselves are really good and creative, the backgrounds are often nice, and the music is unexpectedly good
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Feb 19, 2017 21:58
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