I was reading about Dungeon Meshi and Kuro, the “kobold”.

Kobolds are usually depicted as canine humanoids in Japanese media compared to the more reptilian humanoids that kobolds are depicted as in western media[4] such as Dungeons and Dragons. The reason for this is credited as either a mistranslation of the first Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual[5] or because of the lack of reference art in said Monster Manual, but a picture of a jackalwere being present on the opposite page[6], which was then used as reference art for the anime, The Record of the Lodoss War. That anime is credited for solidifying the trope of canine kobolds in Japanese media.

From https://delicious-in-dungeon.fandom.com/wiki/Kobolds#cite_note-5

And the supporting youtube video https://m.youtube.com/shorts/rUntTZ6spOc

Bonus fact: piglike orcs.

  • xwolpertinger@lemmy.worldEnglish
    29·
    4 months ago

    Kobolds are originally just the “small folk” of German mythology with all of them being gnome-like but with varying degrees of hospitality. That’s why you get your mine Kobolds, your Heinzelmännchen and your Klabautermann.

    Bonus fact: Dog like Kobolds in DnD derived media are not exclusive to Japan, in the Everquest lore they are also dog like (and a bit hyena like, whereas gnolls here are fully canine)