Animal Land

• Ja Kanji — どうぶつの国 • Ja Romaji — Dōbutsu no Kuni • Genre — * Comedy • Fantasy • Dystopia

• Type — manga • Author — Makoto Raiku • Publisher — Kodansha • Imprint — Shōnen Magazine Comics • Magazine — Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine • First — October 9, 2009 • Last — February 9, 2014 • Volumes — 14 Country of the Animals is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku. The series follows a human baby abandoned by his mother who ends up in a world inhabited solely by animals and is raised by a tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog). It was originally serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from October 2009 to February 2014. Later, it was compiled into fourteen collected tankōbon volumes by Kodansha in Japan. These volumes were licensed in North America by Kodansha USA and published from August 2011 to October 2018. Raiku chose the animal world as the main theme of the series because he wanted a topic that had never been attempted before in a manga. The animals are used as a metaphor to explore human themes, and because of the subjects it deals with it has been described as "darker" than it apparently was. This, however, did not prevent it from being well received by critics and winning the Kodansha Manga Award for Best Children's Manga. It has also sold reasonably, appearing in weekly top ten lists of best-selling manga both in Japan and North America.

A tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) called Monoko has her parents killed by lynxes; she feels lonely as she is the only tanuki without a family. A day while she is fishing, Monoko finds an abandoned human baby, whose name is Tarouza, and decides to raise him as her child. In a world inhabited only by animals, the human baby is a mystery; he can speak with all animal species even when the different species cannot communicate between them. This ability makes him able to save Kurokagi, a lynx who questions the world's concept of "law of the jungle". He injures himself while trying to protect the tanuki and vows to protect Taroza thenceforth. Seven years later, Taroza has reunited many other animal species and constructed a village, where he lives with them. As the story progress Taroza meets with other humans: Kapuri, a girl raised by lions; Jyu, a sadistic boy who lives along with a dog; Giller, a man who wants to destroy all animals using genetically altered beings called "Chimera"; and Riemu, a girl raised by gorillas. In his quest to make all animals live in peace, Taroza discovers the existence of the "Eternity Fruit" that can be eaten by carnivore and herbivore. This fruit was created by Kuou, the last human who lived some years before the start of the series. He had the same desire Taroza has and found the Eternity Fruit and the ability to speak are the solutions. For this purpose, he created a machine to make all animals understand others cries, and brought Taroza, Capri, Jyu, Giller, and Riemu from their times to the present.

Makoto Raiku declared he wanted to write a story that was never seen in a manga magazine before. The first character Raiku created was Monoko, having initially envisioned her raising a baby in the human world, which he changed after talking with his editor. The fact the human baby can understand the cries of all animal species was described as "kind of like a powered-up version of the human ability of 'speech'." Raiku went to Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya to do research, and although needed to look at photographs of animals as he found them difficult to draw, the animals allowed him to make comical chapters even if he was dealing with "difficult themes." Reviewers have discussed on its theme and content compared to its target audience. Silverman said Raiku uses the animals as a metaphor to humans while "handling of the darker side of societies." Silverman deemed it as "darker than it at first appears", compared it to The Fox and the Hound and pondered, "It is, at its heart, a tale of love and friendship and how together we are stronger than apart. But it is also a story of child-abandonment, the cruelties of nature, and the violence of the natural world." Katherine Dacey of School Library Journal cited its humor and art as "better suited" to tweens, while cited its "darker material", and compared Monoko's parents death to that of mother of Babar, a character by Jean de Brunhoff. Scott Green of Ain't It Cool News asserted that "There are plenty of bits here that are more Werner Herzog than Walt Disney" and that "It seems like it's for young kids, but it doesn't seem appropriate for them." Mark Thomas of The Fandom Post said it feels "a bit juvenile, both in story and in humor, but there are themes present that seem to be for an older crowd" and "scenes that [...] a lot of kids would struggle to understand".

Animal Land, written and illustrated by Makoto Raiku, was first published in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine on September 9, 2009, as a one-shot titled "Episode 0". It served as a prologue to the regular serialization that was done in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from October 9, 2009, to February 9, 2014. Kodansha compiled its chapters into fourteen tankōbon (collected volumes) and released them from March 17, 2010, to March 7, 2014. Additionally, 28 authors wrote a yonkoma version of Animal Land for Bessatsu Shōnen Magazines six-month anniversary, and two one-shots were also published in Weekly Shōnen Magazine on March 17, and August 18, 2010. In December 2010, Kodansha USA announced it had licensed the series for an English-language translation for the Northern America. Its first volume was released on August 16, 2011, while the last volume was published on October 30, 2018. Seven days before the release of its final print volume, Kodansha with ComiXology also made digital volumes available until October 29, 2018. The manga has also been licensed in some countries such as in France by Ki-oon and in Taiwan by Tong Li Publishing.