If one needs cuteness that runneth over, one must watch Rilakkuma and Kaoru. Rilakkuma and Kaoru is a stop-motion animation series that debuted in the second quarter of 2019 on Netflix. It is based on San-X characters that are composed of bears and chicken.
At the urging of a bear who shall remain nameless (he dropped video hints of the show like that wicked witch dropped bread crumbs for Hansel and Grete), I watched Rilakkuma and Kaoru after I binge-watched Stranger Things Season 3, and the show immediately captured my attention and tugged at my heartstrings from the moment a tiny bird duster cleaned an imaginary wall. Thank you, bear.
The first season of Rilakkuma and Kaoru has 13 episodes and each episode has a duration of 11 or 12 minutes with the exception of the finale, which runs for 14 minutes. Because of the length, it is tempting to binge-watch the season in its entirety. But I had to savor every moment with talking bears and birds and watched all episodes in three days.
I cannot wait for the second season of Rilakkuma and Kaoru!
Here are 10 Things That I Love About Rilakkuma and Kaoru:
1. Rilakkuma is the most adorable bear EVER.
“Rilakkuma” means “relaxed bear” in Japanese. And Rilakkuma is charming doing just that – relaxing the whole day. He likes to sleep, or laze around (at one point, mushrooms sprouted on his body), and eats almost all kinds of food. He wears brown onesies with zipper at the back, and they all look the same! When he peels his onesie off, which he does so demurely, it reveals that instead of skin, Rilakkuma has cloth with blue polka dots.
He enjoys spending time with his friends, but he is also curious about his surroundings and is on the naïve side (he was bear-napped once). Curiously, his round seemingly unmoving eyes can shed tears like a broken dam full of water when he feels sad after being fired from his jobs and being called a useless bear. They can also turn into lines to show his displeasure, mostly at Kaoru. Awwww. Hugs for you Rilakkuma.
Rilakkuma is a gifted musician and his Hawaii Dance videos can cure the blues and may bring world peace.
Rilakkuma is my spirit animal.
2. Korilakkuma is the dainty-rocker chick in all of us.
Korilakkuma looks exactly like Rilakkuma, just smaller and in pink. Aforementioned bear argued that Korilakkuma is white. Since we are both not very good at identifying colors, let us say that Korilakkuma is pinkish white. She is the playful one in the trio of cutesiness. While she is not as relaxed as Rilakkuma, she likes to eat as much as him and does things to get a bite or two. She is mischievous yet sweet.
Her not-so-hidden talents are doing cartwheels and looking so adorable while listening to music with her pink headphones permanently attached to her pink ears.
3. Kiiroitori is goals.
“Kiiroitori” means “yellow bird” in Japanese. He is the original housemates of Kaoru. He is the tiniest among the triumvirate, but he is the most hardworking and the smartest. He is usually seen with a duster and cleans after the bears. He knows how to get out of his cage after Kaoru leaves the house, how to save pennies, and how to earn a living as well. He is the tiny boss in the house (he even reprimands Kaoru for her excessive online shopping), and my favorite character in the series.
Kiiroitori is TR’s spirit animal.
4. Kaoru is Juliet with a heart of gold.
Kaoru is in her 30s and is looking for a life partner – someone who can give her warmth that her housemates cannot provide. Although she is desperate to find a boyfriend, she is lovable when she flirts with the delivery guy. One cannot help cheering for her to get the man of her dreams!
She takes care of Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, and Kiiroitori like there were her children. She is also kind to her neighbor, Tokio, with absentee parents. She is supportive of her college friends and are proud of their achievements despite the fact that they highlight what is lacking from her life (successful career and lovelife). She does not answer back to her officemate with the RBF (resting bitch face).
5. Rilakkuma and Kaoru’s Soundtrack is Relaxing yet Addicting.
According to Apple Music, there are 23 songs in Rilakkuma and Kaoru’s soundtrack. They are all wonderful and apt for the scenes that highlight them, but there are some that stands out. The song featured on the opening scene of Episode 1: Cherry Blossom is called, “Quiet Daily Life”. Listening to it makes me imagine sunshine, butterflies, and glitter everywhere. The “Hawaiian Dance” makes me want to shake my hips and move my arms in a wave-like motion. “Take A Walk (Sampo)” wants me to hug my own Rilakkuma aka Pinky and dance with him. The “Theme of Rilakkuma and Kaoru” has a rock and roll yet poignant effect that makes me want to do a head bang but with chill demeanor.
6. God is in the detail.
The attention to detail of the show is marvelous. The interior of Kaoru’s apartment has various knick-knacks that reflect her and her housemates’ personalities. The food that Kaoru or Kiiroitori cooks looks real and appetizing. The background of every festival that is featured on the show is also heavy on the details that showcase Japanese culture at its finest.
Considering that it takes an entire day to shoot a 10-second portion of the episode (they do simultaneous shoots, but still), I cannot imagine the time, effort, and love that the people behind the show have put in to produce a masterpiece.
7. Rilakkuma and Kaoru is profound.
The show is a cracker jack on the cuteness category. However, it goes beyond the topnotch stop-motion picture aesthetics. Every episode is heavy on the adorable and lightness, yet it offers a relatable lesson about real life. For example, it tackles Kaoru’s low self-esteem and insecurity. She sees herself as a less valuable person compared to her friends and to her officemate, mainly because she lives alone (technically not alone) in a rundown apartment instead of vacationing somewhere exotic with a guy with washboard abs. In the latter part of the season, Kaoru spends a huge amount of money on exercise equipment and healthy food to lose weight as her official reason, but really to see the sweaty but sexy Hayate Express delivery guy. She pins her romantic frustrations on him until she realizes that she has accumulated a mounting debt on her credit card. Lastly, the impending demolition of the building where they live causes Kaoru some degree of anxiety, mostly due to probably losing contact with the delivery guy. But with the help of Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, and Kiiroitori, Kaoru is able to recover from the ephemeral sadness and bounces back to her normal happy self.
8. I feel you Kaoru.
I cannot blame Kaoru for flirting with the delivery guy. He has that perpetually present one or two beads of sweat on his angular face, yet they make him cute rather than unkempt.
I am sure he was worth almost all the 700,000 yen Kaoru spent shopping online to see him regularly.
9. We all know a Sayu.
Kaoru’s most notable officemate in Samejima Corp. is Sayu. Sayu is pretty but shallow and is tactless most of the time she interacts with Kaoru. After her trip to Hawaii, Sayu gives Kaoru the most impersonal gift from that paradise – a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts. Kaoru is not alone; we have met a Sayu in school or at work. She is the girl who does filter what she says but gets away with her tactlessness because she is attractive. Sometimes, we find her brutal frankness helpful and startles us out of our reverie, but oftentimes, we wish to smack her.
10. Hawaii Dance
This is the first full video I saw from the series (sent by the bear mentioned above). It is love. The trio wants to give Kaoru a luau to cheer her up (after learning that Sayu got engaged in Hawaii). Rilakkuma plays the ukulele, Korilakkuma dances, and Kiiroitori plays and dances, all expecting a rousing applause from Kaoru. But Kaoru breaks their tiny hearts by telling them that she wishes to go to Hawaii with a boyfriend and not with them. Awwww. In order to appease them, Kaoru offers to take a video of their performance. Their music video racks up hundreds of millions of views and turns the three into superstars. They are the cutest rock stars and I will do anything to be a groupie of The Rilakkuma’s.