Tsuchinoko

Tsuchinoko
ツチノコ
Character Data
Romaji		Tsuchinoko
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Cryptid Data
Classification		Cryptid
F.R.A.		Unknown
Based On		Blue Tongued Lizard
Read More		Tsuchinoko
Conservation
Tsuchinoko's Merchandise

Tsuchinoko​

Anime​

Season 2​

Manga​

Festival​ (Costume)​

Pavilion​ (Gen 2)​

KF3​ (V2)​

Kingdom​

Nexon Game​

Stage Play​

Gallery

Tsuchinoko is a cryptid Friend who has appeared in all Kemono Friends media to date.

Appearance

Tsuchinoko has cyan hair, and her own eyes sometimes shine the same color. She has a thick brown and black striped tail which matches the stripes of her hooded jacket.

Her main feature is her unique brown and black striped hooded jacket, which covers her upper body all the way to the top of her head. The top of the hood has two red circles that resemble large eyes. The front of the hood has a yellow middle portion to symbolize the Tsuchinoko belly, with side pockets in the middle-bottom part. She wears a pink bow that has a blue gradient at the end to resemble the tongue. She wears a very traditional and difficult-to-wear geta kind known as a "Tengu geta", which has only a single, thin and tall wooden base compared to the usual geta.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role	First Appearance
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2015	Kemono Friends: Welcome to Japari Park!	↪ Major character	Chapter 5 (Manga)
2017	Kemono Friends (2017 Anime)	↪ Major character	Episode 4 - Desert Area
2017	Stage Play "Kemono Friends"	↪ Major character
2018	Kemono Friends Pavilion	↪ Minor character, observable
2018	Kemono Friends Festival	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2018	Kemono Friends Picross	Mimamori Friend; also has playable puzzle
2019	Kemono Friends 2	↪ Cameo	S2E07: Beyond Speed
2019	Kemono Friends 3	↪ Minor character, obtainable
2022	Kemono Friends Kingdom	↪ Major character, obtainable

Kemono Friends Puzzle Puzzle Gokko

Tsuchinoko appears as a minor character in Puzzle Puzzle Gokko. She appears on top of the board on some levels of the game as a still picture of her anime model.

Kemono Friends Picross

Tsuchinoko appears in a puzzle of Kemono Friends Picross where the player can obtain a picture of the friend by solving a puzzle.

Bikkuriman

Tsuchinoko appears on a sticker of Bikkuriman, a line of wafer treats produced by Lotte, notable for the highly collectible stickers that come bundled with each wafer.

Origins

The cryptid snake Tsuchinoko

The Tsuchinoko is classified under a group of creatures called "Unidentified Mysterious Animals" (UMA), or also called "cryptids". It is one of the most popular cryptids in Japan, even getting its own annual festival called the "Tsuchinoko Festival". It is also called "bachi hebi" in some areas of said country.

It is mostly described as looking like a snake, but has a large central girth compared to the typical snake. Qualities and abilities of this creature include being able to jump meters in length, liking alcohol, can use its unique body to move around through rolling, among others. As it is a cryptid, the various accounts of it are taken from documentations which have not been completely accepted by science, which includes numerous supposed sightings documented across many regions in Japan, as well as legends that also describe it.

A specific species of lizard called the "Blue Tongued Lizard" is commonly mistaken for a Tsuchinoko, to the point that some researchers assert this being the animal that the sightings are referring to. It matches many descriptions of the Tsuchinoko's appearance, and was also discovered around the same era Tsuchinokos have been spotted.

Trivia

• In the 2017 Tsuchinoko Festival, official Kemono Friends designer Yoshizaki Mine made a special Tsuchinoko art piece as a sign of gratitude for the anime's success.

• At his Anime North 2018 Q&A panel, Yoshitada Fukuhara revealed that he believes in the existence of tsuchinoko in the wild