Kinokoinu – Mushroom Pup – Episode 1

Content Warning: animal death, grief

What’s it about? Yuuyami Hotaru finds it extremely difficult to live out his daily life as he grieves his dog Hanako.  That all changes when a mysterious pink mushroom pup is born out of his backyard and decides to stay with Hotaru to help him deal with his depression.

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If you’ve ever had to deal with the immeasurable grief of mourning your deceased pets then this premiere absolutely nails capturing how challenging it is to navigate through that pain.  It’s rare for any medium to directly deal with the loss of an animal family member, as oftentimes that heartache isn’t taken as seriously as losing the humans in our lives.  I remember when my beloved doggy, Coco, was gradually declining and the constant visits to the vet in the hopes that her medication could make her healthy again.  

The enormous amount of money I was spending on medical bills was the last thing on my mind because I wanted Coco to stay with me for a little while longer.  In the end nothing can beat old age, but the most heartbreaking thing about her leaving this world is that she didn’t want to go.  Coco’s mind was still sharp as ever, but her body couldn’t keep up and she died peacefully in my dad’s arms at home.  How does anyone move on or learn to live without the unconditional love our beloved fur babies had for us?

While the answer for many of us would be “just take it day by day,” even that can be an enormous task for anyone that just wishes to have their loved ones in their arms again.  This is why Hotaru is such a relatable picture of grief.  He reminds me of Natsume during the early seasons of Natsume’s Book of Friends; his melancholic feelings permeate the entirety of premiere and oftentimes he doesn’t feel like he’s all there.  I tend to gravitate towards anyone that reminds me of Natsume, because it’s a genuine joy to watch these characters open up and experience any form of happiness.  

The art direction does a fantastic job showing the contrast between the soft colors of Hotaru’s happy memories with Hanako versus the dark and empty spaces of his current surroundings.  It also helps that the camera lingers on Hotaru’s quiet moments to truly feel the impact of his emotions.  I’ll be honest, I cried along with Hotaru the moment he finally broke down.  It just felt so cathartic to see him express himself, and that’s why the sudden appearance of the mushroom puppy didn’t feel strange since at this point I was desperate for ANYONE to give this man a hug.  

The only minor gripe I have is mushroom puppy’s “resolution” to Hotaru’s pain is to burn any remaining items that belonged to Hanako.  I understand the symbolic meaning of “letting Hanako go,” BUT burning her items felt too extreme for me. Personally, I can’t imagine getting rid of my beloved doggy’s stuff and I still have her items in a small suitcase on top of her bed.

If this series was in the hands of a lesser production team (including Tanaka Jin, series composer for Laid-Back Camp) the mushroom puppy would’ve absolutely felt out of place, but instead it adds to the story. Overall, it seems that the series is setting itself up to be a cozy series that will gently focus on Hotaru’s healing journey and how he might help others along the way.  My feelings for this one are heavy folks! For the time being, I give this a tentative recommendation since the raw emotions could be extremely hard for some readers. More importantly, please make sure you give lots of love to your fur babies in your lives today. They aren’t here for long so make sure you enjoy every moment you have together.

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