The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

Kinokoinu - Mushroom Pup

Mushroom Pup was born one day in the yard of picture book author Hotaru Yuyami. It wags its tail just like a dog, but it's unknown if it's a dog or a mushroom. It draws pictures where it shouldn't and always wants to eat Hotaru's takoyaki.

Kinokoinu - Mushroom Pup is based on the manga series by Kimama Aoboshi. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.

It's early yet, both in Preview Guide and in the day, but Kinokoinu - Mushroom Pup is an early contender for the strangest show of the season. Hotaru, a writer, is grieving the loss of his last remaining family member: Hanako, his pet dog of 17 years. Two months after her passing, a pink mushroom growing in his yard pops out of the ground, revealing a walking, sentient mushroom in the shape of a puppy.

It's bizarre! It's not a concept that should work! Yet, maybe because I've had to say goodbye to pet dogs in my life and because there are multiple fresh sources of grief in my life, but I wept watching it. Hotaru spacing out during a book signing, the flashbacks to his life with Hanako, the feeling of emptiness that pervades the big house where he lives alone… it got to me. The background music went further to highlight the mood of the scenes, and it was just too much for my heart.

But even as the tears rolled down my cheeks, I was unsure if Kinokoinu had the juice to sustain itself for a full season. Focus obsessively on the grieving process, and it becomes schmaltzy or, even worse, sadstuck. On the other hand, without that element, it doesn't have much to do other than be a cute slice-of-life about a man and his slightly uncanny dog-shaped mushroom. While I know quite a few people who would vibe with that concept, "kind of surreal, heartwarming slice-of-life" just doesn't do much for me.