Polar Bear Cafe - Season 1 (2012)

Pushed by his mother to stop lazing around the house, a Panda searches for a part-time job but has troubling finding one to accommodate his laziness. He soon stumbles upon Polar Bear Café, a café run by a Polar Bear who is holding interviews for a part-time position with his faithful customer Penguin.

Panda applies for the job but fails the interview, with the job going to a human girl named Sasako instead. However, the others soon point Panda towards a part-time job at a nearby zoo.

Panda, Penguin and Llama come up with ideas for if they ran their own café.

Everyone goes to a flower viewing party and Penguin gets very drunk.

Polar Bear and Penguin come to the zoo Panda works at, where they have trouble catching Panda when he's awake and visit the other attractions.

Panda and the other animals discuss the problems they face doing their jobs.

After seeing everyone with smartphones, Panda convinces his mother to buy him one, only for him to soon break the panda cover it had.

Wanting to learn some driving techniques, Penguin joins Polar Bear and Panda on a drive.

As Panda has to fill in for the full-time panda for a week, he is forced to ride packed trains for work. He cheers up and becomes more energetic when he starts receiving flowers from a supposed fan named Rin Rin.

Polar Bear decides to do a parfait fair, and tries to come up with special parfaits to serve.

Following an incident at work, Panda feels he is overweight and decides to go on a diet.

Panda decides he needs to get in touch with his wild side, so Polar Bear takes him to meet his childhood friend Grizzly.

Feeling he could do with being more popular, Panda decides to give Handa a makeover.

Having received his driving license, Penguin is tested by Polar Bear to try and achieve his 'dating license.'

Polar Bear is interviewed about his café by a magazine and its editor, who is a shoebill.

Panda joins Polar Bear and Grizzly to catch some ingredients.

Rin Rin gets excited when he gets to make a delivery to Panda's house and meet his family.

The others try to support Penguin as he tries to work up the courage to confess to Penko.

Thanks to Panda's interference, Handa is set up by his fellow employee, Kirino, to go on a mixer to meet some girls.

When one of the guys cancels, Panda and Polar Bear fill in for the guy's side.

Penguin gets heartbroken when he assumes Penko is dating Tortoise.

Panda joins Polar Bear and Grizzly on a night out, visiting a batting center and a public bath.

Panda and Full Time Panda attempt to distract themselves during a boring and rainy day at the zoo, much to Handa's chagrin.

Handa once again questions his love life, but finds some peace during his first visit to Polar Bear Café.

As the café prepares for a Tanabata party, everyone has trouble deciding what they should wish for.

Panda notices that Handa has a crush on Sasako, and tries to help him work up his confidence.

As Panda laments having nothing to do and Polar Bear wishes he had more free time, Polar Bear gets the idea to take Panda's place at the zoo.

Polar Bear, Panda and Penguin take a trip to the beach.

The backyard of Polar Bear Café needs weeding, but Penguin seems to be the only one taking things seriously.

Penguin finally works up the courage to confess to Penko, asking her out every day for a week.

As the café starts serving a shaved ice dessert called "Polar Bear", Grizzly gets the wrong idea and believes Polar Bear had been eaten by otters.

A salaryman from another town arrives at Polar Bear Café for the first time.

Polar Bear, Panda, Penguin and Grizzly go on a camping trip together, where Penguin and Grizzly find they have a lot in common.

Rin Rin, believing he has met another panda lover, asks a high school girl to accompany him to the zoo.

The café decides to hold a night of telling ghost stories, much to an easily-frightened Handa's dismay.

Panda decides to run away from home when his mother decides to lump his birthday celebration with his siblings.

As Penguin joins the gang to the pool along with his nephew, he ends up having to deal with an easily irritated King Penguin Mama and the Penko sisters.

After becoming amazed by the taste of the Polar Bear Café brand of black coffee, a man named Misaki decides to become the pupil of a tree kangaroo in order to learn how to roast coffee beans.

Panda imagines a dream life living on his own. After struggling to find a place that meets his expectations, Panda, along with Penguin, check out where the other animals live.

