Comfort in ‘Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear’

Browsing through Audible once again proved fruitful. Light Novels are a type of Japanese literature that I’ve always wanted to get into, but as life goes, I never got around to it. It seemed that Light Novels were doomed to live forever on my “want to read” list and never to cross into the have-read list like Manga or Graphic Novels. I have read a handful over the years, but not enough. I was very pleased to discover that some of these light novels are now available as audiobooks, a format which is way easier to pick up when you have a busy week, or month. 

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear by Kumanano is your typical isekai story, no fancy bells or whistles but solid and dependable. Our protagonist Yuna finally decided to update her long standing favorite fantasy RPG, only to end up sucked into the game and forced to live out her time in game for real. The narration by Marissa Lenti made the just over 4 hour journey feel quick, but explored. I really enjoyed the storytelling and found myself going through the audiobook in a single afternoon, stealing minutes here and there to finish it. My partner was even pulled into the story, telling me it sounded like I was listening to an audiobook version of an anime. 

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear relies on the tropes of the genre,, but they work for a reason. The characters feel familiar yet exciting, the world is rich and layered without being so complicated you need breathing space and the adventure is reliable, we all know where this goes, the fun is in how they get there.

If you find yourself aching for something chill, almost mindless, I highly recommend this book and the narration. The story follows the well-worn tropes we all love, but the characters are funny, unique and approachable. The straying away from the harem subplot also really made this feel fresh and new, its a tiresome trope. Overall this was a super cute story, and I’ll definitely pick up some more light novel audiobooks, especially for travel.