Chibi Kumamon
Chibi Kumamon | |||
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ちびくまモン | |||
Character Data | |||
Romaji | Chibikumamon
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Debut | Kemono Friends 3 | ||
Collaboration Data | |||
Classification | Mascot
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Species | Bear
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Read More | Kumamon
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Conservation | ![]() | ||
Chibi Kumamon | KF3 |
Chibi Kumamon is a Kemono Friends 3 collab Friend based on Kumamon, the bear mascot of Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan.
Appearance
Chibi Kumamon's design largely follows the appearance of the bear mascot that she is based on. Most of her appearance in pure black, apparently following the official guideline about Kumamon whose black color is K100. Her eyes are pale grey with black elongated pupils while her eyebrows are white and crescent-shaped. She has a long black hair with Kumamon's facial features: white oval with a black spot on her front bang as the bear snout and nose, two pure red ovals at the sides resembling the mascot's cheeks, and a pair of small Kumamon round ears. Two tails by the sides with a yellow spark hairpin on the right and a pink heart hairpin on the left.
Most of her costume is pure black and hard to distinguish details. By judging from the silhouette she has a sleeveless dress with round buttons and fur at the skirt's end. At the chest the straps and opening forms a special shape resembling the shape of Tsūjun Bridge (通潤橋) in Kumamoto. She is in a seemingly dark see-through bodysuit underneath. She has a big bowtie, arm-length mittens largely resembling Kumamon's hands, black tights and short boots with fur cuff. Like Kumamon, she has a small ball-like tail at the back.
Series Appearances
Media | Role |
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In the Source Material
Kumamon (くまモン) is a mascot created by the government of Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan in 2010 as a campaign to draw in more tourists after Kyushu Shinkansen line opened. The mascot has since enjoyed tremendous popularity locally and internationally.
The name of Kumamon was chosen because, in addition to the fact that "mon" in the Kumamoto dialect means a person, it is one Japanese character different from "Kumamoto" and is instantly recognizable as a character from the prefecture. Bear being adopted as the main motif is said to be as a reminder that Japanese black bear was once inhabited Kyushu region including Kumamoto area; not to mention "Kuma" means a bear in Japanese. The color black is a reference to Kumamoto Castle's main palette. The silly expression is intended to create a contrast to orthodox of other government offices. According to the official profile, Kumamon is a male character born in Kumamoto on March 12; his age remains a secret. It is said that he was slim for a few months before he became chubby as we see today for eating too much local food.
He now works as a local public servant with the title, "Kumamoto Prefecture Sales Manager" and "Kumamoto Prefecture Happiness Manager". He stations at Kumamon Square of Tsuruya Department Store in Kumamoto City instead of a government office.
Kumamon has received tremendous success in Japan and world, partly due to his cuteness, as well as the unusual marketing strategy of free licensing and ease of approval for commercial uses. The Kumamoto prefecture grants usage rights for free to local businesses as long as their products promote goods and services from the prefecture. In 2018, the prefecture decided to allow foreign businesses to use Kumamon, further promoting the mascot to the world. Kumamon's image has since been used in numerous products and services. Besides commercial collaborations, he has also appeared in various games, publications and anime movies.
Trivia

- Chibi Kumamon always ends her line of dialogue with the word "mon" (モン).
- Kumamon generally doesn't speak but occationally he is voiced by a female voice actress, Maiko Irie (入江麻衣子).
- According to the concept art of Chibi Kumamon at the Kemono Friends 3 pop-up store Kanazawa 2022, the unique shape formed by the dress straps is inspired by the Tsūjun Bridge (通潤橋), an aqueduct in Yamato, Kumamoto, Japan. It is an arch bridge completed in 1854 has a length of 84.0m, and an arch span of 27.3m. It is the largest stone aqueduct in Japan and has been designated as an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.
- In Kemono Friends 3, Chibi Kumamon's Beat animation is she holding a golden spear rallying three tiny Kumamon in a bee costume to attack. That is in reference to Kumamon's special bee costume, called "Kumambachi" (くまンバチ) for the Kumamon Square's 8th anniversary ceremony in 2021.
- The animation of her Action and Try attacks on the other hand is sprinkling a various kinds of flowers at the enemy. The collection of flowers is in fact called Higoroka (肥後六花) comprising of six types of flowers with cultural and historical significance to Kumamoto.
- Her in-game personal fashion is also a reference to the strawberry farmer outfit Kumamon wears in the music video, くまモン うまかモン.
- As told in story of the Kumamon collab event and hinted by the Friend photo of Chibi Kumamon, Calenda bought a little Kumamon plushie during a trip to Kumamoto and brought it into Japari Park. Sandstar might have got in contact with the plushie and turned it into Chibi Kumamon.