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A Polar Bear in Love Anime Streams New Short
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
Shochiku began streaming a new short for the for the "petit anime" of Koromo's Koisuru Shirokuma (A Polar Bear in Love) manga on Friday. The short is titled "Ai no Omosa" (The Weight of Love).
The short begins when Seal asks to get on Polar Bear's back. Polar Bear lets him and thinks about how he is glad to do Seal a favor. He reflects to himself that this must be the weight of love, and the pair appear to fall asleep. Polar Bear apparently rolls over in his sleep and suddenly wakes up to find his load is lightened. Seal is sleeping apart from him, alone on the snow.
Shochiku began streaming the "Hyōheki Don" (Ice Wall Slam) web-only short earlier this month. The distributor previously streamed the 60-second version of the anime's first episode. The first episode debuted in Japanese theaters on March 4. The second episode debuted on May 13.
Natsuki Hanae (The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.'s Reita, HaruChika's Shinjirō) voices the Seal, and Yūichirō Umehara (Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans' Eugene, Nananin no Ayakashi's Guten) voices the Polar Bear.
Kazuya Ichikawa (Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note, Monster Strike the Animation) directed the anime at Gathering, and also penned the script. Yō Yamada (Penguindrum, The Garden of Words, your name.) served as the sound director. Rock band Scenario Art (The Perfect Insider) composed the music.
The original manga revolves around a polar bear who falls in love with an earless seal, and he wants nothing else except to protect him, even though the seal constantly thinks the bear will eat him.
Koromo launched the manga on the free manga app Comico in December 2014, and began serializing it in Monthly Comic Gene in June 2015. Kadokawa published the manga's third compiled book volume on March 27. Yen Press licensed the manga in April and released the first volume on November 14.
