Kemono Jihen

Plot

In a remote mountain village, a series of mysterious incidents involving livestock corpses draws the attention of Kohachi Inugami, a detective from Tokyo who specializes in supernatural cases. While investigating, he meets a boy named Kabane, who is forced to work in the fields and is ostracized by the villagers, who treat him as if he is not human.

During the investigation, Inugami discovers that Kabane is actually a half-ghoul, abandoned by his parents and left to live in misery with relatives who treat him as a burden. After solving the case and exposing the supernatural cause behind the animal killings, Inugami takes Kabane back to Tokyo, where he runs a detective agency that handles cases involving creatures that exist alongside humans in secret.

In Tokyo, Kabane begins working at the agency alongside other boys who are like him, including Shiki, who has spider-like abilities, and Akira, who has powers related to snow and ice. As Kabane adjusts to his new life and forms bonds with his new companions, he also searches for clues about his missing parents.

Characters

Kabane Kusaka (日下 夏羽, Kusaka Kabane)

Voiced by: Natsumi Fujiwara (Japanese); Madeleine Morris (English)

A 13-year-old ghoul-human hanyo or hybrid. After being supposedly abandoned by his parents, he was abused by his aunt as hard labor for her inn, earning him the nickname "Dorotabo" as he was always covered in dirt and smelling badly from toiling in the fields. Kabane later learns from Inugami that he was likely not abandoned due to being in possession of the Life Calculus, which quenches his ghoulish thirst for flesh, and begins searching for his parents while learning more about his emotions along the way. Kabane possesses an innocent and straightforward personality, as well as an extremely self-sacrificial spirit. Owing to his immortality as a bloodless ghoul and ability to regenerate provided his head remains intact, he often puts himself in the line of fire for his friends. Apart from regeneration, his ghoul blood also gifts him incredible strength. Believing his parents' bodies to have been the vessels for the Calculi, he begins collecting all the other Calculi and combining them.

Kohachi Inugami (隠神 鼓八千, Inugami Kohachi)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English)

A tanuki known as "the Kemonoist" that runs the Inugami Strangeness Consultancy Office. While he appears carefree and frivolous at times, he is frighteningly perceptive and is a powerful Kemono, being able to use strong illusion spells, summon guns and harden his body to steel. Inugami strongly believes in coexistence between Kemono and humans. He currently takes care of Kabane, Shiki and Akira, and houses Mihai.

Akira (晶)

Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (Japanese); Cassie Ewulu (English)

A 15-year-old yukionoko from Aomori. As a descendant of yukionna, he has the ability to freeze objects provided there is water around, manipulate snow and ice, and withstand very cold temperatures. He came to Tokyo hoping Inugami could help him find his older twin brother, Yui, whom he escaped their village with. Despite being a boy, Akira is extremely feminine and enjoys girlish, cute things and posting on social media. Because of his hate for disgusting things and tendency to faint from fear, he mainly takes care of domestic affairs in the office. Even so, Akira is often able to pull his weight for the others in a pinch, later unlocking a hidden power of the yukionokos.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Sho Aimoto, Kemono Jihen has been serialized in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Jump Square since December 2, 2016. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on March 3, 2017. As of August 4, 2026, twenty-five volumes have been released. The series is set to end with the release of its twenty-sixth volume.

The manga is licensed for an English release in North America by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced at the Jump Festa '20 event on December 21, 2019. The series is animated by Ajiado and directed by Masaya Fujimori, with Noboru Kimura handling series composition, and Nozomi Tachibana designing the characters. The series aired from January 10 to March 28, 2021, on Tokyo MX, ytv, and BS11. Funimation licensed the series and is streaming it on its website in North America and the British Isles, in Europe through Wakanim, and in Australia and New Zealand through AnimeLab. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. Muse Communication has acquired the series in Southeast Asia and South Asia, and is streaming it on their Muse Asia YouTube channel, and Bilibili in Southeast Asia. The opening theme song is "Kemono Michi" (ケモノミチ; 'Path of The Beast'), performed by Daisuke Ono, and the ending theme song is "Shirushi" (－標－; 'Mark'), performed by Sayaka Sasaki.

Reception

In 2018, the manga was ranked 13th in the print category of the Next Manga Awards. By March 2021, the manga had over 4.2 million copies in circulation. By January 2026, it had over 8 million copies in circulation.