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

Jan 3, 2017

wyvernwings

Recommended

The story of Souta and Poco is, to say the least, heartwarming. Over the course of twelve episodes, the relationship between the two unlikely pair, a web designer and a shape-shifting tanuki, unfolds as they interact with other characters from both rural and urban environments. The general message conveyed is that of familial love and bonds; however, this does not only pertain to conventional families but found ones, too. Though the plot lacks complexity, aside from the occasional drama that comes with exertion and exhaustion on Poco's part (as maintaining a human form is demanding), the story is compelling and certainly draws the viewer in ... with its music (most notably the fun op and soothing ed), its gentle art style, and its well-crafted simplicity. Poco's charm captivated me immediately (just look at those eyes!) and my affection toward him only grew with each episode and his childish antics. Overall, each episode brought a smile to my face, even though there certainly were moments where the story brought tears to my eyes, and the end was satisfying, albeit a bit heart-wrenching.

If you enjoyed series like Barakamon or Usagi Drop, you'll probably find yourself falling in love with this one, too.

~This is my first review, but I plan on writing more in the future.~

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 31, 2017

Dcat682

Mixed Feelings

I spent all night binge watching Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari and now I'm flat out frustrated. The anime kept me entertained for the majority of the series, but then episode 10 comes around making Poco as a character irrelevant. He was simply a plot device personified and then thrown out at the end.

Why so much character building over something that apparently is insignificant to the actual story. The story could have easily been told in one episode without Poco without frustrating me to the point of pulling my hair out.

I really enjoyed the series until the last episode when it ... felt like I were given two middle fingers from the writer. We were given 11 episodes of build up for what felt like a Neon Genesis Evangellion ending.

Poco had a massive growing experience learning as things progressed making me fall in love with him again and again only for the ending to tear all sense of knowledge and experience he had from the 11 previous episodes away.

Tl;Dr: Good build up; horrid end.

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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