Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

With the global pandemic going on around the world right now, there’s one form of entertainment that is satisfying for millions and millions of people around the world: video games. Specifically, RPG of the MMORPG genre are real time sinks. We find out the easy way once 15-year old Yuna is introduced to the show. As an adventurer in the online game, World Fantasy Online, she is best described as the typical nerd at home. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is exactly what it sounds like. What it advertises is what you get and that is our main character dressed up in a bear outfit. It mayseem like a peculiar trend but with the countless amount of fantasy shows in recent years, nothing surprises me anymore. Coming into this anime gave me the impression of playing a video game as we follow Yuna on her fantasy adventure. And here’s the catcher: Yuna enjoys her life in this new world more so than the real world. World Fantasy Online is perhaps the most generic sounding game I’ve ever heard of. It’s taking the three most oversaturated words of the isekai genre and put them all in one basket. And as expected, the game itself has a colorful world setting of creatures, NPCs, characters, and of course, Yuma in a bear outfit. Despite the anime seemingly throwing everything to you at once, it’s actually pretty easy to figure out where Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is headed. The premise follows the plot and doesn’t take deep understanding to figure out the show altogether. First off, there’s Yuna, the 15-year old poster girl who is carrying this show in her bear outfit. Like most teenagers, gaming is part of her hobby but she takes it to an obsessive level. There’s charm about her character despite this unhealthy hobby because let’s face it, she’s nerdy on the outside but adorably cute on the inside. Watching Yuna solving problems such as dealing with roaming monsters in the wild, discovering treasures, or collecting certain objects reminds me of modern JRPGs. Only here, Yuna doesn’t have a main questline to get through to beat the game. At least from this anime’s plot, she’s free and builds her own life in this virtual world. And because she is so free, Yuna has come to love World Fantasy Online and the gaming culture. Make no mistake. Yuna’s no pushover when getting work done especially when judging on her combat skills. It’s actually amusing once you witness her feats in the show. Fighting monsters seems more like an annoying chore for her than an actual challenge. The anime built her character to be powerful, and by powerful, she is pretty much unrivaled throughout all her fights. I could go on to list her achievements but you’ll have to see to believe it. The bottom line is, Yuna is more than just unbearably cute. She’s a selfless girl that has the personality of a teen but also with heart of gold. She even forms some important relationships with others such as Fina and Noire. While on her adventure, you can see more of Yuna’s real personality when she interacts with these characters. With the show’s cour length being just 12 episodes, there’s concern about how the studio would handle the adaptation. Honestly, stuffing over 15+ volumes into a single cour is never a favorable impression when you know the juicy part of the franchise lies in the light novels. That being said, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear does have a smooth pacing and flows on its own as a story. With every episode, we discover that World Fantasy Online can be a dangerous place to other adventurers. There’s monsters, bandits, and other creatures roaming around that can kill, rob, eat, and commit all sorts of sins you can imagine. Remember, it’s a fantasy story and common logic is often thrown out the window. Yuna herself represents a defiance of common sense. I mean, just asking yourself this question: how can a little girl of her size in a beat outfit be so damn overpowered? Limiting the anime to 12-episodes did set off red flags but thankfully is tolerable as you can enjoy the show for more than its length. Comedy wise, this show loves its recurring gags specifically with other characters making fun of Yuna’s bear outfit. She herself even realizes how ridiculous it looks despite the overwhelming stat advantages. Studio EMT Squared and the director designed her in such a way to sell the show’s appeal. It creates many moments of charming chemistry between the cast. The world setting itself is designed to reflect fantasy elements with the castles, dangerous creatures, and oversized bears. Even if you’re not a bear fanatic, there’s no doubt the show wanted you to experience its world. I’m sure everyone can agree that we have way too many fantasy anime every season. Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear may seem like a clone with some added twist but deep down, this is still a charming anime. Without a complex story or characterization, we are presented with a show about a girl in a bear outfit enjoying her fantasy life. Life isn’t easy in the real world but Yuna makes it look like a piece of cake in her own world.