History Manga / SomaliAndTheForestSpirit

* ShoutOut:What apear to be an [[Manga/NauscicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind Ohm]] shows up in the underground cavern during episode three.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Inverted. Whilst we have heard tales of wicked and destructive humans in the past, so far it is the non-humans who have not only been more racially intolerant but utterly genocidal to the point of seeing humans largely as ''food''. [[spoiler: Further played with when we meet the witch who wrote a book that depicted humanity in a dark light based on her experiences in a human village, witnessing their intolerance (to the point of needing to hide her own race from them at a Golem's advice for her safety) and the murder of an innocent "grotesque" that happened to show up on their shore even after learning "it" could talk. As horrified as she was by their cruelty and her exile after exposing herself to save her human friend, she had hoped humanity would overcome their fears to make peace with the other races and deeply regrets her book's role in the war that left humanity nearly extinct. Further exlemplified with Aunt Rosa whom spends a whole day playing with Somali. However, once Aunt Rosa finds out Somali is human she sells the information putting Somali's life endanger.]]

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Inverted. Whilst we have heard tales of wicked and destructive humans in the past, so far it is the non-humans who have not only been more racially intolerant but utterly genocidal to the point of seeing humans largely as ''food''. [[spoiler: Further played with when we meet the witch who wrote a book that depicted humanity in a dark light based on her experiences in a human village, witnessing their intolerance (to the point of needing to hide her own race from them at a Golem's advice for her safety) and the murder of an innocent "grotesque" that happened to show up on their shore even after learning "it" could talk. As horrified as she was by their cruelty and her exile after exposing herself to save her human friend, she had hoped humanity would overcome their fears to make peace with the other races and deeply regrets her book's role in the war that left humanity nearly extinct.]]

** It's eventually revealed that around 200-300 years ago, humans really were heavily prejudiced against the "Grotesques", being just as willing to murder completely innocent monsters as the monsters are willing to murder innocent humans. That said, following the near-extermination of humanity, in recent times their hatred of monsters is no longer out of fear towards the unknown, but fear for their lives.

* FantasticRacism: The various monstrous races are heavily prejudiced against humans, considering them nothing more than weak beasts to keep as pets or eat. Humans were apparently also prejudiced against non-humans, but as this was told through a story heavily tinted in racial bias, how much of this is true and how much is justification for their bigotry and hunting of humans is unknown.

& WitchSpecies: A species of long-lived AlwaysFemale witches run the library. They look just like humans, but are considers "Grotesques" by humans.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Inverted. Whilst we have heard tale of wicked and destructive humans in the past, so far it is the non-humans who have not only been more racially intolerant but utterly genocidal.

* CheerfulChild: Somali's cheerfulness is only matched by her boundless curiosity.

* ConstantlyCurious: As mentioned above, Somali's incredibly curious towards everything, which considering her penchant for getting lost, is often a problem for the golem.
* {{Cyclops}}: While he normally has an EyelessFace, when serious, the golem opens the center of his face to show a single eye, which has numerous potential uses, from analyzing the structural makeup of anything to firing a deadly EyeBeam that can vaporise almost everything in its path.

* DubNameChange: The English release of the manga changes Somali's name to Somari, possibly to avoid connections with [[UsefulNotes/{{Somalia}} the country Somalia and avoid referencing Somali pirates.]]

* FeelNoPain: After breaking a piece of himself off to give to Shizuno in exchange for learning how to make medicine, Somali expresses concern about the golem's well-being, to which he explains that golems have no sense of pain. Which means that no matter how much he breaks apart, he will never feel it.
* GenkiGirl: Whenever Somali does something, she does it full of energy and excitement, never slowing down when it comes to satisfying her interests, with only the words and actions of her "Dad" being able to keep her in check.

* InTheHood: Somali specifically wears a hooded cloak around other monsters to hide not her identity but her species. The false horns allow her to pass as a minotaur child.

