REVIEW: ‘My Deer Friend Nokotan’ Episode 2 — “Deer Meets Darkness Girl”

The premiere of My Deer Friend Nokotan (Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan) was one of the wildest starts to an anime in recent history. My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2, “Deer Meets Darkness Girl,” continues to up the ante as the adventures of Nokotan (Megumi Han) and Koshitan (Saki Fujita) continue.

My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 starts by showing the aforementioned “Darkness Girl” spying on Koshitan as she is delivering supplies. We get the series standard “Shika!” chants with the photorealistic CGI deer as she is revealed. This bit is a constant in the series but still delivers every single time.

One of My Deer Friend Nokotan’s main characters is the narrator and he plays an important role in My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2. The narrator is used to recap the first episode as well as set the stage for this one, but he also converses with Koshitan. This breaking of the fourth wall works really well to set up what is about to happen next.

It also gives a better look into Koshitan’s internal dialogue while chaos happens around her. In My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 we get a scene where she is talking all about how excited she is to spend time in the club room. She worked really hard to make it look nice and relaxing. But then it all comes crashing down as soon as she turns the corner and sees it completely vandalized and destroyed.

The drastic tonal shifts are one of the biggest comedic delivery devices in My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2. Koshitan’s outward personality of a prim and proper student body president and class rep juxtaposed with her past as a delinquent are constantly at odds. Whenever she starts to be happy or “normal,” all hell breaks loose. The chaos that ensues escalates every time and delivers some really solid comedy.

Koshitan and Nokotan’s relationship continues to evolve here as well. As Nokotan is being baited by the Darkness Girl, Koshitan shows genuine concern for her new classmate. It is also revealed that the Darkness Girl is Koshitan’s little sister Anko. It adds a whole new complex layer to these characters all while keeping the comedic base the series aims for.

Anko believes Koshitan has been abandoning her for Nokotan and takes matters into her own hands. She has a point, but her mind runs wild and things inevitably escalate way further than intended. Anko thinks the two are lovers, so of course the rational answer is to kill Nokotan. Oh and make a lot of jokes about virginity, another staple in the show early on.

All of this leads to a duel between Anko and Nokotan. This challenge is a subversion of typical Shonen anime battle tropes. It sets up this massive battle between the characters and gets viewers ready for an actual battle. But then it turns out to just be a game show challenge. It is also great that the rest of the characters in the show just go along with whatever is happening. A giant game show stage set up in the middle of a school? Yeah, no problem. Heck, the host is even their teacher. Koshitan is, once again, the only one who ever sees anything wrong with everything happening around her.

The game show is a masterclass in eviscerating someone. Instead of answering fun questions about Koshitan, it is all about humiliating her at every turn. Each question gets more and more invasive and she has to sit there and face it all in front of her classmates who see this as completely normal. As Koshitan’s world devolves into chaos and the hijinks escalate, it becomes more and more entertaining for the viewers.

The jokes start very similar to the first episode and there are only a few new bits thrown in. However, it is the way they are delivered that makes it entertaining. My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 constantly lulls viewers into believing that something normal is about to happen before flipping it and diving back into the same pool of jokes. The visual bits help enhance the humor too, something Wit Studio does a great job of delivering.

The one downside of this approach is it will eventually get stale if it does not mix things up. My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 does a good job at trying to do that but ultimately does feel very similar to the first episode. The wacky story beats help and there are plenty of ways to expand on that going forward, but the same recipe can only deliver for so long. Still, for now anyway, the jokes continue to land quite well.

My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 is a hilarious and wild ride from start to finish as the world continues to evolve. The recipe is working well for now as Koshitan’s nightmare becomes our entertainment.

My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 2 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.