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear - Bears are cute. What would you do with your life after earning billions of yen in stocks? Our 15 years old girl Yuna confines herself to her house playing the world's first VRMMO. One day, after taking a survey in the game, she receives a bear costume without any clues where, why, what to do as a bear. But she quickly recognizes the power of bears and uses it to help people in need. And so, the story of our heroic kuma begins. Real life sucks. Well…this is a point that we often cannot deny. Our main character Yuna also hasthe same view and thus her journey in the fantasy world begins. She meets friends there that she really likes. Every day she experiences new adventures with them together. The poor in need are helped by her power and the limit of the evil dukes are finally shown. How does she make all of this possible? The answer is the bear costume. This present item has definitely cheat powers and can literally beat anything and anyone. Shortly after arriving the fantasy world, she saves a young cute girl named Fina from a pack of monsters. You can feel the harmony between the two girls and see that they get along perfectly. Fina guides her through the small down and after discovering the Adventures Guild, Yuna has found her destiny. She will become an adventure and fight against the evil! From an adventure without rank, she climbs them faster than lightning. Yuna is initially presented as a lazy, carefree and lonely NEET. Real life simply sucks in her opinion. She also doesn't care about the opinions from other people, she is doing the things she loves. Despite her somewhat anti-social demeanour, Yuna is exceptionally kind and has a certain sense of justice. She also shows a soft side towards the people she loves like Fina or Fina's imouto Shuri. Fina is the person saved by Yuna, not from the monsters only but everything. Meeting Yuna was the best thing could happen to her. With her help, Fina's mother recovered from her illness as well. Despite her young age (10), she already knows how to take care of her family. But not only Fina's world changed because of Yuna, instead also Yuna's view about the people who she really cares got in a positive way. If you are a fan of the CGDCT genre in general, you will like the style here for sure. All the girls are shown very cute. Yuna's life becomes more colorful through this world, which is also well represented. It is colorful and you can feel her happiness through the bright and beautiful colors. The scenes are also well animated, even those where a little fight takes place. The OP song “Itsuka no Kioku” is performed by our cute Fina aka Azumi Waki. She is also known as part of the legendary Blend S OP "Bon Appétit ♡ S" where she voices Maika. You can feel how happy Fina is meeting Yuna-oneechan from the music and the lyrics. She is the one who saved not only her but also her whole family and brought them the joy they deserve. But what really stays in your head is the ED song "Ano ne" sung by Yuna (Maki Kawase). Maybe one or the other will still remember the "anone anone" from the Platelets (Hataraku Saibou – Cells at Work!), which is also just too cute. We saw your stories with happiness, Yuna. With this song she shows that she would do everything to protect this world and her friends. It is a place where she is accepted and feels home. Although I am a huge CGDCT fan, I was a bit skeptical after the first few episodes. I have to admit that I found the bear costume a bit strange at the beginning. I would love to see Yuna more without it to be honest. I like her casual outfit much more. But gradually I got used to it and it didn’t bother me anymore. What really fascinates me is Yuna's attitude how much she is willing to help the poor and vulnerable people without expecting anything in return. I hope especially for Fina, Schuri and their family they can have a great time now, those two young ladies deserved it. Relax a little, just lean back and enjoy the adventures with our bears! See how a 15-year-old girl save the world and put smiles on people's faces again. I hope we will see more adventures with our kuma in the future as well!

So, first let's talk about the obvious: -it's a show mostly for young girls -it's an isekai without originality -it's only 12 episodes It explain why the first and last episodes are shaped that way. It doesn't explain why the studio managed to make a bad adaptation to something they could not screw up. The first episode will completely confuse you about timelines and if that's an isekai or a story about a game. It's really really not well made at all. The last one is...well, something not in the novel they are adapting from (according to what others told me). Which explain well why it felt badly written andforced. Anyway, if you manage to get past the first episode, the second one do a good job at starting the story and it's easy to follow after that. Now, nearly all characters are very bland and the bad guys are comically obvious to guess but there is plenty of fluff for those it interest. The whole reason i watched until the end is Yuna, our girl protagonist and the only character fleshed out of the whole show. She is relatable and feel like she really is 15. She is Fun. Her personality, chara-design and general demeanor are the highlight of the show. The voice acting is really good too. If you want a show to relax while you do something else, it's the one.

Merchandise

Links may contain affiliate references

Studio

Producers

Themes