This fall anime season has sequels, slice-of-life, and overly-long revenge adventure titles. Ecchi shows? Not so much. But, a trend line connected several shows across genres. Pets. Magical Pets! Fairy Tail 100 Years Quest continued into the fall with talking cats who can sprout wings and fly. Shangri-La Frontier resumed its tale of immersive gaming with a lop-eared bunny companion. Even Kon from Bleach gave Ichigo a soft landing for his brief cameo. Here are my three favorite magical pets from the fall season because they smack my nostalgia bone (Natsume Yuujinchou), display the healing power of mushrooms (Kinokoinu), and play the best hype man for their owner (Acro Trip).
Acro Trip’s Magical Pet Likes Fishing, Boomer Posting, and His Magical Girl
I highlighted Acro Trip earlier this season as the PG version of Gushing Over Magical Girls. Comparisons to Venalita were the post’s focus, but Berry Blossom’s magical companion revealed a compelling origin story. Watch Episode 7 for details! Mashirou (Kengo Kawanishi — Soushirou Hoshina from Kaiju No. 8) has solid bona fides for a magic creature. A tragic history, surprising connections, and deeper motivations add depth to any mahou shoujo story, even for a meta farce like Acro Trip. But is he cute? Can you cuddle him? Would you buy his plushie? Yes, yes, and yes! His baseball-sized eyes match his oversized bell collar. Plus, he cares for Berry Blossom’s career and reputation. However, even a magical pet needs days off, so he goes fishing. Cats love fish no matter what shocking backstories they have.
Kinokoinu Takes You on a Healing Magic Mushroom Trip
- What is Kinokoinu about? How would you react if a mushroom in your backyard came to life and resembled a chubby dog? That’s the premise behind Kinokoinu (きのこいぬ, Kinokoinu Mushroom Pup), where a picture book author and artist mourns his pet dog so much that a mushroom becomes one to comfort him. “Kinoko (茸)” means “mushroom,” and “inu (犬)” means “dog.” But Kinokoinu (how the author dubs the intelligent fungus) is a magical pet. It becomes a new companion and slowly draws the depressed author out of his funk.
- Who’s in it?
- Kinokoinu — Daiki Kobayashi (Hermes from Tensura) The protective mushroom puppy loves melon pan, learning how to write, and making takoyaki. It sometimes chastises its owner harshly.
- Hotaru Yuuyami — Yuuto Uemura (Tamaki Amajiki from My Hero Academia) The young picture book author became listless after his childhood dog died of old age. Kinokoinu helped him move on.
- Where can I watch it? Kinokoinu (Kinokoinu Mushroom Pup) streams on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio with multiple language subtitles.
Taking hallucinogens in Japan is severely illegal, so I can only imagine the psilocybin jokes American and European markets made after the first episode. Was Hotaru merely high and hallucinating a mushroom-colored teddy bear walking around? Thankfully, Kinokoinu has third-party objective confirmation from Hotaru’s childhood friend (and editor) and a mushroom scientist who fell in love with him. Kinokoinu acts more like a toddler than a magical pet. But it could be the audience under the influence of magic mushrooms. How else do you explain a mushroom-themed plushie cooking takoyaki balls on its own?
Nyanko-sensei is the Sake-Loving Magical Pet of Natsume Yuujinchou
- What is Natsume Yuujinchou about? The slice-of-life tale follows a lonely boy who can see supernatural beings whose names his grandmother had written down in her “Book of Friends.” Names impart power to these beings, so the nameless would eventually seek them back. With the help of his self-proclaimed bodyguard, Nyanko-sensei, Natsume befriends youkai in his own fashion.
- Who’s in it?
- Takashi Natsume — Hiroshi Kamiya (Koyomi Araragi from Monogatari Series) After relatives passed him around after he lost his parents, Natsume found stability with rural relatives and an alcohol and snack-loving youkai.
- Nyanko-sensei / Madara — Kazuhiko Inoue (Gildarts from Fairy Tail) The white wolf youkai had been inside a maneki neko (beckoning cat) figure for so long that he used it as a second form. He claims he’s only sticking around Takashi to take the Book of Friends from him after he dies. In actuality, though, he loves Takashi’s aunt’s cooking and a steady supply of sake.
- Where can I watch it? All seven seasons of Natsume Yuujinchou (Natsume’s Book of Friends) stream on Crunchyroll in Japanese audio with multiple language subtitles.
A healing anime about things that go bump in the night is why I started watching Japanese media. You don’t get that crossover material in American pop culture! Natsume Yuujinchou captures the old-fashioned slice-of-life energy because most episodes offer self-enclosed stories. However, the anime has plot progression and relationship consistency. For example, its seventh season shows Natsume dealing more with exorcism clans and organizations. Although that’s not good for his youkai friends. But the best reason to watch is Nyanko-sensei always asking for snacks, playing a talking cat, and getting drunk with the local youkai. Sure. His Madara form usually saves the day from dangerous situations, but it’s still no match for the mighty Natsume Punch!
Magical Pets’ Power Directly Proportional to Cuteness
Of the three here, Kinokoinu would definitely drag the other two on a magic mushroom tour of his backyard. Mashirou from Acro Trip is cute enough in Berry Blossom’s arms but not so much by himself. And Nyanko-sensei only acts precious when he begs for seconds from Natsume’s aunt. Natsume Yuujinchou’s humor always involves food, drink, and hanging out somewhere. Think of the color pink. Kinokoinu has inherent advantages on the adorableness index. Plus, his shape and size match those of a teddy bear. Sprinkle those magic mushroom spores around, and then everyone will have an extra fun time. Nyanko-sensei doesn’t need the help, though. Drinking sake underneath a tree with his youkai buddies is all he wants.
Thank you for reading this post about some of the magical pets of the Fall 2024 anime season. I believe Kinokoinu is the cutest magical pet of the season, but what do you think? Are there any other magical pets out there? Would you share a drink with Nyanko-sensei? Let us know in the comments below!
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