* PapaWolf: Almost from the moment they met, the golem has felt a strong sense of protectiveness towards Somali. Even in spite of his claims to [[TinMan have no emotions]], whenever there's any potential for danger towards Somali, he expresses worry and concern, and when there actually IS something that could threaten Somali present, he's fully open to killing people if it means she'll be safe.
* ParentalSubstitute:
** Ever since the golem stumbled upon Somali, he's effectively taken on the role of her father. They may not fully understand what it's like to be each other's race, and Somali's childish enthusiasm can frustrate the golem at times, but both of them genuinely love and care about each other, even if the golem doesn't fully comprehend how much he cares about Somali.
** Episodes 5 and 6 introduces Haitora and Uzoi, two bird beings traveling together to try to find a cure for Haitora's SoapOperaDisease. [[spoiler:Haitora reveals to golem that he was also a human, and became cursed after killing and eating Uzoi's mother out of sheer hunger and desperation. He then met a very young Uzoi who didn't know about this until she accidentally overheard their conversation.]]
* RaceNameBasis: Likely as a result of him being a creature that doesn't interact with other races often, the golem doesn't have a name, with most other characters simply referring to him as "golem" or "Mr. Golem". The closest thing he has to a name is Somali referring to him as "Dad".

* SkullForAHead: The Golem's head has a pattern that vaguely makes it look like a skull.

* TheStoic: The golem's normal state is very calm and composed, almost never reacting emotionally to the things around him. [[NotSoStoic In some situations]], such as when Somali is potentially in danger, however, he shows that at the very least he's fully capable of experiencing fury and/or worry.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: As a being of the forest, the golem is capable of understanding and communicating with animals.
* TinMan: The golem says he has no emotions, and indeed he does normally operate solely on logic and efficiency. But when it comes to Somali, he's often shown to be just as capable of experiencing emotions as anybody else, he simply isn't able to process why he does so.

* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: The Golem repeatedly states that golems have no emotions, but he cannot understand why he cares for Somali, or why he wants to see her smile.

* RaceNameBasis: Likely as a result of him being a creature that doesn't interact with other races often, the golem doesn't have a name, with most other characters calling him "golem" or "Mr. Golem". The closest thing he has to a name is Somali referring to him as "Dad".

* FeelNoPain: After breaking a piece of himself off to give to Suzuno in exchange for learning how to make medicine, Somali expresses concern about the golem's well-being, to which he explains that golems have no sense of pain. Which means that no matter how much he breaks apart, he will never feel it.

* {{Oni}}: Suzuno and Yabashiro are oni, Suzuno being a dwarf oni (an oni that never ages past childhood physically, meaning they never gain the strength of regular oni) with four horns. Both of them live in a hut out in a forest in order to be closer to the plant-life they use in their medicines.

* TokenHuman: While a major part of the plot is finding more of them, so far the only human in the story is Somali. [[spoiler:Well, the only normal human, anyway]]

* WhatTheHellHero: Uzoi towards Haitora when he tried to sacrifice himself by luring a dangerous desert creature away from her and Somali in an attempt at RedemptionEqualsDeath. Instead she and golem saves him by attacking it and forcing it to flee, and yelling at him for trying to weasel his way out of killing her mother by dying. She tells him instead to stay alive and spend his remaining time with her as "punishment" for his sins years earlier.

* ParentalSubstitute: Ever since the golem stumbled upon Somali, he's effectively taken on the role of her father. They may not fully understand what it's like to be each other's race, and Somali's childish enthusiasm can frustrate the golem at times, but both of them genuinely love and care about each other, even if the golem doesn't fully comprehend how much he cares about Somali.

* ToServeMan: One of the monsters in episode 1 reminisces about the taste of humans, and many others consider humans to be a rare delicacy.
* YourDaysAreNumbered: Golems like Somali's "father" live for exactly one thousand years, with them passing and becoming one with nature again when that time is up. By the time the story starts, our golem is already nearing the end of his life.

* {{Oni}}: Suzuno and Yabashiro are oni, Suzuno being a dawrf oni with four horns. Both of them live in a hut out in a forest in order to be close to plant-life they use in their medicines.

* {{Oni}}: Suzuno and Yabashiro are oni, Suzuno being a dawrf oni with four horns.

''Somali and the Forest Spirit'' (ソマリと森の神様, ''Somari to Mori no Kamisama'') is a Japanese fantasy manga series by Yako Gureishi. It has been serialized online since April 2015 via Tokuma Shoten's online manga magazine ''Web Comic Zenyon.'' An anime television series adaptation by Satelight and HORNETS is premiered in January 9, 2020, with the first episode airing a week early on Crunchyroll.

''Somali and the Forest Spirit'' (ソマリと森の神様, ''Somari to Mori no Kamisama'') is a Japanese fantasy manga series by Yako Gureishi. It has been serialized online since April 2015 via Tokuma Shoten's online manga magazine ''Web Comic Zenyon.'' An anime television series adaptation by Satelight and HORNETS is scheduled to premiere in January 9, 2020, with the first episode airing a week early on Crunchyroll.