One of Japan’s most ubiquitous toys reveals that beneath its cute and cuddly exterior lies an angry death metal machine.
The Kuma no Tonbi has been around since all the way back in 1988 and continues to be popular to this day—every time my daughter walks through the a store’s toy section, she homes right in on it out of all the other mechanical puppies and rabbits on display. There’s just something in the combination of bright yellow fur, cute round head with a big red whistle in its mouth, and little snare drum on which Kuma pon pon pons…
But these once adorable features tend to lose their appeal in our adult lives filled with technical marvels like Casio calculator watches and fax machines. So Mansooon, a humor writer for the website Netallica, developed a way to give Kuma no Tonbi a little more edge by adding a stronger motor powered externally by eight AA batteries. Here’s what happened.
WARNING: This video contains flashing images which may be harmful or cause discomfort to some
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nYf4jKxCII
Mansooon’s new Kuma no Tonbi is powered by a Plasma Dash Motor intended to Tamiya Mini 4WD which are popular toy cars that hobbyists customize and race in competitions.
As the Kuma no Tonbi starts revving up, it quickly spits out the big red whistle.
Then as things get into full swing it rips off its own face simply by the raw power of its rocking.
What’s left is a yellow plastic robot face with a clearly pissed off expression.
Mansooon was impressed with the hidden potential the bear had and will consider super-charging more toys in the future. He also warns that if you should try this at home, be careful because the motor heats up very quickly.
All I know is next time I’m with my daughter in the toy section, I’m going to steer her away from Kuma no Tonbi towards something more wholesome, like “You Can Shave the baby.”
Source: Netallica, Twitter/@mansooon (Japanese)
Video & Images: YouTube/omochanojumbo, YouTube/Netallica