TV-Series
Description
Common Raccoon, also known as Arai-san, is a Friend who appears across nearly all media of the Kemono Friends franchise, including the anime, mobile game, and manga adaptations. Her name is derived from the Japanese word for raccoon, araiguma, which literally translates to washing bear and references the animal's well-known habit of dousing its food in water. This characteristic is often reflected in her behavior, particularly in comedic situations where she feels compelled to wash objects around her.
In terms of appearance, Common Raccoon has brown eyes and silver-gray hair that fades to white towards the bottom. The front of her hair is black with a distinctive white stripe and a single white patch in her central bang. She possesses two rounded animal ears and a long, ringed tail that matches her species. Her outfit consists of a lavender blouse with puffed sleeves, adorned with a white fur collar and a black bow tie. She wears long black and white gradient gloves, a black miniskirt, gray tights that fade to white at the bottom, and black ankle socks paired with black loafers.
Her personality is defined by brashness, impulsivity, and boundless energy. Common Raccoon tends to act and speak without thinking things through, often putting her body in motion before her mind has fully processed a situation. This tendency leads her into unnecessary trouble and has earned her a reputation for sprinting enthusiastically in the wrong direction. Her self-esteem is generally quite high, though it can be fragile and easily broken when things do not go her way. She has a robust sense of justice and a deep respect for individuals who perform heroic deeds. Linguistically, she is known for a distinctive verbal tic, ending her sentences with the phrase nano da, and she often refers to herself in the third person. In the Japanese version, other characters frequently address her as Arai-san.
The driving motivation for Common Raccoon in the anime is the recovery of a stolen hat. This hat originally belonged to a former park guide named Mirai. Common Raccoon had taken a fondness for the hat and would wear it to hear a recorded voice from a Lucky Beast. During a Sandstar eruption, she was knocked off a cliff while holding the hat, and when she recovered, the hat was gone. Left with only a red feather that was attached to it, she became convinced that a thief had stolen her prized possession. Unaware that the hat had actually been touched by concentrated Sandstar, which caused a new Friend to be born from its human hair, Common Raccoon sets off to track down the alleged culprit.
In her pursuit, Common Raccoon and her constant companion, Fennec, follow the trail of the protagonist Kaban and her friend Serval. This creates the central misunderstanding of her role in the story, as the hat thief she seeks and the person she gradually comes to admire are one and the same. During her journey through the jungle area, she almost drowns but is saved by a bridge of platforms that Kaban constructed, leading her to declare that she owes her life to Kaban. She later hears from other Friends about the various problems Kaban has solved, developing a profound admiration for her even as she continues to chase her. This irony reaches its peak when she finally corners the hat thief at the top of a mountain and discovers that the thief is none other than Kaban herself.
The most significant relationship in Common Raccoon's life is with Fennec, a level-headed and more intelligent Friend who acts as her handler and companion. The two are rarely seen apart, and Fennec often teases Common Raccoon for her reckless behavior while also providing the guidance necessary to prevent her from going completely astray. It is noted that without Fennec properly leading the raccoon, she would have been unable to chase anyone effectively. Despite the teasing, their bond is genuine; Common Raccoon becomes lonely when Fennec is away. In the mobile game and other media, the pair are frequently featured together as a comedic duo, with Common Raccoon serving as the energetic and misguided straight man to Fennec's calm and sarcastic commentary.
Throughout the anime, Common Raccoon undergoes notable development. Initially driven purely by the desire to reclaim her hat, she gradually shifts her perspective as she witnesses Kaban's resourcefulness and kindness. When a massive Cerulean threatens the park and consumes Kaban, Common Raccoon and Fennec immediately run off to gather help from other Friends, returning with a flock of allies to defeat the monster and save Kaban's life. This act demonstrates her growing sense of loyalty and her willingness to put aside her personal grudge for the greater good. After the crisis is resolved, she and Fennec begin exploring the park to find parts to repair the Japari Bus, showing her continued commitment to helping others.
In the manga adaptations, her character takes on different nuances. In one version, she feels sad about being considered a common Friend and seeks to find a new path in life, even asking the caretaker Nana for help. She runs for the position of tourism ambassador against Peafowl, hoping that climbing the ranks could eventually allow her to become the director of Japari Park. While she loses the election, receiving only two votes one from herself and one from her opponent she ultimately comes to realize that being herself is the best path forward. In another manga storyline, she famously asks Nana for one trillion yen, expressing a desire to live a new life as a different animal, only to cycle through various identities and conclude that being a raccoon is actually the happiest existence.
Regarding notable abilities, Common Raccoon possesses several traits that reflect her animal origins. She is a very good swimmer, capable of staying in the water for hours, which is a genuine characteristic of real raccoons. She also demonstrates a particular reliance on her hands and sense of touch, believing in things that she can feel with her hands. This connects to the real-world raccoon behavior of using their highly sensitive paws as their primary tool for sensing the world around them. In the Kemono Friends Kingdom mobile game, she takes on the role of a healer, using two water guns to spray bubbles that heal her allies and dispel debuffs, with her abilities often tied to cleaning or washing effects. Her characteristic enthusiasm and determination are perhaps her most consistently displayed abilities across all media, allowing her to persevere through situations that would leave others discouraged.
