Hataage! Kemono Michi (Kemono Michi: Rise Up)

Professional wrestler Genzou Shibata sports the body of a mountain, but beneath his hulking appearance is a man with an extreme affection for animals. Facing off his opponents in the ring as the legendary "Animal Mask," Genzou wins the hearts of crowds everywhere with his iconic tiger persona.

During the bout for the title of World Champion against his greatest rival, the Macadamian Ogre, Genzou is suddenly summoned to a fantasy world by a princess. With her kingdom being threatened by a monster infestation, she pleads the wrestler for assistance—to which he answers by knocking her out with a German suplex! Escaping the castle and finding himself stranded in a mysterious land, Genzou decides to begin his career as a beast hunter to capture and befriend creatures far and wide. Joined by the wolf-girl Shigure, the dragon-girl Hanako, and the vampire Carmilla Vanstein, the professional wrestler pursues all kinds of dangerous requests for the sake of fulfilling his dream as a pet shop owner.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Kemono Michi

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Characters & Voice Actors

Shigure

Main

Sekine, Akira
Japanese

Shibata, Genzou

Main

Konishi, Katsuyuki
Japanese

Hiroyuki

Supporting

Suegara, Rie
Japanese

Jeeg

Supporting

Edgardo Latis, Altena

Supporting

Suegara, Rie
Japanese

Hanako

Supporting

Yagi, Yuki
Japanese

Vanstein, Carmilla

Supporting

Sakuraba, Arisa
Japanese

Misha

Supporting

Tamegai, Hana
Japanese

Joannascore Adorian Uljika, Joanna

Supporting

Amamiya, Sora
Japanese

Celes

Supporting

Koga, Aoi
Japanese

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Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Tokumura, Kenichi

Producer

Taniguchi, Hiroyasu

Producer

Kabashima, Manami

Producer

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Opening Theme

"Fight! Kemoner Mask (闘魂（ファイト）！ケモナーマスク)" by NoB with Kemoner Mask (Katsuyuki Konishi)

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Ending Theme

"Anegdot (アネクドット)" by Momosu Momosu (ももすももす)

Reviews

Dec 18, 2019

Snapshot426

Recommended

It feels like the anime gods just spin a wheel to decide what becomes an Isekai. We’ve had Isekai where the protagonist is an evil Overlord, a Hitler Loli, an Otaku, another Otaku, yet another Otaku, an Otaku who is overpowered, another Otaku who is overpowered, a Daemon Lord, a book worm, a slime, a certain blue hedgehog, you get the god-damn point. So this time, wheel has decided to land on, “Wrestler, in another world.” No doubt about it, this sounds stupid but considering that the show we are talking about today was originally created by the same author who worked on Konosuba, ...

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Dec 18, 2019

Stark700

Mixed Feelings

The golden age of isekai anime continues and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of it slowing down. Anime fans in 2019 should just accept that we’re going to get even more of these in the future from now on. And joining the expansive lineup, Kemono Michi marks its terrority with an animal lover and professional wrestler named Genzo Shibata.

Before actually watching this show, one should take notice the author of the series. Natsume Akatsuki, known for their work with the Konosuba franchise, created this anime and to no one’s surprise, his stylish humor also gets a similar treatment. Does that mean the anime ... itself is entirely made of parody? The answer is yes and no. Kemono Michi plays on its isekai tropes by introducing some of its standard running gags but also leans more into selling its humor with everything else when it has the chance to.

Taking place in a fantasy world, Genzo enters the anime as a professional wrestler. As a fan of professional wrestling myself, I was rather ecstatic to see some classic wrestling moves being used such as the German Suplex and Sharpshooter. While the anime itself doesn’t sell itself as a WWE drama story, it does put Genzo into a peculiar position. After he gets transported into this fantasy world, he gets tasked with defeating demonic beasts by a princess named Altena Elgard Ratis. The catch is that Genzo loves animals. In fact, the first few episodes easily gives away his love for animals that some may even describe him of having an animal fetish. Furthermore, Genzo has an ambition to open his own pet shop one day and being in a fantasy world opens up such a possibility. Looking at the show this way, the audience should probably not expect a serious tone of storytelling.

