Japari Bun
|
This article's quality can be improved. It may not conform to our style or editing policies. Reason: Expansion, cleanup, more images You can help Japari Library by editing the page, or by discussing the issue. |
Japari Buns (Japanese: ジャパリまんじゅう Hepburn: Japari Manjū), often shortened as Japaman (Japanese: ジャパまん Hepburn: Japaman), are a food item found in Japari Park. They are a form of manjū, stamped with the Japari Park logo or another symbol and found in a wide variety of colors and flavors, which were once provided as a food option for park visitors and Friends alike. They would later become the primary form of sustenance for Friends, after the Cellien invasion left them isolated from humanity.
Overview
Japari Buns are Japari Park's take on manjū: a soft flour-based pastry, often given one of any number of possible fillings (thus their Japanese name,Japari Manjū). Japari Buns are distinguished by the Japari Park logo featured on their tops and a dotted line around their outer edges. Despite being inspired by a pastry, a typical Japari Bun represents a staple, healthy food item for Friends of all types, being carefully crafted to meet their nutritional requirements regardless of their original species' dietary preferences; they are not innately a junk food, though such varieties may exist, and complaints over Bun content seem to be born of a Friends' unique palate as an individual, rather than a conflict with the diet of their species. Known Japari Bun flavors and/or fillings, as seen in official media, include carrot, chocolate, curry, and more specifically-curated varieties such as rose. Japari Buns also show great diversity in their color, typically being one or two hues of a particular color or having a rainbow gradient; notably, these colors do not inherently correlate to the Bun's flavor or filling, which can make it difficult for picky eaters to discern what they will and will not enjoy. Both aforementioned ideas are aptly demonstrated in European Hare's Character Quest in the original Kemono Friends mobile game, wherein Serval's excitement to eat a limited-edition Bun is instantly quelled upon learning that it is carrot flavored. While Japari Buns are typically eaten as they are, various forms of preparation have been practiced; for example, in Arctic Hare's Character Quest, the Park Guide Mirai suggests roasting them.
Despite their importance in numerous pieces of Kemono Friends media, Japari Buns have not always been such a major facet of the dietary plans of Friends; there is no evidence that Japari Buns existed at all in early Japari Park, as their first appearance was in the chronologically-subsequent Nexon Game. By the time of the game, their popularity had grown to the point that they were a meal staple for Friends, though not a necessity; a dependency on Japari Buns would only come about by the time of the original anime. With culinary knowledge largely lost among Friends, and with few other food options remaining, Japari Buns became the most important food source in the Kyōshū Region, especially for Friends with particular dietary needs not easily met by what food is naturally available or scavengeable. Consequently, at this point, Lucky Beasts would become instrumental in the survival of the region's Friends.
Japari Buns tend to be produced by Lucky Beasts in dedicated, remotely-located factories, and distributed to Friends from there. These sites are subject to intense security, with the Lucky Beasts around and within the sites having no tolerance for intruders. The sector of the Kyōshū Region where the Japari Buns are made—an island in the middle of a large lake— is very closely protected, and the Bun Factory found in Kingdom's Bountiful Forest is deliberately veiled in secrecy. During the audio drama, the third generation of PPP infiltrated this area to find Buns for Kaban's upcoming journey, and were quickly swarmed by potentially hundreds of Lucky Beasts protecting the supply. These Lucky Beasts are also noted to be seen throwing the Buns onto a tree of some kind; though possibly related to storage or emergency asset preservation, the exact nature of this tree is left ambiguous.
History
Video Games
In Kemono Friends (2015 Mobile Game)
In the original mobile game, the abbreviation Japaman (Japanese:ジャパまん) is often used rather than the full name of Japari Manjū. Their design is simpler than later renditions of the snack would be, being wholly mono-colored with a small, dark Japari Park logo stamped atop the bun.
Japaman are treated as a food of taste, valued more as a tasty snack than a necessity in day-to-day life; Cellval's theft of one of these pastries from Caracal's cache is an important trigger for the events of the main story. In game play, Japari Buns appear as one of the items that can restore the player's stamina.
In Kemono Friends Pavilion
In Kemono Friends Pavilion, Japari Buns are a major focus of many of the KemoTalks in the game, and are used to attract Friends to the player's Pavilion. There are two types: a standard Japari Bun and a special Japari Bun, the latter of which becomes available when a player watches an advertisement.
In Kemono Friends FESTIVAL
Japari Buns sometimes appear on the battlefield as an energy/HP recovery item for Friends.
In Kemono Friends Picross
A 10x10 Picross puzzle depicting a blue Japari Bun can be played in Kemono Friends Picross.
In Kemono Friends 3
A variety of Japari Buns appear in Kemono Friends 3, serving in game play as consumable items that award EXP to Friends that consume them. A total of nine colors of Japari Bun are available: six to grant bonus EXP to Friends of each of the six attributes, with a corresponding color and logo stamped atop each type of Bun, and three additional colors— brown, gold, and rainbow— providing an EXP bonus for Friends of any attribute, with a Japari Park logo stamped on top.
- Attribute-Specific Japari Buns
Active-attribute Japari Bun.
Carefree-attribute Japari Bun.
Friendly-attribute Japari Bun.
Funny-attribute Japari Bun.
Lovely-attribute Japari Bun.
Relaxed-attribute Japari Bun.
