Kumamiko: Girl Meets Bear

candaya21 Jul 9, 2016

7

THIS  MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!   STORY (7/10): Machi's goal of going to high school in the city while integrating into their way of life is very interesting to watch. I find it cute to see what her goals are and what lengths Machi is willing to go through (thanks to her friends).   CHARACTERS (7/10): Machi is an elementary school girl from countryside. She is very ambitious, shy, cute & sometimes stubborn. Natsu is a grizzly bear living with Machi. He is very protective, but also very caring and selfish (due to his wish of wanting Machi to stay in the village). Yoshio works for the village committee. He is very caring and passionate of his hometown. Yoshio can also be dense at time during some difficult situations. Plus, you can see him being manipulative to others in the anime. Hiiko is friends with the main characters. She is cool and tough. She rides a motorcycle and has a crush on Yoshio.   OVERALL ENJOYMENT (7/10): I find this anime cute and adorable. I always enjoy watching slice of life & comedic animes. It is interesting to see how Machi reacts when it comes to society and the modern world -- It always makes me laugh. Looking back on the episodes, I felt that take a lot of things for granted (i.e.: laptops, cell phones and etc.) & it makes me feel guilty. The close friendship of Machi & Natsu is explored. The anime also reminds me of K-On! due to the artwork of the characters & Tamako Market (same reason for the artwork too) but also seeing the unity of the village & how well the neighbours know each other so well.   Feel free to check out my anime review on Youtube as well! :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbsj1Z7GrnA

Edock Jun 6, 2016

6

*Most of this review was written before seeing the last episode...* Kuma Miko is a Slice of Life anime about a town that is in the mountains away from city life. The show focuses mainly on Machi, a young shrine maiden, and Natsu, a bear. Yes, a bear. Rawr. Kuma Miko was originally created by Masume Yoshimoto and animated by Kinema Citrus and EMT Squared.  While it might not be the anime of the season, it's safe to say that is is underrated and sadly will not be watched by a lot of people. Hopefully by reading this review you will give it a chance. :) Story: N/A because this is a Slice of Life I will not give a rating to the story. However I will say that it is a pretty decent SOL. Every episode usually can get a laugh out of me. Most scenes are original and haven't been used in another anime. N/A/10 Animation: The animation is solid. All characters have a sheen to them which really makes them pop out from the background, it's like a story book. They did a good job on Natsu who is a bear and a MC. It can be tougher to animate bears. They also did a pretty good job with facial reactions, on Machi especially. The only criticism I can give is that they are usually in the same locations for every episode, so there is a lot of recycling of backgrounds. 8/10 Sound: The background music and sound effects are decent, nothing special. However, the opening song and ending song are amazing. The opening is in a different style that most openings. The ending song is very very unique. The animation that goes with the song is extremely well done. Probably within my top 10 ending songs. Also there is one episode where they sing a commercial song, it is so addicting to listen to. Actually, I put the song below, you see what I mean. :) 7/10 Characters: There are a decent amount of characters but I will just focus on the main three. Machi: She wants to live in the city, but she can't fit into it. She is extremely cute. shows a lot of emotion.  Natsu: A bear. He is also a bear. ;) Yoshio: This is my biggest problem with the anime. This guy is a pervert. I think the anime would of benefited without having this guy. It's also creepy as he frequently goes after the youngsters. Apparently, in the manga he is no where being close to being a perv. I guess they felt they needed to change it in the anime to appeal to more viewers. :/ 6/10 Overall: Like I said earlier, I think you should check out this anime. Just don't expect it to be the best thing ever. There are some very very funny jokes. There really isn't much else I can say as every episode is stand alone. Also, click here to see some lewd pics from the anime. ;) Edit after watch ep 12: That ending was rough, I won't spoil, but it reduces the score by one point. Feel free to ask me about it. 6/10 Thanks for reading!

RoseCandle16 Aug 8, 2018

5.5

This anime was kind of boring for me. Machi's so painfully shy, it got a little annoying. I did love the animation and the ending song. This was the first time for me to see a story like this so it was original for me. I don't think it's the fact that I don't like the Slice Of Life genre( I personally enjoyed Merman In My Tub, or maybe that's because of the fact it had cute boys in it) but this was just not entertaining for me. I found myself avoiding to watch it and didn't bother with the specials. But just because I didn't like it, you might  like it reader.