My Deer Friend Nokotan

Here is a group of interviews done by AT with staff members from the show. From the article:

Interviewed at WIT Studio were director Masahiko Ohta, episodic animation director Karin Omura, and color designer Arisu Komatsu, with WIT production manager Sakurai sitting in.

Per the title, when asked about the Bully Maguire Dance, the director, Masahiko Ohta had this to say:

AT: How do you choose the pop culture references? How did the Bully Maguire dance make it into the show?

Masahiko Ohta: Once the staff comes up with an idea, I need to decide whether I think it can be broadcasted or not, and if it can, we immediately try to use it. If we don’t end up getting permission, we unfortunately have to give up on the idea there.

As for the Bully Maguire dance… I’m a big fan of Director Sam Raimi’s work, so when the scene where Koshitan was supposed to do a weird dance came up, I immediately thought of the Bully Maguire dance. Once that thought was in my head, I said to myself, “I have to include it!” Japanese people aren’t really familiar with the dance, but I knew it was a joke that the foreign audience knew about. After the episode was broadcast, a lot of the foreign audience did recognize it, which made me glad we worked so hard on it.

I love Director Raimi’s work, so I’m really happy that I was able to include an homage to him in Nokotan.