DigitalNoob

Yup, it’s me again! This time, I brought bears. And a cafe which is owned by one! Today, we’re going to check out Polar Bear’s Cafe together.

“But wait,” you cry, “that’s not a polar bear in the header picture, it’s a panda!”

Why yes, yes it is.

Meet Panda, the world’s laziest … panda. He’s a part of ‘generation cupcake’.  His mom is tired of him lying around the house, watching TV and eating bamboo all day long. She insists he get a job, which he hopes is one that pays him to lie around and eat bamboo all day. In the process of trying to find the most efficient way to be lazy, he happens upon the Polar Bear’s Cafe, which is run by–you guessed it–Polar Bear.

I came to the assumption that this is a children’s show, but it isn’t the childishness that makes it weird, nor are the characters particularly odd looking. What makes it weird is that all of the animals [who speak fluent Japanese, by the way] are drawn as just that: Animals. They’re not anthropomorphic, they’re not cutesy, they’re quite simply Japanese speaking animals who interact just as humans would. What makes that stranger, to me, is that the humans look like your typical anime fare, yet the animals are usually well detailed and moderately realistic looking. It creates a disparate look between them, and it almost makes one feel like it’s the humans who don’t belong.

The humor is bizarre and full of Japanese puns, but those familiar with Japanese pop culture or just a big fan of good [or bad] puns will likely find themselves cracking up, especially at Polar Bear’s sight gags.

But don’t take my word for it. See for yourself! Check out the entire first episode of Polar Bear’s Cafe, via Crunchyroll streaming.

After you’re done watching, you should definitely browse Crunchyroll’s anime library, because Polar Bear’s Cafe, though strange, is certainly not the weirdest thing they have to offer. Perhaps I’ll even show you what other oddities CR has to offer next week!

Go now, watch moar anime!