Polar Bear and Grizzly run a stand together at a summer festival, joined by a relative of Panda's, Lesser Panda. After selling everything, the gang enjoy the sights of the festival.

Panda is reassigned to one part of the zoo after another — even serving as a zookeeper.

Panda's sister Mei Mei goes on about her crush on Mr Handa. However, after seeing Handa and Ms Badger at a realty office, Panda believes that the two are getting married.

The trio of Pygoscelis penguins from the water park try to figure out how to sell their excess of penguin cards.

Penguin ends up having to date all the Penko sisters equally, but still has trouble telling them apart. Sasako suggests he give the sisters differently colored ribbons to better identify them.

Handa meets up with Polar Bear to ask his advice on how to ask Sasako out, but Polar Bear seems to be more interested in the food where the meeting takes place. Meanwhile, Sasako winds up serving several good-looking men who come into the café, which worries Panda and Penguin.

Panda Mama goes to buy walnuts and learns the trick of stuffing the bag full from Mama Red Squirrel, and then endures a lecture from King Penguin Mama on how to eat at an all-you-can-eat cake buffet. The group then decides to eat at Polar Bear Café, where they end up taxing his sanity.

Panda decides he wants to become someone's apprentice but is rather picky about who his master is. He eventually settles on becoming Sloth's apprentice, but quits due to not being able to match his level of laziness.

Polar Bear abruptly tasks Sasako with being the host of a sport competition for animals (in which Handa is the only human participant), while Panda Mama and Mama Red Squirrel quarrel over how to prepare rice balls.

Penguin puts on an art exhibition, although none of the paintings are original and go unappreciated by the customers. After Polar Bear and Panda see the exhibit, they and Penguin discuss what hobbies they and other café regulars have.

As Polar Bear gets Grizzly to help out with a few things, they remember how they first met.

As Full Time Panda takes on a side job, he starts to worry when he learns a temp Panda will be coming to the zoo, feeling he might be replaced. As Temp Panda arrives and acts rather sternly towards the other pandas, a ballot is held as to who should be the central panda.

At Grizzly Bar, a Tiger, Wolf and Lion have a little reunion. As they lament how they've lost their youth, they are treated to a surprise performance by a legendary rapper.

The zoo animals from Polar Bear Café and the wild animals from Grizzly Bar face off against each other in a baseball match.

The Red Squirrels teach Misaki about how coffee changes taste depending on how much it has been roasted.

Polar Bear attempts to fill in for Panda but is questioned by the police. To apologize, Panda decides to give Polar Bear a day off by working at the café.

Rin Rin is invited out drinking by Full Time Panda, who is curious as to why he considers Panda to be cute but not him.

Panda goes through various part time jobs, including a car dealership, a stock marketer and a lecturer, where he somehow manages to make the respective companies successful.

Penguin has aspirations of flight, and the others try to help him experience it for the first time.

Polar Bear, Panda and Penguin go trick or treating on Halloween, getting some curious treats from the homes they visit.

Tired of being passed over all the time, Llama suggests the zoo should hold a Llama Day. However, the animals struggle to come up with ideas to make it appealing.

Penguin is pressured to choose one of the Penko sisters. Llama helps him differentiate between them, but this backfires.

Panda Mama goes with King Penguin Mama to a concert by porcupine pop group Yama Arashi.

Polar Bear takes the others to see the café's garden, where all the ingredients are grown.

The sales penguins attempt to pitch their penguin trading card game to Handa so they can sell it in the zoo's shop, even suggesting they hold a penguin themed hero show to attract customers.

Panda becomes depressed as the penguin hero show appears to take customers away from the panda corner. Rin Rin suggests to Panda that the zoo put on a photo contest to attract more customers. Meanwhile, Masaki tries to roast coffee himself, and learns the meaning behind hand picking coffee beans.

Despite some initial interest in the photo contest, the panda corner is still overshadowed by the penguin show. Polar Bear suggests the panda family put on their own performance.

