Older kawaii fans will remember Gloomy Bear who was created by illustrator Mori Chack 20 years ago! We’ve long been fans of this cute-but-deadly character so here’s some ways to join in the 20th anniversary celebrations with a TV show, DIYs and places to shop.
You might have missed this news over the holidays – a Gloomy Bear animation series is in the works! Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly is currently only scheduled for Japan (in April) but the trailer has English subtitles so I think there’s some hope that one of the streaming services will pick it up for international fans.
The trailer and posters all have completely different art styles so we’ll have to wait and see what the finished show looks like.
Gloomy Bear’s official website has had a relaunch too and there’s an online shop! It only ships within Japan but you can use a forwarding service for international delivery. There’s some cool notebooks and postcards plus mugs, t-shirts and face masks.
I’m sure there will be new plushies once the TV show airs but for now there’s not much available outside arcades. Little Japanese Corner (UK) do have lots in stock, and you can find more on Ebay and Depop. Most of those are from UFO catchers who still get new items featuring Gloomy Bear and other Mori Chack characters. If you can’t get to Japan, you can try your luck on virtual UFO catcher sites like Toreba – there’s some good tips and videos at ufocatcheraddict to help you win.
Or you could make your own! HapyFriendsShoppe has a tutorial for a DIY Gloomy Bear plushie, which includes templates.
I also love this colourful DIY perler/Hama bead necklace by Chloë Hazle.
Are you a Gloomy Bear fan? Are you happy to see it come back?
Leave a Reply