This review is spoilerfree. 120350120361120354120373 120357120368 120357120358120358120371 120357120368 120362120367 120373120361120358120362120371 120359120371120358120358 120373120362120366120358? At this point I am sick and tired of repeating the same thing I have been saying for the past couple of years but it goes without saying that we all have our own unique sense of humour. What might have person A rolling on the floor laughing could leave person B completely stonefaced and unfazed and the reverse is just as true. No single style or type of comedy stands head and horns above the others and anything no matter how bizarre it seems conceptually can tickle someones funny bone. That said as much as I love absurdist comedy and tend to laugh at the dumbest stuff possible Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantanmuch like both seasons of Pop Team Epichttps://anilist.co/anime/98549/Poputepipikku/ which I have reviewed beforeis not entertaining in the slightest no matter how you decide to slice it. As harsh as it may sound this freshfromtheoven seasonal is nothing more than yet another flavourofthemonth gimmickriddled fad that will soon fade into utter obscurity leaving barely a hoofprint behind. 500https://i.ur.com/1xP1XjW.jpeg So what is really wrong with the show? Why am I along with so many other people so hellbent on voicing our disappointment and frustration with its content? Well it may come off as a complete shock to some but the series despite all its supposed quirkiness and uniqueness has no clue how to create and maintain a genuinely funny moment. Most if not all of the jokes are inherently and extremely disorganised nonsensical and haphazard. While that randomness and abnormality are what should make them interesting and compelling in reality they lack the timing delivery and flow needed to pull it off and land effectively. Just because the comedy is meant to be absurd does not mean that the jokes themselves ought to be absurdly wishywashy. They are simply too lukewarm scatterbrained and stagnant to really pack a punch. Naturally the quality of each of these gags varies from one to another but they always follow and fall back on the same predictable formula: the punchline is either about the protagonist being a deer having antlers or the characters yelling some gibberish at the top of their lungs. Now you might argue that is exactly what an anime about animated deer should have to offer and I would agree with you if not for a small yet very crucial fact: there is no deviation from this formula at any point and the jokes themselves are neither set up properly nor conclude in a satisfying manner. They come and go without affecting you in any way shape or form. As a result once a gag concludes you are left feeling like a deer in the headlights unsure of what the hell you have just witnessed or how you are supposed to react to it. But it is not just the writing that bears the blame for the staggering lack of humour and hilarity. The central gimmick and other adjacent quirks are equally responsible for completely screwing the show over and burying it alive before it even had the chance to spread its antlers. Turning a generic cutesy anime girl into our favourite carloving animal might seem novel or even hilarious at first yet there is no universe in which this silly premise can carry the entirety of the animes humour on its back. There is only so much you can do with such an idea and it quickly becomes apparent how little wit the show possesses. The running gags are overused to the point of inducing nausea and any and all deerrelated skits are not amusing in the slightest. The few scenes that have some comedic potential are the ones that do not rely on Shikanokos appearance supernatural powers or woodland heritage to do the trick. But as you might have already guessed they are too scarce and undercooked to be entertaining. But hey at least the references the show is very fond of throwing in are silly and savvy right? Pfft as if. I firmly believe that references are not funny on their own. Simply showing mentioning or alluding to a wellknown property is not going to make everyone laugh. For references to be truly laughterworthy you have to be innovative and playful. You need to forge them into a ridiculous though respectful mockery of the source material that can and will stand on its own even if the addressee does not recognise the thing that is being satirised. Instead of merely slapping them onto the screen and expecting the viewers to giggle out loud because they get it the series should have utilised them to create meaningful wellthoughtout skits. As it stands all of those references peppered throughout do not enhance the jokes at all. Take them away and nothing of value is lost. The only reference that really stands out to me is the one poking fun at Disneys extreme strictness for copyright violations. It is snappy outofnowhere and brilliantly introduced in the conversation. Other than that the references are a whole bunch of tedious drivel and add absolutely nothing to the scenes in which they appear. 500https://i.ur.com/P8hQKZS.gif What really doomed the show in retrospect was its runtime. Shikanokos twelve standardlength episodes are painfully uneventful and boring to an excruciating degree. While it is not unheard of for a comedy show to work wonderfully as a fullyfledged onecour show or even a twocour one in the case of this daring darling cutting the episode duration in half would have been a far more efficient but also more logical decision. Though it would not have fixed some of the more inherent issues it suffers from such a procedure would at the very least have made it less monotonous to watch. Being unfunny is one thing but being boring on top of that should be classified as a health hazard and come with a warning label. With all of this in mind it is not difficult to see how and why my enjoyment of the show was flatout nonexistent. Again and again I was forced to sit through each episode watching whatever the hell it had in store for me with utter apathy. None of the jokes really landed none of the references were endeering or creative enough for me to appreciate them none of the gimmicks had any staying power and none of the episodes felt like they actually deserved and needed the 20 or so minutes of run time. Nonetheless despite my extreme negativity I would not say that Shikanoko is among the worst things I have seen. In fact I do not even feel particularly strongly about it as a whole. To put it more bluntly it is so lukewarm and indifferenceengendering that it does not even warrant intense disdain or a SUPER harsh rating. In a few months I will probably forget about this shows existenceand that might be the most damning and destructive piece of criticism I can direct towards it. Still before I leave you with the closing remarks I have to acknowledge a few positives. Mind you there are not many of those in here but I would look like a doeeyed goober if I did not mention them: the memes the marketing and the voice acting. It is easy to see how impactful the animes marketing was to its initial success and popularitywithout the fawntastic opening it would have never taken off the way it did. The same applies to the memes it spawned and will continue to spawn for the foreseeable future since they are a hundred times funnier than anything in the actual show. Finally you can really tell the seiyuu had a blast voicing the characters doing their best to bring life to the lines they had been given even though the final product leaves much to be desired. They the opening the gifs and the goddamn brainrot memes infuse this sorry shitpost of a product with way too much longevity and liveliness for what it is worth and it is impressive to a depressing degree how deerivative and drab it would be without their presence. 500https://i.ur.com/brqWaGV.gif Oh deer. To cut to the chase and stop beating around the bush like an unruly beast Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan is undeniably a strange show both on paper and in practice. Even if you go in with minimal or even zero expectations the series will still find a way to let you down and bore you to tears. It is supposed to be one of those turnoffyourbrainandletitrot kind of shows but by the time you get to episode three there is nothing left to keep you interested in its antics. Haha she is a deer with antlers sticking out of her empty head Haha they are so loud Haha there are so many crackers everywhere Hilariousthis shtick can only take you so far and man do those gimmicks run out of steam fast. But hey at least it is over right? 120347120361120358120378 120365120362120372120373120358120367 120373120368 120366120368120368120372120358120362120356.