Wolf ends up quitting his job at a bakery, so Tiger recruits him for his sweets shops. After Wolf hears about a position at a famous bakery from Panda Mama, Tiger encourages Wolf to go for it.

The gang hear from Llama that Penguin has been visiting the neighboring town's Brown Bear Café. After Polar Bear decides to check it out, he learns Penguin has gained a crush on the waitress penguin there.

Sloth starts working part-time at the café, though it doesn't prove easy with his speed.

Handa asks for Polar Bear and Lesser Panda's help in figuring out what to get Sasako for Christmas.

The pandas look for ways to hibernate at the zoo, but Handa calls them out on it. Grizzly takes Polar Bear shopping for a pillow to sleep on during hibernation.

When Grizzly starts his hibernation, he is rudely interrupted by Polar Bear, who takes him to the driving range. When Panda and Penguin turn up, Grizzly, cranky from lack of sleep, takes them all out to a hot pot bistro.

Panda wonders whether he'll get a present for Christmas — until Rin Rin shows up with a knitted pochette for Panda.

Penguin, eager to show off his storytelling, tries in vain to find a party to appear at before deciding on Grizzly Bar. Panda and Mei Mei argue over whose picture should be sent to Handa as a Christmas present, and Llama and Alpaca use their wool to create scarves and other garments.

Polar Bear ropes in everyone to do some spring cleaning around the café.

Polar Bear, Panda, Penguin, Sasako and Llama spend New Year's Eve together, where they reminisce about the past year.

As the New Year rolls in, the Polar Bear Café holds a hidden talent contest.

Penguin comes to visit Panda's home while the café is closed, which doesn't please Panda very much.

Polar Bear sets up a hammock in his garden and invites Panda and Penguin to laze around with him.

After Panda upsets Panda Mama by eating her tulips, he tries to find something to replace them.

The café holds a Setsubun event, where everyone takes turns being the ogre.

Sasako and Llama reminisce about their elementary school days.

Polar Bear has trouble sleeping, and the others try to cure his insomnia.

Polar Bear and Grizzly think back to their high school days, where Grizzly had a crush on a grizzly bear named Tsukiko.

Fed up with Polar Bear's annoying puns, Grizzly and Penguin try to get everyone in town to beat Polar Bear at his own game.

Masaki is told how coffee can taste different depending on how it's prepared, and wonders if he can win over the Red Squirrels with advice from Polar Bear.

After a long day at work, Full-Time Panda and Llama decide to have a few drinks. They later invite Rin Rin, who takes the drunk Full-Time Panda and Llama to Grizzly Bar.

Panda is shocked to learn that Full-Time Panda has accepted a transfer to a zoo in Singapore.

Panda agrees to work full time until another panda is hired, causing some worry amongst his friends.

Rin Rin and Mei Mei find they have some common interests and work together to think of a plan to get closer to Panda and Handa. However, Rin Rin ends up catching a fever.

Polar Bear and the others go to the frozen lakes to do some smelt fishing, though they soon get distracted.

The younger penguins set up a display for Hinamatsuri, which goes a little awry when the café-goers make their own contributions.

Polar Bear develops a fever and goes to the animal hospital for some medicine. Panda and Penguin drop by to look after him.

The Pygoscelis Penguins are approached by a TV studio to do a televised version of South Pole Squad Penginger alongside Yama Arashi, with some of the other animals making cameos.

Polar Bear teaches Masaki how a coffee's richness differs based on how it is prepared.

Panda and the others end up joining Sloth on a long walk to the hot springs.

The group become paper dolls as they converse in the real world.

Handa tries to figure out what to get Sasako for White Day.

Grizzly is visited by his mother, who embarrasses him when she starts serving home cooking in his bar.

Llama, Sasako and the others visit their hometown to find a time capsule Llama buried five years ago.

Panda becomes curious about what Penguin does when he's not at the café.

Polar Bear becomes downhearted when Penguin expresses interest in moving away. Afterwards, everyone gathers around to have a cherry blossom viewing party, looking back on the year they've spent together.