I tried to keep this as SPOILER-FREE as possible.
I will write a brief introduction to my review, where I state the reasons why I decided to watch the anime, the expectations I had for it, and the final conclusion after completion.
This anime looked silly and childish with terrible animation and only moe animal girls. I did not have any expectations prior to watching it. I thought I would drop this after 3 episodes. But it actually pretty watchable.
Unfortunately, it failed to amuse me for the most part and ranked average in almost every aspect which was a shame as there was a sparkle of potential.
I would not call it bad, it is decent for what it tries to accomplish and there is nothing amazing nor terrible about it. I am sure I will forget it in a few days as the characters and plot did not have much impact on me.
I will now focus on the story, characters, animation, sound and personal enjoyment individually according to MAL review recommendations.
Story ~ 5
The story is so simple even a kid would understand it. That's not necessarily bad, having a simple story can be good, lots of adventure anime have simple stories that work.
Kemono Friends, however, has a very linear story that can be compared to a generic RPG main mission "go from point A to point B and talk to this character". In Kemono Friends the main characters simply go from a point to another and talk with animal girls in order to uncover who Kaban-chan is.
They also seek to help every animal that needs their aid through the power of friendship, thinking outside the box and using the unique traits of said animals, which is a very positive message for kids. The problem lies in the fact that this becomes repetitive and predictable as it happens in almost every episode.
But fear not, behind this simple and cheerful plot there is a dark lore that might captivate the attention of the more mature audience or be completely ignored as most of the episodes all you see are animal girls solving some trivial issues.
The Cerulean are mysterious beings which are present in a small part of the anime. I wish they were more predominant and impactful, but in the end, they seemed like a kids version of the Angels from Evangelion or the foes found in Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru as they were so easily defeated.
Maybe the simplicity of the plot and the positive messages it passes to the audience are enough to make this a great plot for some viewers, but it is not enough to convince me.
Another important point. There is absolutely no explanation why there are no male characters. Did males just go extinct? Was the studio too lazy to create male models? Or is having all cute girls cast the formula for success in anime this day?
The ending to the anime was satisfactory, yet nothing special or enlightening about the questions that remained unanswered.
Characters ~ 6
Our two heroines find a bunch of different animal girls every episode from furries to birds and reptiles.
While you have a huge cast of cute animal girls that would make Monster Musume jealous, they are easily forgettable as some of them simply request a favor to our main characters and do not provide anything else for the progression of the story. Pretty much like NPC's in common RPG games.
As for the main characters, Serval is a funny character, however, most of her jokes or funny moments are childish and fail to amuse me. As they became repetitive quickly.
Kaban was a good character, to be honest. Despite being a petty human without any special skill unlike the rest of the Friends she has proven to be the crucial element to save a lot of girls and helping solve many difficult problems posed to the Friends thanks to her incredible versatility and intellect. Showing the superior creativity and adaptability of the Human race.
There is nothing else to say about the rest of the cast as they did not really shine in any way. They basically represent a different animal with some issue to be solved by our heroes.
This anime emphasized nicely the differences between the human and animal mind and how they can cooperate to overcome their problems.
Animation ~ 4
The animation is not that bad. The backgrounds are pretty. It is nice how every zone symbolizes a different area of the Zoo.
The characters may be CG-animated but are distinct for the most part and represent a unique animal. But that does not hide the fact they are badly CG-animated girls with some animal trait.
Not the worst my eyes have witnessed in anime so far, but still unpleasant to look at. If not for the pretty backgrounds I would have rated this department a 2/10.
Sound ~ 6
The background sound of the anime is relaxing and atmospheric at times.
The OP and ED aren't really memorable, but the overall sounds of the show fit and give a feeling you take part of the adventure.
The slightly less pleasant sounds are some of the girl's voices. Some of them can sound really annoying to the point of making me cringe.
I did not really enjoy every musical choice, there was specifically one song in episode 8 or 9 that sounded like those overused songs used in no-scope montages by 12-year olds.
Personal enjoyment ~ 5
It's nice how the studio managed to make this child-friendly with a simple plot and characters that are suited for a younger audience, but also adding some mystery and a dark lore for the adult audience to actually get some interest for the show.
My main issue with this anime is: most of the episodes were focused on the trivial event and innocent encounters, making the anime boring for 90% of its duration. The only good episodes were the 11th and 12th, the rest was decent at best.
One positive point to note about this show is that it teaches the viewers about the unique traits the animals possess. Having some educational purpose is always a positive point.
I get what Kemono Friends tries to accomplish. It tries a unique approach to creating an anime suited for kids, but at the same time implementing some mystery to entertain the adults. However, the amount of pointless character interaction overshadowed the mystery.
It is also worth noting the comedy had absolutely no effect on me. Granted, I am hard to please when it comes to comedy as I find most of the anime jokes overused and repetitive. The "Please don't eat me!" joke quickly got repetitive after 2 uses.
To top it off, this has an open and inconclusive ending that only lowers my enjoyment. I like when the seasons work well individually without having to rely on a cliff-hanger to appeal for the next season. It is just cheap and too many anime do that.
It is not guaranteed you will not enjoy the anime simply because I did not. You might be a huge fan of the animal girls. The cheerful yet dark plot that attempts to be original and stand out between so many clichés and repetitive anime in 2017 might be enough to convince you, but not me though.
Overall Score ~ 5.3
TL;DR: Kemono Friends is a show I would mostly recommend watching with your kids or younger brothers and sisters, as the anime has no violence or fan-service and will not make you fall asleep like other kids shows do. It even passes positive messages to the viewers!
You might get disappointed if you are hoping for a mind-blowing conclusion. This is a simple anime that tells a story of friendship and cooperation and that is all.
Note that the real action only happens in 11th and 12th episodes. By the time it starts getting good, it is over. I could not enjoy an anime that was boring for the first 10 episodes and slightly interesting in the final 2.
If you are looking for good adventure anime with mystery, there are definitely better options, but this is definitely watchable.
