Kuma Uta (Bear Song), published by Sony on the PS2 back in 2003. In this game, a polar bear writes enka songs based on answers to various questions, then sings those songs using synthesized speech. Players can also write their own lyrics, which are also performed by a polar bear. I still can’t believe this was a first-party game.

It would kind of make sense now, following the success of Hatsune Miku, but this predates Miku by four years. Oh, speaking of Kuma Uta and Hatsune Miku, here’s a fanmade duet between Miku and a damn polar bear:

See also: Enka star Jero’s Shiren the Wanderer ad

tags / enka / kuma uta / jc