Kuma Miko—Girl Meets Bear: The Complete Series

An exceptionally amusing anime comedy series (based on a comic book), Kuma Miko is set in a rural mountain village in northern Japan that has an amazing secret: locals and bears forged a spiritual pact in ancient times (interspecies mating was possibly involved, one of the few off-color gags). In the modern era, the big, urbane, Japanese-speaking bear Natsu is like a leading citizen. Machi, a Shinto shrine maiden—or “miko”—has performed sacred rituals since she was a little girl, but now at 14 she is a rebellious teen yearning to abandon the boondocks for the big city, where she can enjoy actual cell phone reception. Storylines usually revolve around Natsu's sly attempts to foil his treasured votary's dreams to escape her country rut, set against the backdrop of maladroit efforts by citizens to "revitalize" their town and promote its tasty potatoes and "slimy" mushrooms. Natsu may be one of cartoondom's most memorable bears since Yogi. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2016 in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo edition, rated TV-PG, and presented in Japanese with English subtitles, extras include two bonus OVA episodes. Highly recommended. (C. Cassady)