The Heroic Kigurumi Chapter 12: Never Forget Your First Party Member

With the quest to procure seafood and oriental ingredients finally complete, Yuna at last comes home to Crimonia, to settle down once again and enjoy her delectable spoils...

... What? Were you expecting something big for the final episode of the first season?

For the last part of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear's first cour, we are yet again reminded that this show is a slice-of-life first, isekai second. And yes, we mean the anticlimactic, boring life full of normal human interactions, mundane activities, personal food cravings,

and of course, the occasional character development drama.

"Sorry, I know you haven't appeared in any important role for a while."
"Well, you ever only go inside the bear house to press the confirm button near me."

The feeling of exclusion, not wanting to intrude, combined with a sense of inferiority, has always been a good source of internal pent-up frustration for just about anyone. This is even more so if your partner happens to be this super overpowered kigurumi figure that is loved by many and is almost revered for her heroic actions (most of which were actually mere impulses of her own selfish desires).

"I've always expected that I'd bounce back later, but this is already the 21th episode..."

This is exactly what Fina has been experiencing over the course of the series. Yes, of the entire series, not just this episode. The issue was most likely only put to light right now, because the audience perspective of the show finally gives significant focus to her thoughts.

"I'd like to introduce this newbie to our guild. She may have saved my life, and have unexplainable amazing powers, but she's still not accustomed to stuff here in Crimonia." 

Thankfully, it wasn't too bad at first. During the first quarter of the series, their relationship wasn't really that close to warrant that sort of feeling, especially since Yuna wasn't originally from their world. Also, she was mostly distracted from these thoughts by the greater sense of wonder and admiration for her amazing friend, who can seemingly do almost anything, and solve almost any problem.

"I may be the founder, but you made contact first so you'll be the vice-president, Fina."

It also helped that other characters interacted with Fina in a way that still makes her largely relevant to our kigurumi hero's social circle, even if such a scenario may be unlikely for the medieval-ish setting that this fantasy world is trying to portray. The most obvious example of this is Noire, daughter of the top aristocrat of Crimonia who practically treats her as the second-in-command of their secret fans club (and not just as a lowly commoner as you would normally expect).

"Fina, wanna visit the sea once everything wraps up here?"
"So it's extended for another episode, huh."

But, with our kigurumi hero Yuna getting more and more busy with all the connections she had made all this time, she's not really able to interact with her significantly anymore. This is probably made even worse during her complete lack of screen time (aside from that very short call session) during the port Millela crisis.

Speaking of which, what exactly was Yuna doing at that moment that caused here to unintentionally give less and less attention to Fina like a busybody partner?

"Why exactly are we doing this discussion if you already dug the tunnel beforehand?"

Well... she seems to have decided step up her original plans. Now she wants a permanent connection to Millela from Crimonia, which would allow a constant supply of fish and oriental goods to flow directly to her local place. And that means, doing all the necessary groundwork (both literally and figuratively) first before even contacting the authorities. Starting with a direct tunnel through the Erezento mountain, of course.

"Actually, I just wanted a steady supply of oriental foodstuffs directly to the bear house so..."
"...What?"

It was then only a matter of showing the plan to get Cliff and Mylene, who had no strategic choice but to simply continue the steps to incorporate Millela as part of Crimonia's territory. To be fair, Yuna did kind of let slip her actual selfish reasons for doing so, partially allowing the two to get back at her by forcing her to publicize her contribution to the overall plan.

Other related personnel were then also contacted to show them the plan and to suggest what they could do to make it a success. The necessity for Yuna to deal with each and every one of them is where the melancholy of Fina begins.

"Yuna sure is absolutely loved by everyone right, sis?"
"Yeah... unlike us." 

Even through all of her loneliness, she never really seemed to have blamed Yuna for anything. She understood that Yuna's already popular at this point, and that many more people are now relying and looking up to her. Compared to someone like her, the kigurumi hero's attention should probably be better given to those with better status like nobles and princesses, or those with more serious reasons to do so, like common townspeople in need of help.

"You really don't feel like you're going to miss out on anything?"
"Huh? What exactly would I miss on your training camp and business trip?"

But the ever increasing feeling of frustration creeps up and up. This ultimately led her to leave the bear house, coming up with an excuse to train harder so that she can dismantle raw materials more efficiently. Yuna, as the "live-in partner" in this situation, never seemed to get the hint, and didn't even try to stop her.

"Err... you kind of forgot that you're just ten years sold, Fina. Besides, even if you're not a kid, what's wrong with asking her some exclusive time together?"

As expected, Gentz kind of already knew the situation when Fina came to him, eventually asking his stepdaughter why she hasn't come back to Yuna's place in a long time. Once told, he then explained about how it's okay to speak out her desire to ask more attention from the person she cherishes the most. This echoes the same advice that Noire told Fina about being far more aggressive with her interaction with Yuna.

"I already told her many times to be aggressive with you."
"We even went to Millela the other day with Shuri. How could I have not noticed?"

Yuna for her part at least, finally recognized the issue after Fina's long absence, with Noire once again acting as the wing-girl mediator and advisor for the occasion.

"Will the(?) bear eat someone like me?" 
"... I don't think there's an easy explanation to either a 'yes' or 'no'."

The final verdict? Well they got back together and made up, probably vowing to make their relationship stronger than ever before. The end!

"Season Two is underway!"

And that... is the somewhat anticlimactic, but peaceful conclusion of Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear first season. As an overpowered protagonist style isekai series, it covers just enough action ground for viewers to be reminded of its fantasy genre. However, at least for the anime adaptation, it is really more about being a slice-of-life series, and as such sits perfectly in the middle of that so-called "boring slow life" type of development.

Oh and before you even ask, no. Their adventures are hardly over. Because, the second season of this iconic(?) kigurumi hero series is just right around the corner!

Till next time... in Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Season Two!