The hugely popular anime "Kemono Friends" shows no signs of slowing down.
"Kemono Friends" is an animation based on a game app. It tells the story of a group of girls (commonly known as "Friends") with ears and tails, each inspired by a different animal. When the anime aired, it quickly became a social phenomenon, gaining support from a wide range of age groups, both men and women, as it's described as "an anime that doesn't require much thinking" and "an anime that calms the soul."
"Kemono Friends" features many characters (Friends), each with their own unique charm.
In this article, we'll take a deep look at the appeal of Toki, the hugely popular character from "Kemono Friends"!
While the character has a cute appearance, he's actually quite tone-deaf... which has attracted a lot of attention.
Let's take a look right away.
What kind of character is Toki?
Pelecaniformes, Thresheridae, Toki genus. This is a Crested Ibis (Japanese crested ibis) Friend.
Her hairstyle is long and blunt. Her hair is primarily white with a red and black gradation, reminiscent of a crested ibis. She also has feathers on both sides of her head.
Her costume is also a uniform white, red, and black color scheme, featuring a white blouse with large cuffs that resemble wings, a crested-colored pleated skirt, and red stockings.
Her eyes are gold, and in the anime they were not highlighted. They have a blank look and give the impression of a spaced-out gaze.
Her hobby is singing. She simply loves singing, and is often seen singing in the series. Apparently, she sings to express her feelings or to find friends. However, she is incredibly tone-deaf, so much so that her singing voice is referred to as a "strange sound wave"...
This is said to come from the Japanese crested ibis, the original animal from which she is based, which is said to have a muffled cry similar to that of a crow. Incidentally, the crested ibis itself has been told this, and it seems that it wants to improve its singing.
And because she is a crested ibis, she can fly. Kaban-chan has even relied on the crested ibis's flying ability to get around.
What is the crested ibis' song?
So, what's interesting is the crested ibis's song.
The crested ibis's song has even been called a "strange sound," so much so that Serval instinctively covered her ears.
When I explained that it was due to the animal's natural habits, the crested ibis was quite shocked. It was so shocked that it nearly dropped the bag it was carrying from the sky.
By the way, the song he sang on this occasion begins with "I'm Toki♪", and he says he sings it to gather friends.
In the anime, Toki learns abdominal breathing from Kaban, who has a beautiful singing voice, and gradually becomes able to sing more beautifully.
Then, when they stop at Alpaca's cafe to charge the bus battery, they also drink tea containing ingredients that improve the voice.
Serval and Kaban praise him, saying that his voice has improved a lot since before. Toki liked Alpaca's cafe so much that he started to visit regularly.
What are the highlights in Toki's eyes?
One theory about Kemono Friends is that "extinct species don't have eye highlights."
The Japanese crested ibis is an endangered species globally and is extinct in the wild in Japan. While numerous during the Edo period, their numbers have declined since the Meiji period, and the Japanese species is now extinct.
As for what the eye highlights will be, the character designer said, "Either is fine."
By the way, there were no highlights in the anime or app. They are in the manga version.
Who is Toki's voice actor?
トキの声優 金田朋子さん
— 早稲田大学けものフレンズ研究会🌾@フレンズチホー28 F-04 (@waseda_kemono) March 10, 2018
動物と会話できるの本当すごいですね‼️#ntv #けものフレンズ #金田朋子 pic.twitter.com/jrCWwpKEvH
Speaking of Toki, the voice actor is also a hot topic. The voice actor for Toki is Tomoko Kaneda, known for her ultrasonic voice.
In fact, when Tomoko Kaneda previously appeared on the show "Sanma's Complex Comedian," she had her voice analyzed. It was discovered that Kaneda's voice matches the ultrasonic sounds contained in the cries of the white-handed gibbon!
By the way, the cries of the white-handed gibbon are emitted at a frequency inaudible to humans. Furthermore, it is said that the cries are made with great tension to warn those around.
The fact that Kaneda, whose voice actually emits ultrasonic sounds, is playing Toki has generated quite a stir.
Toki's Role in the Anime
Toki's appearance in the anime was also popular.
He made his first appearance in episode 3, "Mount Fuji."
Kaban and Serval are having trouble using the ropeway. That's when they encounter Toki. Toki flies with Kaban and Lucky Beast to the Japari Cafe at the top of the mountain to recharge his batteries.
He also performs the famous song at this time.
Hearing the singing, Serval covers her ears and nearly faints. Lucky Beast collapses. However, Kaban is the only one who claps in delight.
When Lucky Beast points out that his singing is terrible, Toki is shocked and dazed.
According to Lucky Beast, it's probably because he still has the habit of the original animal making a terrible noise. Toki himself seems to still be getting used to the difference between animal and human appearance.
Here, Toki learns abdominal breathing from Kaban, who has a beautiful singing voice, and practices singing.
Everyone then heads to the Japari Cafe at the top of the mountain.
Alpaca runs the Japari Cafe. At the time, Japari Cafe was located at the top of the mountain, so it was difficult for people to notice, and it didn't get many customers.
But then Kaban-chan comes up with a clever solution. She draws a geoglyph in the shape of a giant mug on the ground to use as a signboard. Of course, Toki helps out.
Alpaca then gives Toki some tea. It turns out that the tea contains ingredients that improve the voice! With singing practice from Kaban-chan, Toki's singing gradually improves. He then uses the geoglyph and his impressive singing voice to lure a scarlet ibis to the cafe!
Toki likes the tea so much that he starts frequenting Japari Cafe. And so, the number of customers at the cafe increases.
By the way, later in episode 5, Toki performs a song for Raccoon and Fennec, who have climbed to the top of the mountain. Raccoon and Fennec enjoy listening, so it seems that his singing voice has improved considerably.
What are the lyrics to Toki's song?
By the way, Toki's song also has proper lyrics.
I'm usually overwhelmed by her tone-deafness and they don't really stick in my mind...
The lyrics of the song she sings when she first appears are, "I'm Toki, searching for my friends. Where are my friends? Please find me. Oh, my friends..."
Given that the Japanese crested ibis is an endangered species, you can see that the lyrics are a bit heavy and sad.
By the way, there is also a scene where Kaban and she eat Japari Buns on top of a pillar. The other song sung at this time was a cheerful song about how delicious Japari Buns are when eaten in a different location than usual.
By the way, this Japanese crested ibis song was ad-libbed by voice actress Kaneda Tomoko! She said she sang it with no lyrics or music whatsoever. The condition was that the song had to convey the crested ibis's extinction, so the phrase "looking for a mate" was included. It's surprising that the script only said "(song)"!
Toki Summary
That's all about the charm of the "Kemono Friends" character, Toki!
Contrary to his cute appearance, he has a unique singing voice known as a mysterious wave. It's sure to have stuck in many people's minds. It was surprising to learn that it was actually an ad-lib by the voice actor!
With a second season of the "Kemono Friends" anime confirmed, we can only look forward to Toki's next big adventure.
I'm looking forward to seeing how things will develop from here!
