Hello and welcome to Anime Rants! Here are some unusual and endearing pets appearing in anime from across the years. This doesn’t include cats or dogs. I already have a post about 7 anime cats, and a post about dogs is to come. Entries are in alphabetical order.

Note: I studied wildlife biology in college, and I love animals, so I’ve included notes on what kind of real animal these pets resemble. Get ready for some animal trivia!

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1. Ao the Squirrel

Appears In: Yona of the Dawn (2014)

This little cutie is friendly, playful, and a faithful companion to Yona, the main character. He has a big appetite, as you can see above. Ao looks like an American Red Squirrel. Red squirrels do not inhabit Japan, and but Yona of the Dawn takes place in a fictional land similar to Japan or Korea. Japanese squirrels exist, and are grey in color. Unfortunately, they are nearly extinct.

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2. Chuchu The Monkey

Appears in: Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997)

Chuchu is Anthy’s hyperactive and mischievous monkey. He serves as comic relief in the otherwise fairly serious show. He’s also cute as a button. Chuchu is drawn to be cute and funny rather than realistic. As such, it’s hard to say what kind of real primate he might be based on. He’s probably a baby monkey, since these animals have much larger ears when they are young. Primates are not my specialty, so there are many species I don’t know. Based on size, though, the closest thing is the pygmy marmoset.

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3. Kansuke The Crow

Appears in: Sing Yesterday For Me (2020)

Kansuke is the intelligent, gentle, and faithful pet of Haru, one of the main characters in this anime. Haru fed the crows, and noticed that one of them had a bad leg. This bird always came back. So Haru made him her pet. Kansuke is a Large-Billed Crow, an Asiatic species of crow that looks more like a raven than the common crow.

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4. Rafra The Ferret

Appears In: Infinite Ryvius (1999)

It’s been a while since I watched this anime, but I remember that one of the main characters, Fina, had a pet ferret. She loves the ferret so much she brought it into space with her on the mysterious ship Ryvius. Rafra is a domesticated ferret, which are thought to have descended from European Polecats. The particular breed is called DEW (dark-eyed white).

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5. Sojirou The Hedgehog

Appears In: New Game! (2016)

Sojiro is the pet of Hifumi, a girl who works for a video game company called Eagle Jump. Hifumi is quite fond of Sojiro, even though the hedgehog isn’t very sociable or energetic. Sojiro takes things slow and steady, and can be picky, much like a real hedgehog. Most pet hedgehogs are African Pygmy Hedgehogs, and I believe that’s what Sojiro would be.

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6. Ton The Turtle

Appears In: K-On! (2009)

The girls in the Light Music Club in K-On decided to get a pet. They all work together to take care of him. Ton or Ton-chan is a Pig-nosed Turtle, which is from Australia, and is also known as the Fly River Turtle. Ton-chan seems to be health and relaxed little reptile.

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7. Xiao-Mei The Panda

Appears In: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (2009)

The girl here, Mei Chang comes, from Xing, a fictional country styled after China. She found a baby panda with no family. She adopted the little cutie and named her Xioa Mei (also spelled Shao May). The small panda sometimes bites, but he’s still adorable, and so much fun. That finishes up today’s post. Thank you so much for reading and have a great Sunday!

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PATREON