Noriko Hidaka -- Kuma ni Kamareru yori Mashi（くまにかまれるよりまし）

 

I've been hearing about the horror-comedy "Cocaine Bear" which should make for some hilarious viewing. Maybe someday in the not-so-distant future, it could be part of a double feature along with "Snakes on a Plane".

Quite the ironic thing then that on the same day that "Cocaine Bear" premiered in theatres, veteran seiyuu Noriko Hidaka（日髙のり子）appeared on NHK's morning information show "Asaichi"（あさイチ）to talk about her 40-year-plus career along with her own bear incident. The voice actor admitted that she felt kinda strange appearing as a guest on the show when she was already a regular by narrating several segments on "Asaichi" over the years.

Of course, Hidaka cringed half-jokingly at some old footage when she debuted as an 80s aidoru after which she spoke on some of the dues that she had paid while also doing her duties as a junior tarento reporting in the field. So, we come to the bear incident. Apparently, she was out at some animal sanctuary when one bruin decided to sample some of Hidaka's hair which caused no small amount of grief and terror and tears (as in from the eyes, not lacerations in her flesh). Although she thankfully didn't suffer the gore that the folks in "Cocaine Bear" do, it must have still been traumatizing for the young lady.

All that has been encapsulated by her own song and music video which came out in December 2021. The short-but-sweet "Kuma ni Kamareru yori Mashi" (Better than Being Bitten by a Bear) is humourously autobiographical as she relates that all of the sturm und drang that she went through in show business doesn't compare to the attack on her scalp by a bear. I can certainly agree with that. Written and composed with even the animation provided by singer-songwriter Keiko Yanai（矢内景子）, it starts off innocently as a kiddie-friendly pop tune until the attack brings on some rock music drama to the proceedings.

You can also check out my article on Hidaka's "Image Ihan"（イメージ違反）which I wrote about in the same month that "Kuma ni Kamareru yori Mashi" was released.