Once in a while, Shirokuma Café seems to like to like to break out a sincerity bomb.

Our first chapter this week may provide some succor to those of you clamoring for more information about what Penguin-san does in his spare time.  Apparently, it’s copy famous works of art almost verbatim – though since he wears a beret, there’s no denying he’s a real artist.  Sadly his first exhibition doesn’t seem to be much of a smash (he sent the flowers to himself) and the Seven Miss Penkos can’t tell his paintings from the walls.  My favorite was certainly “The Yawn” a truly bold and daring artistic statement of the angst and anxiety we face in the modern world, but for pure humor there’s no denying Polar Bear speculating that Penguin-san’s indistinguishable seascapes were part of his “blue period”.

It’s funny how so many of the least ironic moments in this series seem to involve Grizzly-san (the time he and Shirokuma took Panda-kun for a night on the town springs to mind), who’s superficially a pretty absurd character – but maybe it makes sense, as he’s probably the most straightforward of all the non-human cast members.  We’d gotten a brief glimpse earlier, but here we get a longer flashback to the childhood friendship between he and Shirokuma (courtesy a question from Panda-kun).  Although these scenes weren’t especially hilarious or anything (though the “King Game” was pretty funny), I enjoyed seeing the hyper-kawaii bear cubs in action – even then literal-minded Grizzly-kun was no match for Shirokuma-kun’s off-center world view.  The scene were Shirokuma-cub introduced a big white dog as his older brother and Grizzly-cub bought it at face value pretty much sums up the difference between the two of them – and how little they’ve changed.

Speaking of that dog, why is it that zoo animals and “wild” animals walk, talk hold down jobs and live in houses, while dogs are just dogs?  Is it a domestication thing? I suppose that’s one of those questions you’re better off not asking.  In any case, salmon stew for everyone – even the herbivores!