Rilakkuma

May 2, 2016 | By More


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rilakkuma_dwgSo there is this cute little Yorkie I follow on Facebook named Misa Minnie. She’s a smart little therapy dog. Since the Nerd household has three Yorkies, we are fans. And cute dog pictures always make me smile. One of Misa’s favorite toys is Bear Bear. Now, I spent some time looking at Bear Bear and realized he was marked “Rilakkuma” on his plush body. I did some searching trying to find a Bear Bear for our pups and my eyes were opened to the world of the little “relaxed bear.”

Now, I actually think that Bear Bear might be Korilakkuma, the smaller white girl cub. They both originated in picture books from the San-X company, and have a staggering amount of popularity in Japan and Asia. There are whole stores that are dedicated to selling everything from giant plushes to stationary. When I think of cute Japanese these characters fit the bill. they are elegant in their simplicity, yet filled with personality.

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Anyway. The brown Rilakkuma being a lazy little dude, just captured my heart. Any bear that is happy to lay around all day is okay in my book.

The one that immediately surprised me about this figure? His size. He’s small. Very small. He’s about the height of Mystery Mini. I was expecting a figure more in a four inch scale. But thinking about it, this probably is in scale for a four inch figure. I was just expecting something taller.

Due to the size and style, there isn’t much articulation here. That said, I think it serves the style well. Since he’s essentailly a 2D character in a 3D world. The main articulation point is the head. It is a double Revo style joint so it can go forward and back at two spots. The way the joint works limits the rotation though.

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His arms are attached with Revo joints as well. They are on the front of his chest almost. This is a bit problematic if you want to sprawl him out on his belly, his arms get in the way. Also, I think a second choice of arms could have helped out a bit. Maybe a straight set. The crooked arms do allow you to get him in some poses where he seems to be emoting.

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The legs are simple pivots. You either get sitting or standing with them. Now I know you are asking how he can stand on those little feet. He can’t he comes with a small clear kick stand that attaches to his tail to allow him to stand. It’s not  perfect, but is a fairly unobtrusive solution for the gravity challenged bear. It clips on to the tail.

A neat bit of paint detail on the back is his zipper. I like they went with a graphical version instead of a sculpted one. Seems like a good choice for a cartoon bear.

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Now, being a Japanese figure, you can figure he came with accessories. Not a bunch, but practical ones.

The first is another character, his little yellow bird friend, Kiiroitori. He’s the more sensible one in the group. He’s small and looks like you would expect him to. His feet are just painted on, but he sits pretty well and the style matches.

The second accessory is Rilakkuma’s bean bag chair. This one is perplexing to me. There is a sculpted indent in it for his body and another for his tail (maybe?). The problem is I can’t find a pose I really like him in with the bean bag. No matter how I put him in it, he just doesn’t look relaxed. There’s art that shows him laying on his belly on it, but because of his arms I can’t get those poses to look right. I just don’t get it.

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Overall:

I’ve reached a point in collecting where I buy stuff that makes me happy. This little bear always makes me smile when I look across my desk at him. He’s like the Dude. I’m just happy knowing he is out there relaxing for me.

Now with the front facing arms and weird bean bag, I have to take off a little bit. Also, he’s was a bit pricey for his size. I’m happy with him overall, but he could be just a tad better.

Engineernerd Score: 88/100

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Category: Featured, Other Television, Toy Reviews

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