A Polar Bear in Love

A Polar Bear in Love (Japanese: 恋するシロクマ, Hepburn: Koisuru Shirokuma) is a Japanese shōjo manga series by Koromo. A Polar Bear in Love was first launched in Comico in December 2014 before being serialized in the monthly manga magazine Monthly Comic Gene beginning in June 2015.

A Polar Bear in Love
恋するシロクマ (Koisuru Shirokuma)
Manga
Written by	Koromo
Published by	Kadokawa
English publisher	Yen Press
Imprint	Monthly Comic Gene Series
Magazine	Comico Monthly Comic Gene
Original run	December 2014 – present
Volumes	6
Original video animation
Directed by	Kazuya Ichikawa
Written by	Kazuya Ichikawa
Music by	Scenario Art
Released	March 4, 2017 (2017-03-04)
Runtime	5 mins.
Episodes	10 (List of episodes)

Plot

A lost earless seal finds himself in the company of a polar bear. The polar bear falls in love with the seal, but the fearful seal constantly misinterprets his romantic advances as a strong desire to eat him.

Characters

Seal (アザラシ君, Azarashi-kun)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae^[1]

Polar Bear (シロクマさん, Shirokuma-san)

Voiced by: Yūichirō Umehara^[1]

Cathy (キャシー, Kyashī)

Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara^[2]

Orca (シャチ, Shachi)

Voiced by: Ryohei Otani^[3]

Media

Manga

A Polar Bear in Love is written and illustrated by Koromo. The manga was first launched on the manga app Comico in December 2014.^[4] It was later serialized in the monthly magazine Monthly Comic Gene beginning in June 2015.^[4] The chapters were later released in 4 bound volumes by Kadokawa under the Monthly Comic Gene Series imprint.

In 2017, Yen Press licensed the manga for distribution in English.^[5]

No.	Original release date	Original ISBN	English release date	English ISBN
1	January 27, 2016 (2016-01-27)	978-4-04-067892-4	November 21, 2017 (2017-11-21)[6]	978-0-31-644171-1
2	August 27, 2016 (2016-08-27)	978-4-04-068528-1 978-4-04-068529-8 (LE)	February 27, 2018 (2018-02-27)[7]	978-0-31-644173-5
3	March 27, 2017 (2017-03-27)	978-4-04-069091-9 978-4-04-068914-2 (LE)	July 24, 2018 (2018-07-24)[8]	978-1-97-532622-7
4	April 27, 2018 (2018-04-27)	978-4-04-069830-4 978-4-04-069833-5 (LE)	December 11, 2018 (2018-12-11)[9]	978-1-97-532889-4
5	December 27, 2021 (2021-12-27)	978-4-04-680956-8	January 17, 2023 (2023-01-17)[10]	978-1-97-532889-4

Anime

An anime adaptation was announced in December 2016 as a theatrical short.^[4] The film was written and directed by Kazuya Ichikawa, with Yō Yamada in charge of sound direction and Scenario Art providing the theme song.^[11] The film was screened on March 4, 2017.^[11]

Theatrical shorts

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
1	"Passing By Each Other" Transliteration: "Surechigai" (Japanese: すれ違い)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	March 4, 2017 (2017-03-04)[11]
2	"If You Eat Me" Transliteration: "Taberu nara" (Japanese: 食べるなら)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	May 13, 2017 (2017-05-13)[12]
3	"A Misunderstanding" Transliteration: "Gokai" (Japanese: 誤解)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	July 1, 2017 (2017-07-01)
4	"Uneasiness" Transliteration: "Fuan" (Japanese: 不安)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	September 4, 2017 (2017-09-04)

Web shorts

No.	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original release date
0	"Encounter" Transliteration: "Deai" (Japanese: 出会い)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	March 1, 2017 (2017-03-01)
1	"Ice Wall Slam" Transliteration: "Hyōhekidon" (Japanese: 氷壁ドン)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	November 3, 2017 (2017-11-03)[13]
2	"The Weight of Love" Transliteration: "Ai no Omosa" (Japanese: アイの重さ)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	December 1, 2017 (2017-12-01)[14]
3	"This is Correct" Transliteration: "Kore ga Seikai" (Japanese: これが正解)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	February 1, 2018 (2018-02-01)
4	"Dear Star" Transliteration: "Ohoshi-sama" (Japanese: お星さま)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	January 15, 2018 (2018-01-15)
5	"Food Chain" Transliteration: "Shokumotsu Rensa" (Japanese: 食物連鎖)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	March 1, 2018 (2018-03-01)
6	"Matching Outfits" Transliteration: "Osoroi" (Japanese: お揃い)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	May 4, 2018 (2018-05-04)
7	"It Hurts (Part 1)" Transliteration: "Kurushii (1)" (Japanese: 苦しい（1）)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	July 6, 2018 (2018-07-06)
8	"It Hurts (Part 2)" Transliteration: "Kurushii (2)" (Japanese: 苦しい（2）)	Kazuya Ichikawa	Kazuya Ichikawa	September 7, 2018 (2018-09-07)

Reception

Reviewers at Anime News Network praised the artwork, but had mixed opinions about the story's more serious moments.^[15] The book came under scrutiny when parents in Orange County, California pushed to have the book banned.^[16]