"Kemono Friends" (けものフレンズ) was originally a Nexon mobile game, but the franchise was popularised by the Winter 2017 anime of the same name, directed by Tatsuki, the key member of the doujin circle "irodori". The anime has a distinctive and memorable style, animated in 3D with irodori's original models based on Mine Yoshizaki's character designs.

After the controversial removal of Director Tatsuki from the Kemono Friends project by Kadokawa, "Kemono Friends 2" was aired, with viewers noting a different art style and feeling, as well as a divergence from the main storyline of the first season, and the replacement of the main character Kaban. The tag irodori版けものフレンズ is used to specifically refer to Kemono Friends (2017) as opposed to Kemono Friends 2 (2019).

The tag commonly referred to derivative works by artist Quick Waipa (クイック賄派), who created a doujinshi series "Kemono Friends +i" depicting an imaginary direct continuation to irodori's Kemono Friends featuring the same characters as the 2017 anime. Now it is used for works depicting anything explicity related to the first season, such as featuring the "Savannah Duo" Kaban and Serval.