Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear (くまみこ) is a Japanese manga series by Masume Yoshimoto, serialized in Media Factory's seinen manga magazine Monthly Comic Flapper from May 2013 to December 2023. It has been collected in twenty tankōbon volumes and is also available on Kadokawa's ComicWalker web comic service. An anime television series adaptation by Kinema Citrus and EMT Squared aired from April 3, 2016 to June 19, 2016.

Plot
Machi Amayadori is the young shrine maiden who has spent her whole life in the rural mountains with Natsu, her talking guardian bear. Now, at fourteen, she wants to take a chance and attend high school in the big city. Can Natsu really prepare her for city life? Or will his wacky trials be too much for even Machi to bear?

Characters

 * Machi Amayadori (雨宿 まち)
 * The 14-year-old Miko of a mountain shrine in a remote village and is also a middle school student. She wants to move to the big city for high school because she finds life in the countryside boring, but has never left the village in her entire life, nor ever made a human friend around her age.
 * The 14-year-old Miko of a mountain shrine in a remote village and is also a middle school student. She wants to move to the big city for high school because she finds life in the countryside boring, but has never left the village in her entire life, nor ever made a human friend around her age.


 * Natsu Kumai (クマ井 ナツ)
 * Natsu is a talking bear who has lived with Machi since she was a child and tries his best to deal with her antics and keep her out of trouble. He opposes Machi's idea of leaving the town, fearing for her safety.
 * Natsu is a talking bear who has lived with Machi since she was a child and tries his best to deal with her antics and keep her out of trouble. He opposes Machi's idea of leaving the town, fearing for her safety.


 * Yoshio Amayadori (雨宿 良夫)
 * Yoshio is Machi's 25 year old cousin who works as a village officer.
 * Yoshio is Machi's 25 year old cousin who works as a village officer.


 * Etsuko Amayadori (雨宿 エツ子)
 * Etsuko is Machi's aunt and Yoshio's mother.
 * Etsuko is Machi's aunt and Yoshio's mother.


 * Fuchi Amayadori (雨宿 フチ)
 * Fuchi is Etsuko's mother and Yoshio and Machi's grandmother. She lives with Machi and Natsu, but her face is never shown.
 * Fuchi is Etsuko's mother and Yoshio and Machi's grandmother. She lives with Machi and Natsu, but her face is never shown.


 * Hibiki Sakata (酒田 響)
 * Hibiki is Yoshio's 24-year-old friend with a longtime crush on him, which she denies. She smokes and rides around on a motorcycle. She also displays an overly aggressive nature to hide her shyness.
 * Hibiki is Yoshio's 24-year-old friend with a longtime crush on him, which she denies. She smokes and rides around on a motorcycle. She also displays an overly aggressive nature to hide her shyness.

Manga
The manga series by Masume Yoshimoto began serialization in Monthly Comic Flapper magazine on April 5, 2013. The series ended serialization on December 5, 2023. The first tankōbon volume was released on October 23, 2013. The manga has been licensed by One Peace Books for a North American release.

Anime
An anime television series adaptation by Kinema Citrus and EMT Squared aired from April 3, 2016 to June 19, 2016. The opening theme is "Datte, Gyutte Shite." (だって、ギュってして.) by Maki Hanatani, and the ending theme is "Kumamiko Dancing" by Natsumi Hioka and Hiroki Yasumoto. Kadokawa, AT-X, Kinema Citrus and Sony Music Communications were involved in the production of the anime. Two OVAs are included in the first and second volume of the anime's home video release, which were released on June 24, 2016 and August 24, 2016, respectively.

Reception
The series ranked 20th in the first Next Manga Award in the print manga category.