Every now and then a series comes around that in adition to its own strong points is elevated by something entirely seperate. The atmosphere. that rose up around Kemono Friends was one such elevation. While it was on my radar ahead of airing, I didn’t end up picking up Kemon Friends off the bat, I had a lot of shows by this year’s standards to juggle that season. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that the buzz started to build and I decided to give it a look. I liked it a lot, it’s a fun show with a lot of charm, in spite of and sometimes enhanced by the janky CG.

Where it really shone though was the sense of community that built up around it. It’s kind of hard to put into words, but there was a feeling of being part of something special, even if it was just about a silly cartoon. The speculation and wild theories floating around after each episode went a long way to enhancing the experience.

It’s one of those things that’s ultimately a flash in the pan, someone watching the series now (which I’d still recommend, it’s really good anyway) won’t ever be able to get that same experience. In a year where I’ve fallen off the seasonal anime watching train a little it was nice to be reminded of how much watching some series as they air can improve them.