Watching Kemono Michi does feel like a parody at times. Genzo’s role as after meeting the wolf-girl Shigure transforms him into a dedicated beastmaster. The anime makes it clear that he wants to make friends with the monsters rather than killing them, no matter how difficult the challenge may be. His determined attitude and chivalrous personality earns him many friends throughout the story including the dragon girl Hanako, vampire maid Carmilla Vanstein, and among others. But sometimes, he has to resort to force in order to make his point. When fighting, Genzo uses a mix of his wrestling skills and brawler tactics while taking aggressive risks. The anime often oversell his fights by making them as over exaggerated as possible. The early episodes makes some evident examples such as when he puts down Altena with a German suplex.

However, the audience may wonder if there’s any sort of character development for Genzo at all. The truth is, the show doesn’t dedicate on developing him as a person but rather how he builds relationships with others. The most prominent example is with Shigure. In the early parts of the show, she mostly helps him in his goal to further her own ambitions; that is trying to become wealthy. She handles his finance problems while Genzo does the dirty work. Later on in the show, she seems to genuinely care about his well-being. Other characters he meets also begins to understand him more such as Hanako and Carmilla. The one character that seems to despise Genzo is Altena, especially after being embarrassed and not helping with her goals. However, this becomes more of a running gag than a moody revenge sub-plot. She even becomes a source of butt monkey jokes. In fact, several characters in the show carries a degree of comedy gags thanks to the brainchild of Konosuba, Natsume Akatsuki. If you’re familiar with the Konosuba franchise, you may be able to draw similarities with Genzo to Kazuma, Hanako to Megumi, Carmilla to Darkness, and in some ways, Shigure to Aqua. Someday, it would be entertaining to see the two anime get a crossover.

Combined with the sarcastic humor and running gags, it’s easy to label Kemono Michi at times as an isekai parody. Some characters such as Genzo are portrayed as powerful humans while ironically, supernatural beings such as Carmilla becomes a jobber in hilarious ways. Character personalities is amplified with some of their habits such as Hanako’s big appetite. And of course, some fans will call this an “isekai furry” anime. After all, some of the more prominent characters display animalistic instincts such as Shigure. And while not being an actual animal, Hanako’s dragon transformation shows her true instincts when she’s angered in one particular episode. In many ways, the anime loves to play itself and that can either be something fans will enjoy or mock for it absurd humor.

With such a peculiar premise, Kemono Michi’s artwork isn’t actually strange and actually less visually noticeable compared to Konosuba. Studio ENGi was established in 2018 and this is their first take on an anime project. However, the anime itself delivers an adequate portrayal of the manga. The character designs are also made with fantasy elements and in some cases, animalistic traits. Being a professional wrestler, Genzo is portrayed as a muscular man with masculine features. Even his voice delivers a commanding tone at times when dealing with monsters he encounters. The show itself contains fan service although most of it is portrayed as cheeky humor similar to the Konosuba series. And while I can’t say the battles may suit everyone’s tastes, it definitely look catchy to the eye.

You’re probably going to look back and remember some of the hilarious moments in Kemono Michi. With the author of Konosuba helming the show, it won’t be hard to notice the similar style of its humor. I can watch Kemono Michi and say the anime is an enjoyable at best when you embrace its humor. If you looking deeper into the show, there’s not much more you’ll find within.

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Dec 18, 2019

ExemplarCayman

Not Recommended

Terrible fanfiction based on a great source material.

This is the kind of adaptation that I never expected to experience again - because it’s not the early 00s anymore and Studio Gonzo (of that era) is, thankfully, dead. If you’ve had the misfortune of watching Hellsing TV, Rosario + Vampire or FMA 2003 I can just go ahead and say this show is one of those. If not - well, this is a manga “adaptation” that starts by following the manga plot, switches to the completely original material halfway, and the twist is that the anime-original parts are garbage. Here’s a bunch of ways in which ...

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Poll: Hataage! Kemono Michi Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Sep 29, 2019	181 replies	by rhythmico »» Apr 12, 4:27 PM
Poll: Hataage! Kemono Michi Episode 8 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 20, 2019	39 replies	by kdushxbdbejw »» Nov 22, 2023 12:11 AM
any romance in this anime? Stoorainclaire - Dec 30, 2019	2 replies	by provat_haque »» Nov 12, 2023 10:43 AM
Poll: Hataage! Kemono Michi Episode 9 Discussion Stark700 - Nov 27, 2019	49 replies	by GooseHybrid »» Oct 18, 2023 5:51 PM
Poll: Hataage! Kemono Michi Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - Dec 18, 2019	80 replies	by __FK__ »» Jul 13, 2023 8:20 AM

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