Farewell Nokotan?! Long Live the Deer Club!
Episode 12 of My Deer Friend Nokotan begins with Kumatori discovering a deer den. Kumatori faints. The narrator chimes in and tells the audience a huge deer storm is about to occur in Hino City, the series’s setting.
What is Deer’s Den? What is Nokotan’s affiliation with Deer’s Den?
Nokotan tells Koshi, Anko, and Bashame that the Deer Den’s assassins are coming to Hino City soon. She tells the group that Kumatori told her this through a direct message on Twitter. Koshi questions Nokotan about last week’s cliffhanger. Nokotan tells Koshi to abandon that thought. Anko chimes in and shares intel about Deer’s Den with the girls.
She tells Koshi and the others Deer’s Den is a secret organization. Anko says they specialize in training specific deer types. Nokotan confirms she’s from Deer’s Den and left to pursue “important things.” She says her pursuers pinpointed her location by watching the anime they’re from.
Nokotan argues the assassins want to capture and return her to Deer’s Den because she’s a traitor.
What happens to Nokotan during her dance competition with Kyun? Why does Koshi get involved and who wins?
Kyun, one of the assassins, arrives at the Deer Club. Anko explains Kyun’s origins and activities to the audience. Nokotan challenges Kyun to a duel. The two compete in a dance competition. If Kyun wins, Nokotan must return to Deer’s Den. If Nokotan wins, she’ll receive a year’s supply of deer crackers.
Nokotan and Kyun dance. After that, Ukai asks Tsunoda to choose the best dancer. Tsunoda chooses Kyun and Nokotan yells at Tsunoda for choosing Kyun over her. Then, men in deer masks arrive and place Nokotan inside a cage.
Koshi is willing to let Nokotan go. Ukai reminds Koshi that if Nokotan departs, the Deer Club will be disbanded. Also, if that happens, Koshi must pay back the club’s funds. This convinces Koshi to challenge Kyun to a duel. Koshi and Kyun dance and Tsunoda says it’s a draw.
Nokotan dresses up in her flower arrangement sensei attire. She votes for Kyun and awards Kyun a deer cracker.
Who are Chikamaru and Hana? Do Nokotan and her friends defeat this duo?
The next group of assassins arrives and Nokotan’s nervous. We learn they’re named Chikamaru and Hana. Anko informs us about their activities and where they’re from. We learn they’re kids in costumes. Ukai announces the competition will switch to a two-vs.-two format. She announces Koshi, Nokotan, Chikamaru, and Hana will compete in a mind-reading game.
Hana and Chikamaru guess each other’s thoughts correctly. Koshi questions the competition’s legitimacy. Then, Koshi and Nokotan try to guess each other’s thoughts. Nokotan reveals her answer and Anko isn’t amused. Koshi tells Nokotan she doesn’t know what Nokotan is thinking.
Ukai announces Chikamaru and Hana as the victors. The Deer’s Den folks lock Nokotan up again. Neko and the others step in to assist Koshi and the others. The narrator explains why Neko wants to help the Deer Club out. Before Chiharu and Kinu face Chikamaru and Hana in the competition, Chikamaru receives an alert on his phone.
He learns someone’s birthday is today. Anko explains that Chikamaru and Hana must celebrate an Ojika Town child’s birthday. Chikamaru and Hana forfeit to fulfill their birthday duties.
Who is Sento? Does Nokotan defeat Sento?
Bashame arrives and hands Nokotan a letter from Kumatori. Nokotan learns Deer’s Den’s best assassin, Sento, will come soon. Nokotan and the others return to the Deer Club. Koshi re-reads Sento’s letter. Sento wants Nokotan to head to a local gym later. Koshi vows to train Nokotan for her duel with Sento.
After Koshi helps Nokotan train for her match with Sento, we cut away to the gym. Nokotan comes out first and the crowd cheers for her. Then, Sento enters the arena. The crowd cheers louder for Sento. Sento and Nokotan fight.
Nokotan puts up a decent effort. However, Sento overwhelms Nokotan with his sumo style. The first round ends and Nokotan and Koshi chat in the corner. Then, the second round starts and Nokotan pulls out a weapon. Even though it’s against the rules, one of the judges allows Nokotan to use her antler nunchucks.
Then, we receive a scenario of multiple rounds occurring and ending instantly. Nokotan and Koshi chat one more time. Then, the final round begins. Nokotan performs her deer copter technique and throws antler bombs around the arena to stop Sento. Despite Nokotan’s effort, Sento defeats her in the final round.
How does My Deer Friend Nokotan Season 1 end?
The judges interview Nokotan about her loss since Sento doesn’t talk. Nokotan argues she and Sento put up a good show and feels they’re both winners. One of the judges love Nokotan’s speech. He declares Nokotan and Sento the winners. Sento claps and agrees with Nokotan.
While the crowd cheers for Nokotan and Koshi, My Deer Friend Nokotan Season 1 ends with a shot of Nokotan striking a victory pose with Koshi.
The Episode Review
Wit Studios said, “Forget it, let’s go all out” regarding this season finale of My Deer Friend Nokotan. This episode was fast-paced and nonsensical from beginning to end. We can see some fans loving this finale and others disliking it. Nonetheless, this chapter will leave many fans laughing at the absurdities spread throughout this one.
From strange mind-reading games to its hilarious Punch-Out-like take on wrestling, this episode was wild and creative in ways. At the same time, it’s a bummer the previous subplot regarding Nokotan’s disappearance was abandoned. Although it was tackled before, it’d been interesting to see what Wit Studios would do with that story scenario.
On the other hand, this episode provides some decent world-building. The Deer’s Den folks seem interesting in concept. It’d be neat to see those characters receive more depth in a new season if one happens down the pipeline. Next to offering several emotional moments between Koshi and Nokotan, this was a decent finale.
It won’t be to everyone’s liking, but it captures this show’s random and wild atmosphere well. Hopefully, fans won’t have to wait too long for another season of this one.
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