Weekend relaxation mode!
Today’s post features three great bear plush associated with Chairoikoguma (チャイロイコグマ) / Koguma-chan (こぐまちゃん)! “Chairoi” means brown, “koguma” means bear cub, and “chan” is an honorific with an endearing connotation. Both names for the same cute bear! Koguma-chan was introduced to the Rilakkuma crew in March 2013, and has been highlighted in two additional series since then!
First up is Ocarina Rilakkuma, the Caravan exclusive plush from Korilakkuma’s New Friend Series!
Though this plush does not explicitly look like it’s Koguma-chan related, he is the Caravan release for Korilakkuma’s New Friend Series, the series that introduced Koguma-chan back in March 2016! Check out the video for this series:
This plush represents my favorite scene from this series, Rilakkuma peacefully playing the ocarina by a tree while Korilakkuma plays with Koguma-chan!
Huge thanks to @rilakkumacrossing for the tip on this bear—I love him so much!
Next up is Koguma-chan’s Acorn House Playset!
I absolutely love playsets, and this one is no exception!
One thing that is silly about a lot of these house-themed playsets is that while all the component parts can fit comfortably inside for storage, they really do look super crammed in there for a living space—like all Koguma-chan can do in his own house is sit because there isn’t room for much else haha.
Also, these different Koguma-chan plushes make it hard for me to figure out what Koguma-chan’s body shape really is! This version makes him look a lot skinnier than the illustrations. Furthermore, he looks a lot different from his standard M classic counterpart, who then still looks quite different from his fishing counterpart. What is the truth?
I think Koguma-chan is such a super addition to the Rilakkuma group! I love that he shares his passion for fishing with Rilakkuma!
Speaking of which, here’s Acorn Rilakkuma Plush!
So fancy and detailed! This sylvan poncho aesthetic is very reminiscent of the Store Exclusive designs from the 2010 Forest Series, don’t you think?
Both Koguma-chan’s Acorn House and this Acorn Rilakkuma are from the Handmade Mittens Series (てぶくろをとどけに), released in October 2016. As the story goes, Korilakkuma gave handmade (paw-made?) mittens as a gift to Koguma-chan, her newest friend. Check out this animation about their story!
I’m not 100% sure what acorns have to do with all of this, but it is a really pleasant motif—it reminds me a lot of the Happy Natural Time Series that paired deer with freshly baked fruit pies.
Big thanks to my Aunt Lulu again for facilitating the immigration of the Koguma-chan Acorn House and Acorn Rilakkuma plush—what a fabulous set!
The three plush featured here join my existing M Koguma-chan and fishing Rilakkuma/Koguma-chan plush for the Koguma-chan themed section of my collection!
Now that we’ve revisited Koguma-chans throughout history, what do you think about this summer’s Koguma-chan series: Korilakkuma Meets Chairokoguma (コリラックマ meets チャイロイコグマ)?
The aesthetic is so pretty and soft! These designs were released just this past May, and should still be on the shelves at Rilakkuma Stores everywhere!
One of my favorite things about these Kogumachan series is the awesome food designs that pop up, like this one at the Korilakkuma x Hands Cafe collaboration this season:
https://instagram.com/p/BUntqaRhoOs
Roar!!! Big ferocious Koguma-chan burger! So adorable! A meal very fit for a Koguma-chan hehehe.
What do you think about this newer Koguma-chan series? Has Koguma-chan integrated himself well into Rilakkuma’s world?