Gloomy Bear might seem like a cute and cuddly buddy but don’t be fooled! This pink bear by Mori Chack is ferocious. A wild and violent animal, Gloomy Bear was made to be an antithesis to all the sweet and kawaii creatures of Sanrio and Disney. Loved by kawaii fanatics, Gloomy Bear has become the face of guro-kawaii, a subsection of kawaii culture that focuses on the cute grotesque aesthetic.
What’s so special about Gloomy Bear? What is this violent bear's true story? Grab your kawaii backpack and fill it up with your favorite Japanese snacks because we’re heading down a dark and cute forest of information to learn more about Gloomy Bear!
- Japanese name: グルーミー (Gurumi)
- Creator: Mori Chack
- Owner: Pity
- Size: 2 Meters Long
- Weight: 2000 pomegranates
- Fun fact: Gloomy was once given his own real-life racing car in Japan!
WHO IS GLOOMY BEAR?
Gloomy is a 2-meter-long pink bear that belongs to a blonde-haired boy named Pity. He was abandoned as a cub and rescued by his owner. Gloomy Bear has been properly trained, however, he has a hard time remembering that he’s not supposed to attack people. That’s why he’s always attacking Pity.
WHAT IS GLOOMY BEAR?
Well, it’s pretty clear what Gloomy Bear is. He’s a bear. Sure, Pity might keep him around as a pet, but he’s not fully domesticated like a puppy or a cat. Inside his heart, Gloomy Bear is still pretty much a wild animal. That’s why it’s only natural that Gloomy can get violent from time to time!
WHERE IS GLOOMY BEAR FROM?
Gloomy Bear comes from Japan! He was created by the Japanese artist and graphic designer Mori Chack in response to the kawaii characters churned out by big companies like Disney and Sanrio. Gloomy was born out of Chack’s belief that humans and animals aren’t compatible with one another.
WHAT DOES GLOOMY BEAR STAND FOR?
Gloomy Bear is the embodiment of the principle that animals are wild by nature. As cute as Gloomy seems with his pink fur and his bright eyes, fans can almost always see the bear’s mouth and claws stained by blood. Gloomy is a combination of cuteness and foreboding gore. He isn't anything like the cuties from Sanrio like Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, or Pompompurin. In fact, he's the entire opposite of the San-X bear, the laid-back Rilakkuma!
WHAT GENDER IS GLOOMY BEAR?
It’s easy to see why some kawaii fans might get confused about Gloomy Bear’s gender. Gloomy is a pink bear and a lot of people associate the color pink with female energy. However, even though Gloomy has soft, pink fur, this bear is actually a boy bear!
WHEN WAS GLOOMY BEAR CREATED?
It all started in the 2000s when Mori Chack lined up hand-made postcards he had created on the streets of Minami in Osaka. Back then, Chack was a street artist at the Osaka Shinsaibasihi Shopping Arcade (which was considered a fashionable place at the time).
Chack’s postcards gained a following. The postcards were quickly featured in media outlets, magazines, and news programs. In just two and a half hours, about 1000 postcards were sold out. The most popular character that appeared in these postcards was Gloomy Bear. People seemed to fall in love with the cute but ferocious teddy!
That same year Chack started selling Gloomy Bear goodies at a store in the Kansai region. In 2001 he signed a contract with a major production company and official goods were sold nationwide. Everyone inside Japan became obsessed with Gloomy Bear and not long after kawaii fans in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United States started falling for him too.
WHAT GENRE IS GLOOMY BEAR?
Gloomy Bear is a kawaii bear but he isn’t just any regular bear! He’s become the central mascot of the Guro Kawaii aesthetic. This fashion trend in kawaii culture mixes together cute aesthetics with the elements of gore and morbidity. Guro Kawaii likes to twist the trend in kawaii culture wherein all the characters are cute and sweet (we're looking at you, Sanrio).
Not only are there overly cute monsters in the Guro Kawaii trend, but there are also kawaii mascot characters that love to engage in violent and cruel behavior. The pink-colored Gloomy Bear with his bloody face, sharp claws, and excessively violent fits of rage falls perfectly into that space. That’s why he’s become one of the central faces of the subgenre.
WHO OWNS THE GLOOMY BEAR COMPANY?
At first, Gloomy Bear products were made by a major production company. However, in 2008, Chack decided to go independent. Now, the artist owns his own brand called Chax Line with Gloomy Bear being its central mascot. So Gloomy is 100% owned by Chack himself!
WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND GLOOMY BEAR?
Gloomy’s story is a tragic one actually. This cute pink bear was abandoned in a forest by its mother. A boy named Pity stumbled across the tiny bear cub. It reminded him of his childhood teddy bear, so he decided to take the bear in and name it Gloomy.
However, when the baby Gloomy grew up, he didn’t really stay tame. Sure, he’d been trained by Pity pretty well, but sometimes Gloomy’s wild nature comes out! The bear attacks Pity out of the blue, even without provocation.
