Today, there are many, MANY, MAAAAAANY anime of the Isekai genre. So much so that there are even genres within the Isekia genre, haha. And thanks to that, there are many Isekai that are good. Many that are bad. And many that really will depend on your tastes. I think it's the case of today's anime which is the first Isekai anime we're talking about here...if we don't count Monster Rancher as being part of that genre that is xP.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (kuma means bear in Japanese so yes...name is Bear Bear Bear Bear xP) is one of the most chill Isekai anime out there. Well, it's more a mix of that and that genre of anime where the character is playing in a virtual game, and the anime is about that game like it's the case of Sword Art Online. Not that Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear is terrible like SAO but then again, few things are~
From wiki: "Yuna is a bored teenage girl who spends her time as a NEET and living off the money she makes in the stock market, being mooched off by her parents. While playing her favorite FPV online game World Fantasy Online, Yuna receives an embarrassing bear suit as a gift for playing so long. The administrator of the game turns out to be a God, who based the game on her world. She then transports Yuna into said world without a real warning with the bear suit, which she is powerless without as it grants her special powers. Despite her initial anger at being teleported without consent, and that there is no way back to her old world, Yuna quickly adapts and finds her new life more fulfilling than the empty one back on Earth as her actions cause her to rise in fame."
Like similar anime of this genre, there are many characters in it. Let's talk only about four of them since two are the most important and two are our kemono characters!
- Yuna: The MC of the anime! We didn't see much of her back in our world but we know she is a fifteen-year-old girl that lives by herself. She has a lot of money (for some reason, she's that smart to make so much money from the stock market? Really?? It's a bit weird since she never gives the vibe that she's a super genius. But I digress...) which she gives to her parents and thanks to that her family leaves her alone which is part of why she ended up becoming a hikikomori that only lived as an otaku until she started to play the game World Fantasy Online becoming addicted to it! Now, she only plays that game.
One day, she was isekaid to this world that reassembled the game by a being that claimed to be god. Now she's stuck in this new world but god gave her a bear suit which makes Yuna become ridiculously overpowered even if wearing it is something that makes her embarrassed! Slowly she gets used to wearing it and it helps that allows her to be so overpowered she can defeat anyone effortlessly. Despite her pessimistic view on life she still is a kind girl and ends up using her power (well, more like the power of the bear suit) to help others though more than anything she just wants to have a "slow life" in this new world. Still trying to live on her own, as the hikikomori that she is but as the anime progresses she gets closer to Fina and makes new friends.
The suit is one of the ways this isekai is different from most others. Yuna is NOT overpowered, without the suit she's dead. But the suit is and it's why she wears it for 90% of the time in the anime. And also why in the two seasons of the anime she never told anyone about her secret, letting people think she's this amazing powerful adventurer that has an obsession with bears given how she is always dressed xD.
- Fina is the first character that Yuna meets in this world, saving her from being killed by a pack of wolves. Thanks to that she and the ten-year-old's family befriended Yuna and it's thanks to that she ended up starting to live in the town of Crimonia.
Despite being so young she is good at harvesting monsters and there's no shortage of bodies for her thanks to Yuna and her overpowered bear suit! Over time they became good friends, with Yuna slowly warming more to her and to the other people she befriended in this world.
After meeting Fina, Yuna meets a lot of other human characters but it all started with Fina. Usually, the anime deals with Yuna just wanting to chill but a character like Fina or someone she met recently asking her for help to deal with something or Yuna sees a situation she can't just ignore being the kind girl that she is despite being a hikikomori. Now, this is an isekai anime but it's of the "slice of life" genre. That means this is among the most chill isekai you will see out there. Do NOT expect to watch this for an adult plot complex battles or lots of drama. Heck, despite the power of her suit I wouldn't even say this is an anime for fans of action since the suit is more an excuse for her to cheat and bypass all combat lol. That way she can finish the battles as fast as possible and return to the core of what this anime is about which is the slice of life stuff of a hikikomori girl who was isekaid to a world like this, with magic and monsters.
You will see stuff like character development, especially on Yuna and also on Fina. It is nice to see but again it's not an anime you watch for that sort of stuff. Even if yes, as most isekai it does have its share of dark fucked up stuff like the whole small arc with the orphanage. But it's nothing compared to most more "serious" isekai out there. This is the sort of anime you watch for the chill, the cuteness overall, and the lots and lots of cute girls in it. There's also some comedy in it though it's almost all related to Yuna's suit to some extent, especially at the first season when everyone is surprised to see it for the first time.
At the time of this review, the anime has two seasons and the second season is a direct sequel if you liked season one, you will like the second season as well. It's of the same quality as season one after all, still following the slice of life with the chill aspect of it. While the second season does have more battles and it is a bit more serious, it's still not something for fans of the more serious isekai out there.
Like most isekai anime those days, this is based on a light novel and there is a manga too. I can't comment on those since I only watched the anime but if you happened to have read either of them feel free to give your input on them, especially compared to the anime! I'm curious if, for example, there are kemono characters in the light novel or in the manga that were either cut or didn't show up in the anime yet!
Kumayuru is the black bear, his name means Swaying Bear. Kumakyu means Hugging Bear! They're Yuna's familiars since they're beasts that she can summon anytime. So in a way, they're part of her suit too though they are alive and such.
Both of them are very strong too just not as much as Yuna herself. And for whatever reason while their "real" form is their big form they are also able to turn into those much smaller forms making them seem like cubs or something. Normally they're in their real forms though because most of the time Yuna uses them as her and other characters's main method of transport.
Sure, riding a bear to go somewhere does sound fun and it probably is! And it's nice that they have two forms they can change whenever they want and both forms are cute. But...that's it. They can't talk and most of the time if it wasn't for the colors of their fur you would never be able to even tell them apart! I even wonder why we have two bears and not just one since they both do the exact same thing which is to be the mascot of the anime. Maybe the author wanted two so the other can be the ride of the character that needs it while the other is being ridden by Yuna lol.
That's the issue with them. As cute as those two are they aren't here as characters, more like the token furry mascot. I don't know if they can talk or communicate directly with Yuna in the novels or in the manga. But here, this is it.
Aside from those two we only have some goblins and wolves that are quite good but again, they're just the monsters that our heroes are facing at that time and that's it. Granted, very solid designs here especially for the goblins which are among the cutest goblins I have ever seen in anime! But they're all just monsters, including the nice-looking wolf boss which only shows up in one episode so...yeah.
Not like we see those monsters all the time regardless of their design being good. The only kemono we have in all episodes are the two bears but as I said they're more like the mascots of the anime than characters, as cute as they are.
So, kemonowise this is an anime that will depend if you are into bears or not since if you aren't you can't expect much from this at all unless you REALLY are into cute goblins and feral wolf monsters!
So, for those reasons, I believe that Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear deserves a...*turns around and points dramatically at the cartoon* AN ONE OUT OF FIVE OF LOF IN THE KAMIKAZE SCALE!!! It's very hard maybe even impossible to give more than that for a show that has only one or two kemono as part of the main cast but they can't even talk or act as actual characters. And aside from the bears here we barely have some nice monsters. This means this wasn't even that close to being a two on the scale!
I recommend this anime for fans of ursine "characters" and chill, slice of life isekai with many cute girls. If you like any of those this might interest ya so try the first episodes and see for yourself~
Commissions based on this cartoon so far: there are a few! It's fun to pair the bears with monsters like they lost a battle against them or something >:3
The best furry character this time is...a tie between both bears! Since they’re the same character technically xP!
Aaaand that’s it for this one! Hope you guys enjoyed reading this review. Please don't hesitate to leave your comments and opinions about it and also about Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear if you happen to have watched it or maybe wanna check it out thanks to this review xD. I want to leave those journals as a place where people can discuss the respective things being reviewed here!
