#PANDA CAFE HOW TO#
#PANDA CAFE SERIES#

#PANDA CAFE SERIES#

Now, let's talk about the elephant in the room: is Shirokuma Café a good learning material for beginners' reading practice? After reviewing the manga series and talking to a handful of learners who tried reading the series, I wouldn't say it's perfectly beginner-friendly, especially for those who are learning Japanese from textbooks. The series is intended to be an iyashikei 癒し系（いや　けい） manga, which is a popular genre in Japan that is 'mentally healing.' Shirokuma Café As Material For Reading Practice It's been adapted as an animation, which is popular among Japanese learners as well. Since it started as a series in a monthly manga magazine targeted at a female readers over the age of 30, the series has a significant fan base of adults. Despite the unrealistic setting, it somehow starts feeling natural, as if you're a part of the world with all the adorable animals who speak in a human language. The story happens in a world where animals act just like, and cohabitate with, humans. In case you are not familiar with Shirokuma Café at all, it is a manga series about a very chill (but also lazy) panda bear who frequents Polar Bear's Café, and interacts with the coffee shop owner, who is a polar bear.

#PANDA CAFE HOW TO#

Also, for those of you who already own the book, but ended up tsundoku-ing it - I hope this in-depth review will help you understand the series better and figure out how to enjoy it when you decide to give it another shot! What is 'Shirokuma Café'? ☕️ 📕 I am writing this review article in the hope that you can decide if the series is for you. However, as I reviewed the series myself and talked to Japanese learners who had read it, I became convinced that I shouldn't include it in the list of book recommendations for upper beginners - but instead, write a dedicated review for it. However, I still had no doubt that Shirokuma Café would make it into the article, since I knew it - along with Yotsuba&! - was one of the most popular manga among Japanese learners. I had only heard about the series at that point. Many Japanese learners, especially those from the WaniKani Community (where online book clubs for Japanese learners are very active), say that they wouldn't recommend this series for beginners.

That's why I was surprised to hear so many conflicting opinions about Shirokuma Café when I was writing an article about Japanese book recommendations for upper beginners. I also know quite a few Japanese learners around me who own this particular managa series, which I don't think is pure coincidence. There are many reviews on the internet raving about this particular series, describing it as 'perfect' for Japanese learners - especially beginners. The manga series, しろくまカフェ (Shirokuma Café) checks off all the boxes for what a popular Japanese learning resource is. Cute but not-too-childish illustrations? Check! ✅ 'Although the dogs are not real pandas, we hope our customers can experience the panda culture in our shop,' Huang added.Manga? Check. 'Our dye was imported from Japan and very expensive. While many applauded the owner for doing such a thing, a lot of people criticised the idea and pointed out that the dye could be harmful for the dogs.Īfter receiving criticism, the owner said that the dogs are “very healthy”. The video shows cute little Chow Chow dogs dyed with black dye, to resemble pandas. However, if you look closely, you’ll get to know that these are not panda cubs, but dogs dyed to make them look like pandas.Ī video of the dogs is going viral on Chinese social media. Named as ‘Cute Pet Games’, the cafe is home to six adorable panda cubs - at least that is what it was supposed to be. The cafe is situated in Chengdu, China, which is home to famous Research Base of Giant Panda breeding. The owner is apparently making money out of the 'dyed dogs'. The cafe triggered a controversy when its owner dyed Chow Chow dogs to resemble giant pandas. A panda cafe has opened up in China sounds exciting, right? But, the sad part about the cafe is that there are no pandas in the cafe.

Panda cafe