One Of Japan’s Most Beloved Characters Come To Netflix

Rilakkuma and Kaoru, the first stop motion animated series of one of Japan’s most beloved characters, has begun production and will premiere globally as a Netflix original series in Spring 2019.

Rilakkuma is a soft toy bear who showed up one day to live with a young woman named Kaoru. It spends its days lounging around the apartment. Although there is a zipper on its back, what is inside is a mystery. Rilakkuma loves pancakes, rice omelets, custard pudding and “dango” rice dumplings. Its friends are Kaoru’s pet bird Kiiroitori and a small white bear cub named Korilakkuma who also showed up out of the blue.

Japan’s leading stop motion animation studio dwarf (Domo, Komaneko) will create a total of 13 episodes in the series, supported by the original character creator Aki Kondo for story development. With internationally acclaimed filmmaker Naoko Ogigami (Kamome Shokudo, Close-Knit) joining as screenwriter, the series promises to appeal to audiences across all ages. The director is Masahito Kobayashi, and San-X will oversee the project.

Rilakkuma and Kaoru will premiere as a Netflix original series in Spring 2019 in more than 190 countries around the world.