If you were really dialed in on otaku culture about four years ago, you undoubtedly heard about the penguin known as Grape-kun, and for good reason, as it really was one of the most heartwarming stories of the time.
The short version of the story is that a penguin named Grape-kun “fell in love” with a cardboard cutout of an anime character that was placed inside his enclosure as part of a publicity campaign for the series Kemono Friends. That garnered the penguin plenty of media attention for the last six months or so of the penguin’s life until he passed away in October 2017. Is that really all there is to this story though? Actually no, the story of Grape-kun and the reason why people regard him so highly is a bit more complex than many of us realize.
Born at a zoo in Tokyo, Grape-kun and his mate, Midori, were both transferred to Tobu Zoo in Saitama in 2007 where they were happy enough together and eventually hatched a baby chick. Citing inbreeding, the zoo made the decision to remove the chick from the couple which seemed to devastate them and leave a negative mark on the relationship of the pair. No matter the real cause (who knows what goes on in the minds of penguins?), Midori eventually left Grape-kun for a younger penguin which left him completely isolated and rejected from the rest of the waddle of penguins within the exhibit.
While the timeline of how long Grape-kun spent alone and jilted by his former mate is unclear, what we do know is that after April 2017, his life began to shine a little brighter thanks to a new presence within the enclosure. Sure, she was a little flat and on the quiet side but in the eyes of Grape-kun, she was perfect for him and he would spend hours upon hours staring at her to the point that he had to be separated from her in order to remember to eat. It would’ve been happily ever after for Grape-kun and the new love of his life had it not been for the fact that she wasn’t real.
As mentioned, the new love of Grape-kun’s life was a cardboard cutout of the character Hululu from an anime series. About 60 of these cardboard cutouts had been erected throughout the zoo, with this particular one being put up in the penguin enclosure. It didn’t matter though, Grape-kun had chosen his new waifu and would not be deterred.
Fortunately for Grape-kun, Hululu arrived when she did as she was able to make his last six months as happy as they could be. Grape-kun became a viral media sensation around the world until he began to have health problems in early October 2017, which was followed by the zoo announcing his passing on October 12th.
Fans from all over came to pay their respects to an otaku of another feather. In his honor, a permanent cutout of Hululu and Grape-kun standing together was added to the penguin exhibit.
It’s hard to quantify why we all cared so much about this penguin who had “fallen in love” with an anime character. I mean, you could say that it was merely because we wanted to say that even penguins can be anime otaku but if we dig deeper beneath the surface, we all know that there’s more to it than that.
I think, in some respects, Grape-kun represents a part of us that we all try to bury. The side of us that, after having our hearts broken, are afraid to love again. That can be a very scary place to be and believe me when I say that I’m talking about this from experience. Being isolated and lonely can be a dark and scary time for anyone, no matter what species you are.
With Grape-kun though, we learned the valuable lesson that not only is it possible to find love again after a heartbreak but also that it can be found in the most unlikely of places. Grape-kun reminded us all that love is universal and can transcend many different boundaries and… dare I say, dimensions.
So today, on the anniversary of his death, I throw up a salute to the little penguin who reminded us all that while the pain of loss is great, it’s also temporary. Someday, you too will be ready to love again.