- Any-Attribute Japari Buns
Small all-attribute Japari Bun.
Medium all-attribute Japari Bun.
Large all-attribute Japari Bun.
There are also Photos of Japari Buns that can be used to upgrade the levels of other Photos, being found in 2-star rarity (featuring the brown all-attribute Japari Bun) and 3-star rarity (featuring the gold all-attribute Japari Bun).
In Kemono Friends Kingdom
Following naturally with the manjū in Japari Park being called Japari Buns, the manjū seen in Kingdom are referred to as Kingdom Buns. It is not known if the composition of Kingdom Buns greatly differs from Japari Buns, if it all; it is known that they are produced and distributed in much the same way, via Lucky Beasts who operate a so-called Bun Factory in an area called the Bountiful Forest. Similarly to Japari Buns in the continuity of the 2017 anime, Kingdom Buns are a staple food source for Friends and are produced and delivered by Lucky Beasts. While knowledge of culinary arts is better-preserved in Kingdom than in other post-human Kemono Friends media, allowing for Friends to cook meals in times of Kingdom Bun scarcity—as demonstrated by the hosting of a potluck in the Rabbit Hero & Exquisite Feast event story— using food resources in this way is generally a last resort; additionally, as seen in Plains Zebra's Comments Board story, hunger can still result among Friends who are not adept at meal preparation.
In game play, Kingdom Buns are used to boost the EXP of Friends, similarly to their use in Kemono Friends 3; unlike in that game, there are not understood to be unique Bun types for the unique Friend attributes present in Kingdom. Kingdom Buns are almost invariably blue in color, with one of the few exceptions being a red-brown Kingdom Bun which appears in Humboldt Penguin's sprite animation upon use of her Miracle.
Animanga and Stage Series
In Kemono Friends (2017 Anime)
The 2017 anime marked the debut of the modern Japari Bun design. When hiding them in the sand or transporting them, they are depicted as protected by a white wrapper.
The audio drama provides a brief description of the process of manufacturing Japari Bun, as mentioned above.
In Chokotto Anime Kemono Friends 3
Japari Buns appear in some of the Chokotto Anime shorts serving as tie-ins with the Kemono Friends 3 mobile game.
In the Stage Series Plays
In the first stage play, Japari Buns appear as a commonplace meal, though in the second stage play their production would be impacted by the onset of cold weather in Japari Park, and in the third stage play, Japari Buns are found to be smaller and more moist due to the further production impact caused by the destruction of essential solar panels.
Various renditions of a song called "Japari Bun Rap" appear across the stage plays, with a normal version performed in the first stage play, a hyper version in the second stage play, and a medley version in the third stage play.
Real-World Merchandise and Promotions
Japari Buns have been used in promotions by the Kemono Friends Project, with Japari Bun-themed food being a staple of Kemono Friends promotions at eateries and Japari Bun-themed manjū being sold at Family Mart locations for a limited time period. In addition, the pastries are common accessories for Kemono Friends merchandise; examples include the Nendoroid Serval figure, which came with a Japari Bun part for those who pre-ordered from the Good Smile Online Shop, and the Nendoroid Japanese Crested Ibis figure, which comes standard with two Japari Bun parts: one for herself and one for the Nendoroid Kaban figure, with the intention of creating a scene of the pair eating together.
Trivia
- Celliens may be able to consume Japari Buns, as indicated when Cellval is discovered to have raided Caracal's hidden Japari Bun cache in the main story of the Nexon game. However, it is not strictly known whether they derive any nutrition from the confections, whether Cellval was actually interested in eating the bun or simply imitating what Serval would do, or if Cellval is an exceptional case of a Cellien being able to eat Japari Buns.
Gallery
Photo "Japari Bun Photo 2☆" from Kemono Friends 3.
Photo "Japari Bun Photo 3☆" from Kemono Friends 3.
A Kingdom Bun as seen in Kemono Friends Kingdom.
Photo "Japari Bun Steamer" from Kemono Friends 3.
The completed Japari Bun puzzle from Kemono Friends Picross.
A Japari Bun, stored in its wrapper and sealed with tape, as seen in the original Kemono Friends anime.
The Japari Bun part that was given to those who pre-ordered the Serval Nendoroid from the Good Smile Online Shop.
| World of Kemono Friends | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Major Characters | |||||
| Humans | Calenda • Hikari • Jinri • JSRT Captain • Kaban • Kako • Kyururu • Mirai • Nana • Park Founder • Towa • Haruka | ||||
| Friends | Serval • Cellval • Caracal • Kaban • Raccoon • Fennec Fox • PPP • Ezo Red Fox • Four Gods • Dhole • Meerkat • Short-Beaked Common Dolphin | ||||
| Other | Cellien Queen • Celliens • Lucky • Lucky Beasts • Lucky Beast Type-III • Star Beasts • Groups | ||||
| Locations | |||||
| Japari Park • Kingdom • Kyōshū Region • Riukiu Region • Park Central • Pavilion • Juuoh Park | |||||
| Objects | |||||
| Japari Bun • Japari Bus • Japari Line • Kemono Amulet • Lucky Beast • Patrol Plane | |||||
| Terminology | |||||
| Cellien • Friend • Beast • Sandstar • Cellium • Sparkle • Kemonoplasm • Kemo Harmony | |||||
| Useful Pages | |||||
| Introduction to Kemono Friends • List of Friends • Glossary | |||||