English Dub Review: Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear “Bear, Watches Over the Sisters”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Gentz proposes to Tirumina, and after a slight hesitation, she says yes. Fina, Shuri, and Yuna burst in to congratulate the couple.

Back at her house, Yuna muses about how Gentz will fit in perfectly with the family. But just then, Fina bursts in, distraught that her mother is cancelling the wedding.

Fina recounts the incident that led to Tirumina’s drastic decision: a squabble over Gentz’s ketchup usage. Yuna assures her they’ll work things out, declining to interfere. But Fina explains that she and Shuri decided to get them a Snow Crystal Flower, to remind Tirumina and Gentz about the good ol’ times.

Yuna says she can tag along, and since Shuri is joining them, decides to summon Kumakyuu and Kumayuru “just to be safe.” Her beasts come in handy right away. Shuri spots a “baby black viper”, and Kumayuru has to step in to bat the snake away.

Yuna is impressed by her fearlessness at first, but it soon becomes a bit of a problem. Shuri eats sour berries, pokes a hornet’s nest, and crosses a creaky bridge with no regard for her own safety. Thankfully, nothing too bad happens, and they continue on their journey.

When they arrive at the meadow, it’s green and flowerless. Shuri searches frantically, but with no luck. Just as they’re about to leave empty-handed, Shuri spots a trapped bird.

Fina helps her free it, and it drops a single blue feather as it flies away. The sisters are excited to bring home the unexpected gift.

Back at home, they’re worried the two lovebirds are still fighting. They head in anyways, to present the feather. Tirumina and Gentz are shocked at how similar it is to the one Roy (Fina and Shuri’s father) wore as a good luck charm.

Yuna makes pudding for the girls and they have a sleepover. She also shares the eggy dessert with others in town, including Lord Cliff. The feudal lord uses the opportunity to ask Yuna to take Noa to the Royal Capital for him.

Our take:

A nice return to this series with a double dose of bear suit nonsense. Yuna’s spit take is a classic comedy reaction, but I do appreciate this show’s manner of portraying it.

Besides the visuals, which remain top notch as always, this episode covers quite a bit of ground in regards to storytelling.

There’s of course the main plot of Tirumina and Gentz squabbling, but eventually becoming closer together and as a family thanks to their daughters’ thoughtful gift. But there’s also some reflection about family matters for Yuna.

She deflects the sisters’ questions about where her family is by saying they’re in another country, but Shuri’s follow up gets a little deeper. Is Yuna lonely?

Certainly in the real world she seemed to be. In the game, she seems to be connecting (and gathering up “little sisters” as she describes it.) But are these real connections with other players? Or just in-game interactions with NPCs? And what are the implications of each once, and if, she leaves the game?

We also get a bit more of Tirumina’s backstory. She used to be an adventurer, along with Roy and Gentz. I was hoping for a “but then I took an arrow to the knee joke”, but maybe that will crop up in future episodes. Regardless, it was kind of nice to get a look at her life before she was just a sickly mother. It’s just a touch weird that her and her new fiance were so able to bond over their past memories of Roy, but I guess since he’s (implied to be) dead, I guess it’s OK. Sweet, even. I feel like we’ll get more details on that situation in upcoming episodes.

Wrapping up the lover’s quarrel storyline leaves time for a tie-in with the town’s newly acquired egg supply. Yuna making up a big batch of pudding not only gives an excuse for more screentime with Shuri and Yuna, but it also lends a slight domestic side to our otherwise extreme bachelorette protagonist. It’s unclear if her cooking skills will crop up again after serving as a chance to get her to the Royal Capital next episode, but between her baking ability and hamburger steak making skills, it’s nice to know she doesn’t have to rely on her bear powers for everything. And of course, it’s always a visual treat to see anime food on screen.

Jalitza Delgado (who also voices Remi Ayasaki in Horimiya) steals the show this episode as Shuri. Her sweet, but never saccharine voice highlights the depth of her and her sister’s concerns for their new family, while also sounding carefree and fearless while exploring. It’s hard to get kids’ voices right, but Delgado knocks this one out of the park (particularly with her reaction to the sour berries!)

Tyson Rhinehart (that’s Bartolomeo for you One Piece fans) and Molly Searcy (also the titular character in Akame Ga Kill) also get their chance to shine as Gentz and Tirumina, respectively. Kicking the episode off with a goofy argument lets them show off their emotional range. Their reconciliation and reminiscing about their adventuring days allows them to show off their softer sides.

Overall, this is a fairly introspective episode that seems to be setting up for an impactful conclusion. I’m hoping we get more details about Yuna’s in-game family, as well as a look at her life outside of the game. For such a sweet and silly anime, it has the potential to get highly philosophical. But in the meantime, I’m happy it’s mostly just about having fun.