| Mori Chack | |
| Birth Date: | 23 March 1973 |
| Birth Place: | Sakai, Osaka, Japan |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Occupation: | Graphic designer |
| Known For: | Chax product line |
Mori Chack (森チャック Mori Chakku, born on March 23, 1973 in Sakai, Osaka, Japan) is the artist name of a Japanese graphic designer.
Chack is famous for his Chax product line, and especially the character Gloomy Bear he created in 2000.
Mori Chack also created Podolly (a sheep in a wolf skin), and Kumakikai (robo-gloomy with rockets for feet and a soft silver vinyl body). He also drew politically-oriented designs, such as the Statue of Liberty holding a molotov cocktail with the question "Free?".
Chack is famous for his Chax product line, and especially the character Gloomy Bear,[1] [2] a 2 m tall, violent, pink bear that eats humans. Chack created the character in 2000. The design is an antithesis to the excessively cute products produced by the likes of Disney and Sanrio. The Gloomy Bear is an allegory for Chack's belief that humans and animals are incompatible. The animal is often shown stained with blood and attacking humans.
The origin story of Gloomy Bear is that he was abandoned as a little bear and adopted by Pitty (a little boy). The cute bear eventually grew up into an angry adult bear and attacked Pitty, explaining its blood stains. However, Pitty knew Gloomy was innocent in his violence, and always ended up hugging the bear back despite the savage beating.[3]
A segment on Gloomy Bear and a short interview with Mori Chack are featured in Episode 6 of Series 2 of the BBC Three series Japanorama.[4] The topic of the episode was "Kawaii", which is Japanese for "cute".
The character Gloomy Bear received a TV anime titled Gloomy the Naughty Grizzly in April 2021.[5] [6] A one-shot manga titled Gloomy Bear: Apocalyptic Love was released on April 4, 2023.[7]