Kemono Michi

is a Japanese manga based on Natsume Akatsuki and drawn by Mosuke Mattaku and Yumeuta. Mosuke Mattaku is in charge of character design and character drawing, and Yumeuta is in charge of the name, background, etc. Serialized in the January 2017 issue of "Monthly Shonen Ace" (KADOKAWA).

The manga has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Acemanga magazine since November 2016.

An anime TV series adaptation titled was produced by ENGI studio and aired from October to December 2019.

Synopsis
Genzo Shibata, also known as "Kemono Mask", a masked professional wrestler who likes beasts, is suddenly summoned to another world before the start of the game (in the middle of the game in the anime version). Genzo is asked by the princess shrine maiden to "defeat the Demon King and the Demon Beast." However, Genzo, who was angry at being asked to exterminate the beast, escaped from the castle with a German Suplex by the princess.

Saved the wolf beast girl Sigre from debt collectors in the city, saved money as a "demon beast hunter" who can tame without killing the demon beast, and opened the pet shop "Kemo no Michi" which has been a long-cherished desire since the wrestler era. (In the anime version, the fund-raising stage before the store opens). However, in a different world, there is no pet culture, and because the pets with Genzo are not let go, the store is in a state where old birds are singing.

At such a pet shop "Kemo no Michi" that continues to be in the red, Hanako, a big-eating dragon girl, is hired as a clerk as a salary, and her vampire Carmilla is also present as a follower, and every day is noisy and covered with beasts. Is unfolded.

Production
Another work by Natsume Akatsuki, Blessed in this wonderful world! The reason for this work was that KADOKAWA sent a request to serialize the manga at the time when the first period of the TV anime was being broadcast.

When Mosuke Mattaku and Yumeuta nominated Natsume Akatsuki as the original author, this work was born as a result of combining what Yumeuta wanted to draw, what Yumeuta wanted to draw, and what Akatsuki wanted to draw. The title "Kemo no Michi" was selected from among the title candidates prepared by the three people and the editor in charge.

First of all, after reading the plot and simple character settings, I drew a rough design of Genzo, Sigre, and Hiroyuki, and then based on the content discussed by the four people, I brushed the character design including Hanako and Carmilla. The up was done.

At all, Akatsuki respected the intentions of the person in charge of drawing, so he asked only the important settings in advance, and after that, he consulted with Yumeuta and the editor in charge to confirm the contents of the design. In response to an interview, he recalls that there were few requests for improvement.

Akatsuki cites Sigre as a character who had a hard time showing it, and cites being a Tsukkomiand a common sense person as the reason. She cites Sigre as a character who had a hard time designing at all, and although the editor pointed out that it was sober, she recalled that she was in trouble because the order was too abstract.

Also, in the first episode, the scene where Chemoner Mask set German Suplex on Altena was prepared from the stage of plotting. Akatsuki replied in an interview that this happened as a result of preparing a sex appeal scene because he got a color page at the beginning of the first episode about the background of introducing this scene.

Bibliographic information

 * Mosuke Mattaku / Yumeuta (manga, co-written) / Natsume Akatsuki (original), KADOKAWA , 9 volumes already published (as of September 25, 2021)
 * Released on April 25, 2017, ISBN  978-4-04-105543-4
 * Released on October 26, 2017, ISBN 978-4-04-105549-6
 * Released on July 24, 2018, ISBN 978-4-04-107051-2
 * Released on January 26, 2019, ISBN 978-4-04-107904-1
 * Released on September 25, 2019, ISBN 978-4-04-108231-7
 * Released on November 26, 2019, ISBN 978-4-04-108853-1
 * Released on June 26, 2020, ISBN 978-4-04-109634-5
 * Released on February 26, 2021, ISBN 978-4-04-110933-5
 * Released on September 25, 2021, ISBN 978-4-04-111836-8

Characters
Genzo Shibata (柴田 源蔵 Shibata Genzō), aka the Animal Mask (ケモナーマスク Kemonā Masuku), is one of the main characters of Kemono Michi series. He is a professional wrestler who dreamed of opening his own pet shop.

Appearance
As a professional wrestler, Genzo is a tall and very muscular man. In his Kemona Mask persona, his ring attire consisted of spandex shorts, a cape, laced-up boots, and a dog mask.

Personality
Despite finding great success as a wrestler, Genzo's real dream was to open a pet shop so he could share with the world the joy of living with animals. Genzo's love of animals is so great that even suggesting harm to one is enough to be on the receiving end of one of his many wrestling moves.

History
A masked professional wrestler who loves beasts and is active under the ring name of "Kemono Mask". His specialty is German Suplex. He loves kemono regardless of gender or race and wants to spread the wonder of kemono to many people. Although his usual behavior is a good young man full of fighting spirit, his obsession with beasts is overwhelming, and the unicorn who happened to be there from Sigre who was bathing naked, including the treatment for the demon beast hunter, described later. As soon as a beast is involved, such as paying attention to the person, it goes out of control. He is intolerant and unforgiving, especially to those who hurt the beast, and tries to discipline him thoroughly no matter who he is. He also has a strong commitment to professional wrestling, though not as much as his love for beasts, and often shows his pride and policy-based behavior as a wrestler. On the other hand, he is cold and reluctant to do things that do not involve kemono.

Before the start of the match in the original world (during the match with MAO in the anime version), he was suddenly summoned as a hero to another world (castle of the Kingdom of Edgard, during the summoning ), and the beastmen and half-beastmen who exist there. Become aware of the demon beast as a beast and love it. He has a high fighting ability such as fighting with a race with superhuman strength more than equal, but he does not kill monsters due to his propensity and interferes with hunters who hunt monsters, so he is a floating existence in the monster hunter union. It has become. He hates the nickname for killing monsters because he easily controls them, and mercilessly sanctions those who call him.