Pity can’t give up on Gloomy though! He believes that once you decide to keep a pet, it’s your responsibility to raise it until the end. Even though Gloomy forgets to behave and attack humans, Pity tries his best to coexist with his pink bear, holding fond memories of its childhood in his heart.
WHY DOES GLOOMY BEAR ATTACK HIS OWNER?
Well, that’s because he’s a wild beast, and wild animals can be violent. The artist Mori Chack always believed that wild animals and humans aren’t meant to be together, and that’s why he shows Gloomy Bear being aggressive with Pity.
DOES GLOOMY BEAR HATE PITY?
We don’t think so! Gloomy might be violent, but that’s just in his nature as a wild animal. When Gloomy Bear attacks Pity, he’s just acting as a bear naturally would. It’s not really an act of hate but an act of instinct.
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE RABBIT IN GLOOMY BEAR?
This cutie’s name is Hanyo Usagi (汎用うさぎ) in Japanese and All-Purpose Bunny in English. Hanyo Usagi began as an experimental rabbit in a test lab. Mori Chack created this bunny as a commentary on how animals are used and abused by people.
According to the artist’s original story for All-Purpose Bunny, genetic modification led to this rabbit’s strange properties, including its unnaturally long ears. Because of the years of experimental abuse, Hanyo Usagi retaliates against humans. It often teams up together with Gloomy Bear to attack people and get revenge!
MEET GLOOMY BEAR’S OTHER FRIENDS!
They might not be as well known as Pity or Hanyo Usagi, but Gloomy has other buddies from the forest! One of Gloomy’s lesser-known friends is Daio Soku Neko (ダイオウグソクネコ), a creature that’s sort of a mix between a cat and a giant isopod. It was made when a giant isopod was linked to a Geiger counter in place of a cyanide gas generator instead of a Geiger counter.
Another friend that Gloomy has is Slit Gill the Hungry Shark (はらぺこざめのスリットギル.) This hungry shark is always alone because he has a habit of eating everyone. Still the Gil doesn’t mean to harm anyone though. He’s just really hungry and can’t stand it!
GLOOMY BEAR IS AN ANIME STAR!
One of the reasons why Gloomy Bear is so popular is that he has his very own anime series called “Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly.” Produced by NAZ, the show was directed by Takehiro Kubata and was written by Mori Chack himself. It was a hit!
After airing on Tokyo MX from April 12 to June 28, 2021, Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia, and “Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly” streamed worldwide. It was then streamed on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram. Gloomy Bear reached even more people around the world, gaining a new set of fans!
HOW MANY EPISODES DOES GLOOMY BEAR HAVE?
The anime series “Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly” has 12 episodes. Most of the episodes show Gloomy’s day-to-day antics and his life with Pity. They’re all pretty short, running only for a minute long. You can binge-watch the entire thing on Gloomy Bear’s channel on YouTube. There’s a Japanese version with English subtitles and a version with English dubs so you can choose whichever you like.
HOW POPULAR IS GLOOMY BEAR?
Gloomy Bear was really popular when he first came out in the 2000s. He was everywhere inside and outside of Japan with people collecting tons of Gloomy Bear plushies, Gloomy Bear stationery, and Gloomy Bear apparel . Gloomy was so popular that Mori Chack actually got featured in a short interview in a segment on Gloomy Bear on Episode 6 of the BBC Three series Japanorama!
Though Gloomy Bear’s popularity waned over time, he’s recently gotten a huge comeback in the 2020s. Kawaii fanatics are falling in love with Gloomy all over again, collecting Gloomy Bear merch and attending popup events featuring the cut but violent pink bear!
MEET GLOOMY’S ANIME BUDDIES
Despite his volatile and violent nature, Gloomy has a ton of anime buddies. This bear has a ton of collabs with big anime names. One of the biggest anime stars that he’s teamed up with is Menherachan, the lead star of the manga “Wrist-Cut Transformation Subculture✡Menhera.” Extremely popular on Twitter, Menherachan is the mascot of the Yami Kawaii subgenre which combines the themes of mental health and cute magical girls.
Besides Menherachan, Gloomy Bear has also been able to work together with other anime shows like “Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle,” “Tokyo Revengers,” and the popular visual novel “VA-11 Hall A.” These collaborations resulted in a ton of fun special Gloomy Bear merch that included badges, pins, and collectibles! (If you'd also like to take a look at Tokyo Revengers items, we've got a ton in our Tokyo Revengers collection).
GLOOMY BEAR ON MOBILE
Yes, you can play with Gloomy Bear! In 2022, Ex-Design launched a mobile game for both Android and iOS devices called “Gloomy’s RR Adventure.” This idle smartphone game lets players travel the world together with Gloomy and Pity while they collect souvenirs and photos to redecorate their rooms. For a violent bear like Gloomy, this kind of setup actually sounds pretty relaxing!
