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| “ | This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My rifle is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My rifle and I are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life. | „ |
| ~ Soichirō's vow on his rifle |
Soichirō Kumatori is the main antagonist of the episode The Pursuer and the Pursued of the comedy anime My Deer Friend Nokotan. He is a legendary hunter from Hokkaidō who attempts to hunt down and eat Noko Shikanoko every Deer Day as a part of the day's festivities about limiting deer populations. Fortunately for Noko, he's rather unlucky, often getting stopped in his tracks by random activities and tasks.
He is voiced by Jiro Saito in Japanese and Rayner Gabriel in English.
Appearance[]
Soichirō is a middle-aged Japanese man with black eyebrows, a square nose and stubble around his face. As a matagi, he wears a light grey headscarf around his head, a straw kasa hat and a coat made of brown straw, secured to his body by two brown ropes. He wears a navy blue long-sleeved garment, bracers covered in the same brown straw, deep brown pants with straw secured over his ankles, as well as wooden sandals with white socks.
Personality[]
Owing to his lack of screen time, Soichirō's personality is not that well fleshed out. But judging from what we can see, it appears that he is a dogged and stoic hunter, determined to hunt down Noko at all costs and using whatever he can to catch her. His determination to catch Noko seems to border on obsession as Noko mentions he's tried to kill her every month, with Soichirō even reciting an oath as he prepares to shoot her. He displays a keen intellect as he tracks her down with ease, but shows a short-tempered side as he gets mad at Noko taunting him by blowing up his traps, getting so angry he crushes his onigiri.
Apart from this however, Soichirō seems to be a regular middle-aged man, being unfamiliar with modern innovations such as Instagram. He also seems quite fearful of his short-tempered wife as he screams in terror upon seeing her phone call, abandoning his hunt as he rushes to get home. Soichirō also is capable of putting away his grudge against Noko for the greater good, seeing as he warns her of the Deer's Den agents seeking to recapture her.
Biography[]
Background[]
Soichirō's background is entirely unknown, though it's likely he comes from Hokkaidō thanks to celebrating Deer Day, a special day encouraging people to hunt down the deer which overpopulate the prefecture's forests. He's also married and lives in Nemuro city specifically as mentioned by his wife.
At some point, Soichirō would encounter Noko and decide to make it his life's mission to hunt her down for Deer Day despite her being half human and completely sentient. Noko herself implies they've clashed numerous times, apparently even constructing a trapdoor beneath her class's floor tiles to escape just in case.
My Deer Friend Nokotan[]
The Pursuer and the Pursued[]
Soichirō makes his debut in this episode, arriving at Hino Minami High School after tracking Noko there. Barging into Noko's classroom, he finds her desk unattended and notices the half-eaten deer crackers and warm seat, implying she was there recently. While Torako tries to persuade him to leave, since he's technically trespassing, Soichirō continues to search for Noko, causing her to emerge from her secret hideout and continue to hide from him. The chase continues throughout the day, with Noko narrowly being caught after a deer cracker falls out of her pocket, though she's saved by two gyarus who stop Soichirō for a photo. Noko continues to evade Soichirō, using her powers and supernatural luck to disguise herself or misdirect him.
Night falls and while Noko falls into one of Soichirō's traps, she manages to blast her way out and even taunt him, infuriating him. This would eventually lead Soichirō to corner Noko on the rooftop as the sun rises on the next day. Torako arrives and is surprised at the duo still antagonising each other, to which Noko tells her to bear witness to their final showdown. She assembles her antlers into a dual-edged lightsaber (likely referencing Darth Maul's one) while Soichirō, unsheathing his rifle, utters an oath while loading in bullets. The sky darkens as the two prepare to duel but just as Soichirō's about to shoot, he receives a phone call from his wife, who scolds him for forgetting to pick up radishes from a neighbouring city in Tokyo. Thus, Soichirō sheepishly leaves to pick up groceries and be spared his wife's wrath, though Noko is assured he'll come back next month when Deer Day happens again.
As predicted, Soichirō arrives in Hino once again a month later, keen on finally defeating Noko. Unfortunately, he forgets to bring his gun case this time and gets arrested by the police for this violation of the law. Thus, it seems that until he's released from jail, Noko is safe from Soichirō's wrath.
Farewell, Nokotan!? The Deer Club Forever[]
Shortly after being released from jail, Soichirō finds one of the agents of Deer's Den in the forest, causing him to realise they're all gravitating on Noko. He spits out blood in shock, and quickly sends Noko an email to warn her, knowing of their power. Somehow, he later senses the cuteness of Kyun Chan's dance as they battle Noko in a dance battle.
Trivia[]
- In the original, Soichiro, is also shown to be able to speak English - as revealed during his speech about his rifle.
- His name, Soichiro, may mean "Prominent son of a family", whereas his surname, Kumatori means "to take" - befitting of his job as a hunter, wherein he takes the lives of wild animals.
- The oath Soichirō recites is the US Rifleman’s Creed, popularised by the Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket.