A polar bear and a seal meet Polar Bear and Seal. If that sounds confusing, here’s the story in two words: love triangles.
The end of the first volume of A Polar Bear in Love had the easily frightened young Seal staying with Polar Bear, who loves him. Much to the latter’s disappointment, the two don’t get much alone time in this second volume. First they meet a young female polar bear cub who has lost her mother. Readers know that Polar Bear’s past likely plays a part in his helping the Li’l Miss Polar Bear, but Seal’s reaction is somewhat surprising. He likes the idea of being a big brother and participates in playing house… as the food. The cub is understandably confused by the relationship between the main two, but her childish jealousy is replaced by admiration. She is eventually reunited with her mother, but there’s a final little twist that I hope the manga will go back to.
After that, Polar Bear invites Seal out on a date in exchange for swimming lessons. Polar Bear’s love has been described as pure and unselfish, but prickly feelings start to pierce his chest. He knows if Seal learns how to swim his “lover” may end up leaving him behind, and Polar Bear’s burgeoning feelings of anguish grows as Seal falls in love with a Harpy Seal. The gentle giant can only grin and bear it as Seal excitedly recounts his time with his precious “Harpy Dear”. In the end, Polar Bear and Seal both end up having a good cry over their unrequited loves.
I praised the first volume of A Polar Bear in Love for being surprisingly deep and emotional despite its comical setup. Seal may be less afraid of Polar Bear, but his worst-case scenarios and Polar Bear’s half-understandings of (human) dating rituals still provide laughs. (Polar Bear mistakes his drawing of an umbrella for a meat skewer, and the image of Seal with legs is hilarious.) If your heart was squeezing because of Polar Bear’s sorrowful past, you might find this volume a little too love-heavy. It does touch on loneliness, but Volume 2 is more about characters’ feelings being a one-way street. A new character appears at the very end, so it will be interesting to see how Polar Bear and Seal’s relationship will change now that one knows he really wants requited love and the other can understand Polar Bear’s broken heart. I’m hoping the next volume focuses more on different types of relationships like parents and children and love between siblings.
There’s still not much to say about the art considering it’s all thick lines and simple designs. I do like Koromo’s visual cues that Polar Bear keeps reaching his limit, showing him with an open instead of a closed mouth as he blurts out his wish. The bonus pages in volume 2 refer to the very Japanese holidays and traditions. This might confuse some readers, but I think this is more appropriate for all ages than the previous volume. The adaptation also reflects this with no honorifics, but that the sound effects are still in Japanese instead of being replaced may be a positive or a negative in your opinion.
A Polar Bear in Love Volume 2 may feature a bright and cheery yellow background for its cover, but perhaps red/pink for romance would have been more appropriate. The story continues to delight, but I’m hoping the next is a little more than just a lesson in how the one you love may not love you in return.