Lucky Beast

Lucky Beast

Gallery

For voice lines, see Lucky Beast/Voice.

Lucky Beasts are small, often animal-like robots tasked with the maintenance of Friend-inhabited parks such as Japari Park and Kingdom, as well as care-taking of said Friends living there. Sometimes called simply Boss by Friends, they are designed as robotic Park Guides and handle all varieties of tasks essential to keeping the Friends' home up and running. Lucky Beasts were first featured in the Kemono Friends anime, and have been emblematic of the Kemono Friends franchise ever since.

Overview

A typical Lucky Beast is a small, bipedal robot with large, pointed ear-like appendages protruding from its egg-shaped body. These Lucky Beasts have three-toed, paw-like feet that are typically light in color. They have small, oval eyes which are typically black, but can light up in various colors depending on the current activity of the Lucky Beast; for instance, green is commonly seen when assessing data. Lucky Beasts also commonly wear a belt resembling a collar, below which a specialized panel—often, but not always, containing a lens-like implement— can be found.

Other models of robots considered to be Lucky Beasts exist which do not resemble the aforementioned description at all; these are more akin to quadrupedal robots seen in military and search-and-rescue work, bearing stocky, angular bodies carried on four spindly, mechanical legs.

Behavior

Under normal circumstances, Lucky Beasts diligently manage Japari Park and are responsible for the production and distribution of Japari Buns. They are numerous and can be seen all around their home park in concentrations roughly proportionate to the number of Friends in a given place; if many Friends gather together, such as for an event, they may be accompanied by an increased number of Lucky Beasts. They almost never speak to Friends, and complete their work in total silence and fail to respond even when being directly addressed by Friends. They will only converse with humans, and likewise will only ever address Friends directlywhen a human is potentially in danger will they . In fact, most Friends who meet Lucky, the Lucky Beast travelling in the company of the human Kaban, are astounded to learn that Lucky Beasts can speak to begin with when they hear it speak to her.

In the presence of humans, the demeanor and function of Lucky Beasts changes entirely. Breaking their usual silence, they are capable of parsing human language and speaking it themselves, eagerly introducing themselves to any humans they meet. Much like a tour guide, they'll ask for the human's name and provide them with directions around the park, all the while relaying facts and trivia about Japari Park and the Friends living there.

While the geographical information Lucky Beasts relay is extensive and based in fact, they seem to be unable to update their own data easily; as such, their information is prone to being out of date in continuities and eras where a park has fallen into ruin following the departure of humanity. In these scenarios, Lucky Beasts' data on key infrastructure, such as the locations of bridges or transportation hubs, may refer to structures which are in a state of severe disrepair or no longer exist. By virtue of their intelligence and autonomy, Lucky Beasts are able to come up with backup plans or locate detours when such obstructions are identified.

Commonplace Variants

A blue Lucky Beast, as seen on the title screen of Kemono Friends Festival.

Blue Variant

Perhaps the best-known type of Lucky Beast is the blue variant that debuted in the original Kemono Friends anime.

Design

The majority of their bodies are a baby blue, save for deep blue ear tips and a round white patch on their stomachs which extends to their feet. A fluffy, striped tail, alternating in color between the aforementioned blues, is connected to the back of the Lucky Beasts' bodies. They wear simple, gray collar belts, often with the belt's tail end visible in front. These units sport a single black panel with lens-like hardware built in attached to the front of their bodies.

When a unit is on alert, namely when a threat to a human such as a Cellien is detected, the eyes and/or ear-tips of these units may light up red and/or orange.

Functions

These Lucky Beasts tend to serve as Japari Park tour guides, maintenance workers when needed, and—as assistants to, or in the absence of, humans— Friend caretakers and Japari Bun producers. Their intelligence and non-threatening appearance makes them ideal companions for park visitors of all ages, and they possess sophisticated navigation systems to help people get wherever they want to go.

Four Lucky Beasts summoning a Barrier.

