This was a good episode. I think the stalking of Nokotan was my favorite segment. I can only imagine the David Attenborough documentary about deer as it was going on.

One thing that I got curious about this episode was Nokotan’s using the word notsu a lot, especially when talking to other deer or as a greeting. I was racking my brain to figure out what it was supposed to be. I think I was finally able to piece things together later in the episode when she was talking about growing her antlers.

The Japanese kanji for horn/antler is 角 with a pronunciation of tsuno (つの). So, I think Nokotan’s nonsense word of notsu is simply those two kana being flipped (のつ, notsu). I was really confused when I was trying to look this up because I was unfamiliar with this reading for the kanji and was more familiar with the kado (かど) reading. Kanji are tough sometimes, but they really unlock a whole other level of puns.