Episode 1: Melon Kuma [melon bear]
Kuma is Japanese for bear. So Melon Kuma is Melon Bear.
Melon Kuma is just that - a bear with melon DNA - but in Yubari, Melon Kuma is much more.
The Japanese have mascots for everything, literally everything. Each town has a mascot, islands have mascots, regions have mascots, states have mascots, companies, shops, and products all have mascots, and some become wildly popular. Most mascots are cute, some are just strange, but very few are lovable and scary at the same time like Melon Kuma. This unique combination has propelled Yubari's Melon Kuma mascot to superstardom in the mascot world and in all of Japan.
Any attempt to portray Yubari without mention of Melon Kuma would be an incomplete illustration of Yubari, Hokkaido, or even Japan.
Melon Kuma is unique and simple. Yubari is famous for the cantaloup melons that grow on the surrounding farms. Long ago, a local black bear ate a Yubari melon and became half-melon half-bear. This is Melon Kuma, and every winter this solitary creature takes to the slopes in search of the same thing as you or I - deep Japanese pow. Only now, we have the skiing melon bear on film.
Enjoy.
Making of Melon Kuma