Abilities

 * Pro-Wrestling (or simply Wrestling): Fundamentally, the Technique using Kemono Mask on enemy barehanded wrestles is a spectacle move that combines athletics with theatrical performance, which mimics a title match combat sport. The matches have predetermined outcomes in order to heighten entertainment value, and all combative maneuvers are executed with the full cooperation of those involved and carefully performed in specific manners intended to lessen the chance of actual injury. Despite some moves having some practical usage in real-life fights, such as certain throws, holds and leg-locks, pro-wrestling is first and foremost theatrical and has little viability outside a ring.
 * Enhanced Strength/Peak Human Condition: Kemono Mask is exceptionally strong it becomes peak human; A humans that possess physical and mental attributes to the human limit. Peak-humans are superior to normal members of their species, as well as Olympic-level athletes. They are strong enough to punch an individual through a wooden or thin-metal door; able to break thin steel bars with their bare hands; fast enough to catch-up or outrun moving vehicles; able to exert themselves to peak capacity for hours; producing top-endurance and lung capacity; agile enough to climb the tallest of buildings, leap high into the air and run distant miles; reflexive enough to effectively dodge multiple incoming attacks, rapid gunshots as well as seemingly sudden motions (e.g. walls or debris of a crumbling roof), accurate enough to achieve multiple small and further distant targets, capable of living longer than the average-person, durable enough to withstand normal and enhanced physical/projectile attacks, intelligent enough to understand complex problems beyond the scope of average humans, they can heal themselves in very short periods of time, flexible enough to coordinate their limbs perfectly and their combat skills are advanced enough to defeat large groups of enemies with ease.
 * He easily overwhelmed Carmilla - a vampire or defeated Orc King - the most powerful orc.
 * Zoology: As an animal lover has been used to denigrate people who display affection or concern for animals, Genzo has lots of knowledge about animals. He effortlessly domesticates beasts by fondling them or giving them fruits.
 * Indomitable Will: Genzo is fearless. He was determined to protect and take care of his pets and never rejected a challenge as a pro wrestler.
 * Disguise [Fukumen wrestler]: Taking off the mask and changing outfits, people (except Shigure) couldn't recognize Genzo as "the pervert", is a professional wrestler who covers part or all of his head, face, etc. with a mask so that he cannot see his true face. Also known as Maskman. In many cases, the identity is hidden by using not only the face but also the ring name.

Weaknesses:


 * Animal Obsession: Due to being obsessed with animals, Genza sometimes has dumb or weird actions.

Visual
'' to be added. ''

TV Anime
From October to December 2019, at AT-X and others, Flag! It was broadcast under the title of "Kemono Michi" (Kemono Michi: Rise Up). After each episode was broadcast, a mini-corner "This Week's Kemo no Michi" was broadcast and distributed on the same station, AbemaTV, and YouTube by Super Sasadango Machine and DDT Pro-Wrestling players.

In making the animation, the elements of the original animation such as talking about the story before the opening of the pet shop and strengthening the professional wrestling color are becoming larger.

Staff

 * Original - Natsume Akatsuki
 * Manga - Mosuke Mattaku, Yumeuta
 * Director - Kazuya Miura
 * Series composition - Toko Machida
 * Character design and animation director - Tomoka Noumi
 * Art supervision - Minoru Onishi
 * Art setting - Ryu Sakamoto
 * Art Director - Kyoko Haruna
 * Color design - Ayako Aihara
 * Cinematographer - Hisashi Matsumukai
 * Edit - IMAGICA Lab., Rina Oguchi
 * Music - Shunsuke Takizawa
 * Sound Director - Toshiki Kameyama
 * Sound production - Glovision
 * Music Producer - Shunichi Uemura
 * Music production - Nippon Columbia
 * Producers - Takashi Tachizaki, Kenichi Tokumura, Manami Kabashima, Norifumi Ikeuchi, Soujiro Arimizu, Hiroyasu Taniguchi
 * Animation Producers - Hiroshi Yoshioka, Keiichi Ando
 * Animation production - ENGI
 * Cooperation - DDT Pro Wrestling
 * Production - Kemono Michi Production Committee (KADOKAWA, Sammy, CA-Cygames Anime Fund, AT-X, Kadokawa Media House, Nippon Columbia)

Theme song
"Fight! Chemoner Mask"


 * Opening theme by NoB with Chemoner Mask (Katsuyuki Konishi). TRYTONELABO is involved in the production of the music, and Mitsu is in charge of the lyrics, Takaaki Utsumi is in charge of the composition, and TAKT is in charge of the arrangement.

"Anek Dot"


 * Momosumomosu The ending theme by writing, composing, arranging, and singing.

An anime adaptation was announced by Kadokawa Shoten's Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine on January 18, 2019. It was later announced that the adaptation would be a television series titled Kemono Michi: Rise Up (旗揚！けものみち, Hataage! Kemonomichi, translation: "Launching business! animal trail"), with animation by ENGI. The series was directed by Kazuya Miura, with Touko Machida handling the series composition, and Tomoka Noumi designing the characters. It aired from October 2 to December 18, 2019 on AT-X, Tokyo MX, TVA, KBS, SUN, and BS11. It was also streamed on AbemaTV. NoB and Katsuyuki Konishi performed the series' opening theme song "Fight! Kemona Mask" (！ケモナーマスク), while Momosumomosu performed the series' ending theme song "Anecdote" (アネクドット). Funimation has licensed the series for a SimulDub.

Reception
Gadget Tsūshin listed "Kemono Mask", a phrase from Kemono Michi's opening song, in their 2019 anime buzzwords list

Trivia
'' to be added. ''

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