Helen: When Yuna answers a survey at the beginning of logging into her latest session of the VR “World Fantasy Online” she thinks it’s just a part of the latest patch. She doesn’t realize that it’s actually god asking the questions! Based on her responses, that she prefers games to the real world etc, god has plopped her down into a new fantasy world, not the video game she was expecting, with her real appearance, all of her stats reset, and her only equipment is a bear kigurumi set that she just won in a gatcha game. This is way more than Yuna wanted but, this world is more interesting than the real world AND this bear kigurumi might be the most OP equipment set ever…..
Yuna’s bear kigurumi doesn’t look anything like Shu Starling’s bear kigurumi/mascot outfit in Infinite Dendrogram (Yuna’s just looks like a set of pajamas) but unlike Shu, Yuna stands out like a sore thumb since she’s not in a VR game world with crazy appearances everywhere. Yuna has certainly landed in a fantasy world with adventurers taking on quests and such, there’s even a leveling system, but everyone’s clothes look much more restrained to her chagrin. We already know from the title that Yuna is unlikely to give up her amazingly overpowered bear gear and fight with her bare hands instead but it is such a strange outfit that it was funny to see her wrestle with the idea.
It is a little funny to see just how quickly Yuna adjusts to the idea of being in a new world, although her line of reasoning — my parents aren’t here and god turned all of my money into local currency — fits well enough for an isekai with a silly bent like this. She makes an off-hand comment about how she could be a homebody in any world really but so far it looks like she’s going to be living a more active life, akin to her VR games, than the isolated life we get a few glimpses of back on Earth. So far she’s beat up a number of guild members to get them to accept her, destroyed dozens of wolves, and now she’s even taking up quests, good thing one of the bear kigurumi’s abilities is a restoration buff!
So far this manga is as fluffy as Yuna’s kigurumi and it’s a fun, more light-hearted isekai story, more like Bofuri in tone than anything else. I’m certainly looking forward to continuing this story — I’m not sure if I’ll continue with this manga adaptation, the original light novels, or the upcoming anime adaptation but, based on the promo images for the anime, it looks like Yuna’s gear has a few more tricks up it’s sleeves and plenty of adventures to boot!
Helen’s rating: 3.5 out of 5
Justin: Yuna has just about had it. From being annoyed by reality and not enjoying the company of her parents, she turns to games — specifically World Fantasy Online — to give her some comfort and enjoyment. But after answering somewhat specific questions when logging in, she is not transported into the VRMMO, but instead a completely new fantasy world where Yuna parades around in a bear suit.
Yep, a bear suit — as she soon learns though, this bear suit is extremely overpowered!
Based off the light novel version, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear won’t win points for being original but should for at least being competent. After all, there’s a good chance the premise of character getting sent to a new world, isekai or not, is a familiar one. The only real twist is you might as well rock a cute bear set doing it. Yuna ends up opening a chest that contained the bear suit, and after being sent to this new world, she has lots to understand about it. Well, aside from people suddenly questioning why a bear is roaming around their town.
This first volume displays her many personalities when thrown into familiar situations (dealing with jerks online) or ones she’s never experienced (basically being in the bear suit). Aside from the gimmick of that, the mystery of what truly happened to her is the real question. In that respect, the series is more or less closer to Sword Art Online/Re:ZERO than something like Bofuri where the day ends and she can return back home. No, she’s stuck in that fantasy world, but based on her scorn of her parents and school, she might not want to go back home. Will this change as her time there continues?
The better question is, will it matter? The usual focus for works that aren’t isekai is never actually returning back home, but what the character does in their new world. Yuna finds herself in a situation where, after she maxed out her level in WFO, now has to start all over from Level 1. It’s just now she’s in a mysteriously powerful bear suit. What does she do with this? Well, so far she’s just overpowered overconfident men, destroyed wolf packs, and discovered she can reverse the bear suit and use it to restore her energy. That’s likely the tip of the iceberg of what she can do, and based on how the volume ends, she still has more to learn about it!
So if you check out Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear, you should enjoy what it does have to offer. The art by Sergei is fine (there is a part of me that thinks some of the background characters are drawn awkwardly), and Yuna’s journey while donning a bear suit at least seems fun. There’s a short story included that does go over even more of her desire to get away from her parents, so you get mostly manga but a tiny bit of light novel by Kumamano as well. All in all, a tale that’s worth a look.
Justin’s rating: 3.5 out of 5