LET’S PLAY ON GLOOMY BEAR’S PC!
Did you know that Gloomy Bear has his very own PC? It might be hard to imagine a volatile and violent bear playing PC games (scratch that, it would be a hilarious idea), but it seems like Gloomy Bear managed to get his own PC set from Starforge Systems. According to the PC manufacturer, the Gloomy Bear PC has “all the power of a bear punch in a tiny, pomegranate case.”
Besides the high-performance Gloomy Bear PC rig, Starforge also has a lot of PC accessories to go along with your setup. There’s a slew of desktop mats and acrylic panels that fans can choose from. It’s the perfect way to have some cute and aggressive fun while gaming!
GLOOMY BEAR’S INFLUENCER COLLABS
Gloomy might be an aggressive bear, but that doesn’t stop brands from working together with him! Everyone wants to collaborate with Gloomy Bear. 2023 was an especially busy year for Gloomy Bear! He got to work with a bunch of big internet names including American YouTuber-slash-musician, Corpse Husband, Puerto Rican-American Vtuber Iron-Mouse, and the ultra-kawaii Japanese artist Yurie Sekiya (known for her Peropero Sparkles series). These team-ups resulted in tons of fun Gloomy Bear goodies to add to their Gloom cave!
GET DRESSED IN GLOOMY BEAR FASHION
Hoping to try the Guro Kawaii fashion style by dressing up like Gloomy Bear? There are a ton of Japanese fashion brands with uber-cute Gloomy Bear apparel. Harajuku fashion brand ACDC RAG has a ton of cute Gloomy Bear items to add to your wardrobe - from shirts and skirts, to arm warmers and socks. (You can also check out other cute clothes that ACDC has to offer in our ACDC RAG collection).
In 2022, Gloomy Bear also got to team up with the Japanese fusion brand, R4G (Respect for Geeks). Created by Baroque Japan Limited, R4G was made to combine anime and fashion. That same year, American fashion brand Fruit of the Loom also got together with Gloomy. A year after that, in 2023, Gloomy Bear also got to collaborate with fashion brand Travas Tokyo. These two collaborations resulted in a ton of cool Gloomy Bear shirts for fans to add to their collection.
GLOOMY BEAR GETS A RACE CAR!
The image of a bear in a car might seem strange, but in 2013 Gloomy Bear actually got his own race car. Thanks to a collaboration with AS Racing, the 2013 Itashi GRG Lancer Evo X was given a Gloomy Bear makeover. Not only did the body get a pink body to match Gloomy’s fur, but it also got fun Gloomy Bear decals. A brand new team called the Gloomy Racing Genus was also formed to race with the car!
HAVE A DRINK AT THE GLOOMY BEAR CAFE
While Gloomy doesn’t have a permanent cafe, from time to time he gets fun popups. To celebrate the airing of the Gloomy Bear anime in 2021, Sweets Paradise Tapioca & Crepes Ueno ABAB store at Taito City in Japan decided to hold up a popup shop and cafe for Gloomy! Not only did the store have tons of cute Gloomy decor, but it also served a special Gloomy Bear menu with special Gloomy Bear crepes and drinks. There were also limited-edition Gloomy Bear merch!
A year after the popup in Taito City, Gloomy got to collaborate together with Stellamap Cafe near Akihabara in Tokyo in 2022. Called the Gloomy Bear Feeding Station Cafe, the popup served Gloomy Bear-themed meals like pasta, pancakes, and curry. There was also a Gloomy Bear parfait! As with all special pop-ups, the Gloomy Bear Feeding Station cafe also had limited-edition items that fans could collect.
WHERE CAN I BUY GLOOMY BEAR GOODIES?
So, you’re thinking of showing off your cute and aggressive side with Gloomy Bear merch. Don’t worry, Mori Chack has an official online store filled with tons of Gloomy Bear goods. Sometimes there are special Gloomy pop-up stores that open up in Japan. A good example was the Chaccolo G Gloomy Bear pop-up that was held at the SOOTANG HOBBY OMOTESANDO in Shibuya from March to April 2024.
Missed the pop-up store? Fret not, you can also check out our special Gloomy Bear collection on Blippo! We’ve got Gloomy Bear apparel, Gloomy Bear accessories, and fun Gloomy Bear plushies for you to start your journey into the wonderfully cute world of Guro Kawaii.
Okay, this is where we have to part ways and say goodbye! We’ve learned everything we can about the ferociously cute Gloomy Bear. From his humble beginnings on the streets of Osaka with Mori Chack to his kawaii success with his anime show, his influencer collabs, cafes, and more.
What do you like about Gloomy Bear? Would you like to try the Guro Kawaii aesthetic and fill up your life with Gloomy? What’s your favorite Gloomy Bear plushie? Hit us up in the comment section below. We’re always down for kawaii conversations. Until the next time, stay kawaii!