Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari

Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, Souta Tawara returns to his hometown in Kagawa. Though his parents are no longer around, his former home and family-owned udon restaurant reminds him of the times his family was still together. Reminiscing about his childhood, Souta enters the udon restaurant and discovers a grimy young boy sleeping.

At first, Souta thinks nothing of the chance encounter and provides the boy with food and clothing. However, to his surprise, the boy suddenly sprouts a furry pair of ears and a tail! Souta soon learns that the nameless boy is actually the rumored shapeshifting tanuki that has been inhabiting Kagawa for many years. Thinking that the boy has been living a lonely life, he decides to take him in and name him Poko.

Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari follows the heartwarming relationship between Souta and Poko, and through the time they spend together, Souta recalls his own past, the place he left behind for the city, and the relationship he had with his father.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Poko Main

Kokido, Shiho Japanese

Tawara, Souta Main

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Gaogao-chan Supporting

Kuroda, Takaya Japanese

Nakajima, Shinobu Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Ooishi, Rinko Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Nagatsuma, Hiroshi Supporting

Tachibana, Shinnosuke Japanese

Fujiyama, Sae Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Kaeru Supporting

Kobayashi, Yuu Japanese

Momo Supporting

Kokido, Shiho Japanese

Souta's Mother Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko Japanese

Satomi, Tetsurou Producer

Hosoi, Shunsuke Producer

Inage, Hiroyuki Producer

Shiba, Hirokazu Producer

Reviews

Apr 1, 2024

PixelBrush

Recommended

I went in expecting another generic food anime, alongside some shape-shifter shenanigans, but instead I discovered the most heartwarming slice of life anime I've ever seen. Poco is plain adorable, and the story develops surprisingly naturally, considering the supernatural circumstances. I wish there was more to this story, but unless I read the Manga, I doubt I'll find anything more. Highly recommend it to anyone who wants to feel the need to get up and hug their loved ones.
The Art style is simply incredible too, always having this radiant warmth to it, like the pastel drawings of a child, similar to Studio Ghiblis Ponyo.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Feb 4, 2021

anxiousmxx

Mixed Feelings

I was expecting to watch an anime that's talking about Udon since the title is Udon No Kuni....

it was okay but I was kinda disappointed, the anime rarely shows something about Udon.

I was hoping that the main character will reopened the restorant but no, I get that he doesn't have to follow his father's path because he isn't his father but it just feels wrong to put Udon in the title when in reality it rarely talks about Udon. I was also hoping to see much information about Udon, but whatever, I should've not expecting so much.

Poco was cute but that's all, it's actually a ... bit suprised me when souta got too attached to Poco at the first episode, it almost felt like a "forced chemistry" but whatever.

the story is also a bit weird and it feels like the sides character are there for nothing.

I'm gonna say that it is a good anime to watch if you have much free time and like an anime with a light plot but it's not that amazing to me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Nov 16, 2017

yuji_sasaki

Not Recommended

I won't write bad review often, but sometimes I feel I have to.
This Anime bears "Udon (Noodle)" in title and the story is set in Kagawa - known as "Udon Kingdom" in Japan. The main character SOUTA is just came back from Tokyo when his father passed away, his initial intention was to close down father's once famous Udon Restaurant. You may expect this Anime is SOUTA to find out charm of Udon and succeed farther's restaurant, right? Forget about it. Through the whole episodes, almost nothing happens about Udon. Almost nothing happens with his relationship with POKO - magical Tanuki creature - neither, until ... very last two episodes.
Not only about Udon or POKO - story is terribly thin. SOUTA goes to places with POKO, meets many people, but nothing happens at all. Side characters are also thin and unattractive.
I heard rumor that, there was very strong pressure from the Producer. He promoted his protege voice actor and screenwriter, fired the original director who opposed his staffing, bringing mayhem into already budget and time crunching production. I do not know if that rumor is truth or not. However if you watch this Anime, you will feel "Something is not right".
Despite those confusion, production seems tried to do best. Artwork is fairly good, reminds me wet-grassy scent of Kagawa countryside. But damage has done - I cannot recommend this Anime at all.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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	Poll: Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Dec 24, 2016	112 replies	by EmuchiiSheets »» Nov 23, 12:09 PM
	Poll: Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 17, 2016	55 replies	by EmuchiiSheets »» Nov 23, 11:43 AM
	Poll: Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 10, 2016	60 replies	by EmuchiiSheets »» Nov 23, 11:18 AM
	Poll: Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 5 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 5, 2016	47 replies	by bankredmeadow »» Jul 31, 2022 8:51 AM
	Poll: Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Dec 3, 2016	40 replies	by HanamiDango »» Jul 13, 2022 10:37 PM

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