Crunchyroll moves popular new anime, but it’s for a good reason

Crunchyroll has shifted the release time of My Deer Friend Nokotan, meaning the absurdist comedy will be available even earlier each week.

As far as best anime of 2024 go, My Deer Friend Nokotan is up there so far. The strange coming-of-age show, about a high school girl who becomes best friends with the new kid, who happens to be part deer, is endlessly charming, hilarious, and weird.

Crunchyroll had been putting up episodes weekly on Sundays, simulcasting with a wider release in Japan. From August 7, 2024, that changes, and the show arrives weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30am PT instead.

This was revealed on the service itself, for My Deer Friend Nokotan Episode 6. Although the previous timeslot was a simulcast with Japan, it didn’t line up with the actual premiere of new episodes because they arrived on Abema for a short period first.

Now, we’ll get episodes in line with Abema’s exclusivity, a fascinating wrinkle in licensing as generally these deals just don’t happen for rollouts outside of Japan. Whatever amount of the audience that was finding a way to watch earlier without waiting was probably a significant contributing factor.

We still don’t know how many episodes this first season will have, though that’s not surprising. Sometimes fans don’t find out something is the finale until only a week or two out. Even Demon Slayer still plays by those rules.

However long My Deer Friend runs for, it’s truly a joy to watch. Sadly, there isn’t much of Oshioshio’s manga to adapt just yet, with only 43 chapters as of now.

In other words, enjoy this season while it lasts, because we might be waiting for material on the second. Check out our upcoming anime list and guides to Oshi no Ko Season 2 and Tower of God Season 2 for ways to stay entertained nonetheless.