In Kemono Friends 3, these blue Lucky Beasts also boast the ability to create Barriers when in groups of at least four robots. These are personal force-fields, similar in appearance to soap bubbles and able to fit one Friend within them, which protect their inhabitants from a small number of attacks made by a Friend or Cellien. As the fields have a limited durability, they serve little use in combating Celliens—the likes of which will not relent their offensive when the shields inevitably, and relatively quickly, go down— but have proven greatly useful for allowing Friends to safely spar with one another in Strength Contests. In such duels, a Friend whose Barrier breaks will back up away from the fray and be considered "defeated", and their opponents will therefore not pursue them further. A group of four Lucky Beasts can cast a Barrier over groups of Friends as large as ten; it is unclear whether or not a larger numbers of targets can be protected by a single quartet.

Lucky Beast Type III (Pink Variant)

Main article: Lucky Beast Type-III

A Lucky Beast Type III. Note the wings and pink coloration.

A class of pink, winged Lucky Beasts that debuted in Kemono Friends Pavilion. While Lucky Beast Type-III units are generally very similar to other common Lucky Beast types, aside from being pink rather than blue or orange, they are heavily distinguished by a pair of wings found on either side of their bodies, just below the ears. The wings are tricolored, being white at the base, then yellow and blue at the wingtips. Like the other common variants, their front side features a panel with lens-like hardware built in, but the Type-III sports a unique round, light gray panel with with four circular markings around its diameter. The orientations of these markings correspond to the cardinal directions (as seen on a map or compass) associated with the Four Gods, the guardians who watch over Japari Park, as do the colors match up with those commonly associated with said deities:

• The dark dot on top correlates with Genbu, who watches over the northern parts of Japari Park;
• The blue dot to the right correlates with Seiryu, who watches over the east;
• The red dot on the bottom correlates with Suzaku, who guards the south;
• The white dot to the left correlates with Byakko, who watches over the west.

The properties of Type III units are largely a mystery. They appeared in the opening movie, speaking to what is assumed to be the player, asking them to observe Friends to undo a security lock related to the titular Pavilion. They appear in all of the Archive KemoTalks that are acquired when the player reaches a certain Archive Level with a Friend, and also has a set of KemoTalks all to themselves.

Lucky Beast Type-III's KemoTalks
Kemotalk Name	Friends Involved	Kemotalk Name	Friends Involved	Kemotalk Name	Friends Involved	Kemotalk Name	Friends Involved
279		280		281		282
283		284		716		717
718		719		879		880
959		1030
Cameo Appearances
None
KemoTalk Icons
			N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Orange Variant

One of the orange Lucky Beasts seen in Kingdom.

The common Lucky Beasts which appear in Kemono Friends Kingdom are highly similar to the blue variant, but are orange in color and have their square lens panels tilted so as to make a diamond shape. They serve much the same role as well, acting as park guides and Friend caretakers. It is unknown if all of their capabilities are the same as those of their blue counterparts, such as the ability to project holograms.

History of Lucky Beasts in Japari Park

In Japari Park, Lucky Beasts have undergone various forms and predecessors. The history of Lucky Beasts in Kingdom is not as well-documented, but may be similar.

A Star Beast mascot suit, predecessor of the Lucky Beast.

Star Beasts

The "prototype drone" flies through the night sky above Japari Park.

Preceding Lucky Beasts in Japari Park were the Star Beasts, who were mascot characters designed to advertise Japari Park. According to the fourth guidebook, humans from the park staff would don the Star Beast costumes and serve as entertainers for park guests. The Star Beast mascot characters appear to have served as the aesthetic inspiration for the final design of the Lucky Beast robots that would succeed them.

The "prototype drone" of the Lucky Beast, which is a dead ringer for the final version.

Lucky Beast Prototype

The first "prototype drone" Lucky Beast, capable of flight and carrying a jar heavily implied to contain Sandstar around its neck, appeared under mysterious circumstances and was seen as an auspicious symbol to researchers and staff members, who were the first to report sightings of it soaring through the sky. It was noted that experiments and investigations concerning animals seemed to yield more positive results on days the prototype was spotted; due to its association with good luck, the mysterious "creature" became known as the "beast of good fortune", which in time would become Lucky Beast.

