Panda’s ready to get his own place. His own mansion, in fact.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Polar Bear Cafe does play up the puns a lot, which is part and parcel of the show, and they definitely have their fun moments as we see at the start here. But I have to admit that while I smile at them, they’re not my favorite part of things. Polar Bear does come up with a few cute ones though as we hear Panda is talking about moving out on his own, to which Penguin asks him if he’s running away again. With that experience behind them all, it’s pretty obvious to most that Panda just isn’t capable of living on his own and Penguin has no problem calling him out on it in very plain fashion.
Which is easily reinforced as Panda talks about the kind of lifestyle he wants to lead, one where you know that you’d need a lot of wealth behind it to make it work. His dreams of a large mansion, lots of bamboo easily accessible and sleeping in all the time is cute and definitely exactly what he needs. Putting Penguin in as his butler is just the icing on the cake, especially since he uses him repeatedly for all menial and servant needs. What we do get overall that works wonderfully is Penguin and Panda going to lots of different apartments and open roommates to see what his choices are. Getting to see other animals in their own residences is comical since they make them similar to their natural habitats in many cases. Unfortunately, Panda decides that he wants to move in with Handa, which could be pretty problematic. As much as you want to see it happen, you have to be glad that Handa stands his ground.
The second half goes in a different direction and one that brings Grizzly back into the picture as it’s an outdoor festival, which means everyone gets to dress up and work the booth and the area. What it also does is to bring in a new character that Panda calls his older brother but is actually a different creature overall, one that was originally called pandas before the larger pandas were discovered. Everyone working together is pretty fun, though Panda of course doesn’t last the event, and we get the additional fun of them all enjoying the festival as well. There’s lots of fun to be had here in general as everyone enjoys the various events, games and fireworks, and there’s even a little romance almost in the air, though it’s coming more from Handa. But it’s the right kind of sentimental moment that hits and gives the show its extra sparkle.
In Summary:
Polar Bear Cafe has two stories that are pretty solid here and a lot of fun. The first expands our worldview a bit as we see more of what it’s like for other animals out there that have apartments and roommates, how they survive and the fun of it all. The second half runs us through the festival machine as we get familiar story elements to be sure, but it’s done with a good enough twist to make it just right and fun. The cast is lightly expanded, Panda gets fired and everyone in general has a good time. It’s the kind of episode that moves things forward overall and shows us some of the changes that have occurred while still just having plain old fun. And more Grizzly, too!
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