In terms of appearance, Common Raccoon has brown eyes and silver-gray hair that fades to white towards the bottom. The front of her hair is black with a distinctive white stripe and a single white patch in her central bang. She possesses two rounded animal ears and a long, ringed tail that matches her species. Her outfit consists of a lavender blouse with puffed sleeves, adorned with a white fur collar and a black bow tie. She wears long black and white gradient gloves, a black miniskirt, gray tights that fade to white at the bottom, and black ankle socks paired with black loafers.
Her personality is defined by brashness, impulsivity, and boundless energy. Common Raccoon tends to act and speak without thinking things through, often putting her body in motion before her mind has fully processed a situation. This tendency leads her into unnecessary trouble and has earned her a reputation for sprinting enthusiastically in the wrong direction. Her self-esteem is generally quite high, though it can be fragile and easily broken when things do not go her way. She has a robust sense of justice and a deep respect for individuals who perform heroic deeds. Linguistically, she is known for a distinctive verbal tic, ending her sentences with the phrase nano da, and she often refers to herself in the third person. In the Japanese version, other characters frequently address her as Arai-san.
The driving motivation for Common Raccoon in the anime is the recovery of a stolen hat. This hat originally belonged to a former park guide named Mirai. Common Raccoon had taken a fondness for the hat and would wear it to hear a recorded voice from a Lucky Beast. During a Sandstar eruption, she was knocked off a cliff while holding the hat, and when she recovered, the hat was gone. Left with only a red feather that was attached to it, she became convinced that a thief had stolen her prized possession. Unaware that the hat had actually been touched by concentrated Sandstar, which caused a new Friend to be born from its human hair, Common Raccoon sets off to track down the alleged culprit.
In her pursuit, Common Raccoon and her constant companion, Fennec, follow the trail of the protagonist Kaban and her friend Serval. This creates the central misunderstanding of her role in the story, as the hat thief she seeks and the person she gradually comes to admire are one and the same. During her journey through the jungle area, she almost drowns but is saved by a bridge of platforms that Kaban constructed, leading her to declare that she owes her life to Kaban. She later hears from other Friends about the various problems Kaban has solved, developing a profound admiration for her even as she continues to chase her. This irony reaches its peak when she finally corners the hat thief at the top of a mountain and discovers that the thief is none other than Kaban herself.
The most significant relationship in Common Raccoon's life is with Fennec, a level-headed and more intelligent Friend who acts as her handler and companion. The two are rarely seen apart, and Fennec often teases Common Raccoon for her reckless behavior while also providing the guidance necessary to prevent her from going completely astray. It is noted that without Fennec properly leading the raccoon, she would have been unable to chase anyone effectively. Despite the teasing, their bond is genuine; Common Raccoon becomes lonely when Fennec is away. In the mobile game and other media, the pair are frequently featured together as a comedic duo, with Common Raccoon serving as the energetic and misguided straight man to Fennec's calm and sarcastic commentary.
Throughout the anime, Common Raccoon undergoes notable development. Initially driven purely by the desire to reclaim her hat, she gradually shifts her perspective as she witnesses Kaban's resourcefulness and kindness. When a massive Cerulean threatens the park and consumes Kaban, Common Raccoon and Fennec immediately run off to gather help from other Friends, returning with a flock of allies to defeat the monster and save Kaban's life. This act demonstrates her growing sense of loyalty and her willingness to put aside her personal grudge for the greater good. After the crisis is resolved, she and Fennec begin exploring the park to find parts to repair the Japari Bus, showing her continued commitment to helping others.
In the manga adaptations, her character takes on different nuances. In one version, she feels sad about being considered a common Friend and seeks to find a new path in life, even asking the caretaker Nana for help. She runs for the position of tourism ambassador against Peafowl, hoping that climbing the ranks could eventually allow her to become the director of Japari Park. While she loses the election, receiving only two votes one from herself and one from her opponent she ultimately comes to realize that being herself is the best path forward. In another manga storyline, she famously asks Nana for one trillion yen, expressing a desire to live a new life as a different animal, only to cycle through various identities and conclude that being a raccoon is actually the happiest existence.
Regarding notable abilities, Common Raccoon possesses several traits that reflect her animal origins. She is a very good swimmer, capable of staying in the water for hours, which is a genuine characteristic of real raccoons. She also demonstrates a particular reliance on her hands and sense of touch, believing in things that she can feel with her hands. This connects to the real-world raccoon behavior of using their highly sensitive paws as their primary tool for sensing the world around them. In the Kemono Friends Kingdom mobile game, she takes on the role of a healer, using two water guns to spray bubbles that heal her allies and dispel debuffs, with her abilities often tied to cleaning or washing effects. Her characteristic enthusiasm and determination are perhaps her most consistently displayed abilities across all media, allowing her to persevere through situations that would leave others discouraged.