Modern Lucky Beast

A Lucky Beast during development. Displayed at the Kemono Friends Mine Yoshizaki Concept Art Exhibition, 2017

The sequence of events between the recognition of the "beast of good fortune" and the establishment of Lucky Beasts as a fixture in Japari Park is not wholly known. The Park Guide Mirai was once in possession of the Lucky Beast unit Lucky late into her career in the Kyoshu Region, during which time she states that it will "one day" be used as a Park Guide. She explains this because the Friend accompanying her, Serval, does not recognize it.

This particular Lucky Beast later accompanies the human Kaban and a different Serval on their adventure. By that time, the Kyoshu region would be filled with fully operational Lucky Beasts, suggesting that they were produced in a substantial quantity and installed in the region to keep the park running at some point prior to the island's abandonment.

Special Variants

"Custom Emergency Treatment" Lucky Beast

A cutout of the "CET" Lucky Beast. Displayed at the Kemono Friends Mine Yoshizaki Concept Art Exhibition, 2017.

A "customized" design of a blue-variant Lucky Beast was revealed at Kemono Friends' exhibition at the Parco Museum in Ikebukuro. The light blue/dark blue color scheme has been replaced with black and red-violet, and its collar now features yellow and black stripes akin to those often seen on barricade tape. It has no lens panel, instead sporting a plaque engraved with the kanji for Genbu, suggesting an association with the divine Friend of the same name. Despite its intimidating color scheme, it is actually a first aid robot for emergency treatment.

LB2

Concept art depicting Mary, the prototype, and LB2.

First mentioned in Mine Yoshizaki's manga "Kemono Friends 2 Episode Zero," which was on display at Kemono Friends World, the LB2 (Lucky Beast II) walks on all four legs and has a giant lens on its front. It appears to be based on a quadruped robot or quadruped drone, and as such its silhouette resembles that of the Black Cellien that appeared in the first season of the anime. According to the background revealed in the concept art for Kemono Friends 3, this Lucky Beast was developed based on the robot "Flicky" brought to Japari Park by Calenda, a member of CARSC, and "Mary" exists as a prototype.

Housekeeping Lucky Beast

Haruka's gray Lucky Beast.

In Kemono Friends Kingdom, Haruka is accompanied by a gray Lucky Beast, similar in appearance to the orange units typically found in Kingdom, that is specialized as a household and personal assistant. It is equipped with a vacuum cleaner, is able to prepare tea, and helps Haruka maintain her daily schedule.

Notable Individual Lucky Beasts

"Lucky"

Main article: Lucky

The Lucky Beast who accompanies Kaban and Serval on their adventure in the Kyōshū Region in the original Kemono Friends anime. This Lucky Beast unit previously accompanied Mirai, who used it to record memos of her travels and research notes during her final days in the Kyōshū Region. Like other similar Lucky Beast units, Lucky is able to communicate with humans, project holograms,

Jinri's Lucky Beast

An orange Lucky Beast that accompanies Jinri in Kemono Friends Kingdom, serving as her guide and companion. It follows her diligently, and has been seen to put itself at risk to ensure her safety, such as when it leaps down a hole after her during the events of the Rabbit Hero & Exquisite Feast event.

Trivia

• While the prototype Lucky Beast's creator is never named directly, the Lucky Beast who introduces it in the fourth guidebook poses the question, "Do you recognize my tail from somewhere?", which may implicate Kako, whose hair ornaments bear a striking resemblance to the tails of Lucky Beasts.
  • It is stated explicitly in Kemono Friends 3 that Kako worked on the technology enabling Lucky Beasts to cast Barriers.
• When a group of four Lucky Beasts casts a Barrier, their eyes will take on the signature colors of Japari Park's Four Gods: red for Suzaku, blue for Seiryu, white for Byakko, and the eyes of one will remain black for Genbu.

See Also

• Lucky Beast's Merchandise