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Its premise is simple, but what makes this short so engaging is its extraordinary execution. Tezuka, along with a few other rather skillful people, pour in a stupendous amount of effort only to be met with worthwhile results. The visual perspective we see is from a child's point-of-view whilst plummeting and rebounding across several spots. He travels throughout a forest, cityscape, ocean, and, ultimately, an active war field. Although being a Japanese production, Jumping features character designs that have a more classic western cartoon flavor to them, effectively making this short feel moderately more special compared to other anime of the time. Animation moves rather ... smoothly for being a short produced with a limited staff/budget during the 1980's. The detail in the line art is very well-rendered, whether it's the minuscule leaves on a giant tree or the intricate, painstakingly drawn windows of an extremely tall building, it's all given considerable attention. The constantly moving, crosshatch-heavy shading also adds some more personality to the already wonderful realistic art. Jumping also manages to pack in a wonderful sight gag, Stars Wars reference, and small, but potent, message regarding war and its undeniably ruinous effects, despite only clocking around seven minutes. In short, this is quite successful in what it sets out to do, and it's one of Tezuka's finest experimental works

Mars of Destruction's storytelling has the subtlety of a scorched, bleeding rectum or a tumultuous car alarm. "Plot refinement" is clearly a foreign concept to the creators of Mars of Destruction. Its premise is more derivative than a Syfy TV movie. Its characters are empty and lack many elements of characterization one requires in order to genuinely understand and distinguish them apart from each other. Honestly, they're so bad they made me appreciate the company and personality of torn cardboard (which is quite colorful and substantial compared to these characters). The writing is poorer than the typical Haitian family. It only took roughly four minutes after ... finishing this anime to conjure up about fifteen extremely scathing insults I could call someone involving comparisons of said person and Mars of Destruction; each insult ended with the inevitable scenario of the person telling me I had "went too far, man".

To put it lightly, its visuals are as attractive and appealing as steaming, moist, chunky shit from a Great Dane. Eight minutes in, I was actually flabbergasted to not see flies buzzing around my screen because the appearance was so uncanny. Budget problems were really blatant from the get-go, and the animation is quite below even modest standards (awkward movements and stiff characters galore). Direction and action are abysmal, and the cinematographic technique known as shaky camera is overused and utilized awfully. The main character designs are generic at best, and the villain designs are severely pathetic. The villains' powers are ill-conceived as well (mouth beams are not, nor will they ever be, cool or clever). 

The sound design is, as one might assume, sub par. Voice acting was definitely not a priority (so far it seems nothing during the production of this anime was); weak and humdrum performances fill up the entire OVA. Sound effects were ridiculously cheap and goofy, and its use of music isn't much better. Classical music is hamfistedly stuck in a multitude of scenes, and the transitioning from one song to another is, of course, crude.

Interestingly enough, it seems Mars of Destruction might have been a deliberate Neon Genesis Evangelion parody. Several similarities and possible pokes at the influential series appear throughout the OVA, including: their primary enemies being called Ancients (Angels in NGE), the use of religious symbolism, specifically with the cross, the usage of Classical music, the involuntary use of a powerful mecha by the main character due to his father forcing him to, the main character going through a rampage while being inside the mecha (similar to NGE's berserker mode), et cetera. It's plausible that the creators wanted to seriously lampoon the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, or perhaps they are merely unabashed thieves that felt the need to borrow various elements from a well-known series, without giving due credit, just to make their project "work". I'm not sure which one I believe is true yet.  

In any case, all of of the inept qualities that Mars of Destruction shamelessly flaunts culminate humorously due to The Tommy Wiseau (or Ed Wood) Effect. In other words, its striking amount of inability in just about every area result in a decent amount of chuckles and a protracted smile. Most smelly, putrid garbage in anime generally manage to just be grating and intolerable, but Mars of Destruction managed to use its flaws to its benefit and invoke non-well-earned laughter from it. I doubt the creators desired it to turn out the way it did (something tells me they thought they were creating their serious, dramatic magnum opus), but this anime is fairly funny, albeit not throughly hilarious. It is most definitely not the incredibly emotionally-resonant, thrilling, and profound piece of art the director and producers may have wanted it to be, but it is, in a most likely unintended sense, entertaining and gratifying. And hey, that's enough of a reason for me to use nineteen minutes of my oh-so-precious time on it.

Six Squeaky, Unconvincing "Takeruuuuu!" Cries out of Ten.

Alright, go ahead and read the title.
It's not exactly the most alluring name, but it definitely was an attention-catching one, even if it's not for traditionally pleasing reasons. I went into this Korean clay animation short not knowing what to expect. It seemed it was either going to be unintentional hilarity or a heartwarming tale (as others have stated). Ultimately, I found it to be strange and underwhelming mixture of the two. It is however, not exactly a piece of canine excrement, at least in terms of quality, despite the assuring name.

Doggy Poo is the main character, and it is also a clump of ... poop that came from a dog's anus. He then becomes a sentient being that struggles and finds it difficult to live as dog waste. The short basically explores his misfortune, but it is obviously not shown in an extremely depressing or all too interesting fashion. The short is heavy-handed as well, but then again it is targeted at children. Which is not a complete excuse to forgive incompetence in several areas, but it does grant some leniency. It most likely will appease small children, although to be fair, that's not a particularly hard job to accomplish.

Traditional animation is nowhere to be found, but instead the more typically family-friendly clay animation (lovely Christmas shorts come to mind). It is not outstandingly intricate or crafted, but it is competent and the backgrounds aren't exactly half-baked. They, along with the characters, have some detail to them which makes the short easier to watch. The absurdity of the premise still lingers throughout, but it definitely is easier to take in with the palpable animation.

Overall, the short is definitely not horrible, and does possess some positive components: the pleasant piano-centered soundtrack, the decent visuals, some unintentional laughs here and there, and even emotional resonance with little Doggy Poo, albeit only a little. It's obvious the short wasn't really aimed at any age groups other than the wee little ones, so for what it's worth, it's tolerable and not a very bad way to pass a half-hour.

Four Slightly Cute Anthropomorphic Defecations out of Ten.

Personal, emotional turmoil has a way of rearing its hideous and unpleasant head at the worst times. Just whenever one believes to have conquered an insecurity, gain a true understanding of self, or have found peace with someone, it falls apart or is demolished by something unforeseen. Situations like these have been utilized in manga many times before, but it seems that there is an abundance of duds that fail to capture the feelings and/or tell it an engaging fashion. Fortunately, not every manga must fall under that disappointing and dismaying category. "Before Dawn and the End of the World" is a great collection of ... short stories that enclose interesting characters, pleasant artwork, and emotional resonance; all of which come together and work in powerful cohesion.

There are many characters that are shown that all vary in: age, personality, gender, and general cause of distress. They all are people who share in common the fact that they are all trying to cope with their problems. There is much sadness and tribulation in the world, and much is showcased in this manga. Conclusions to the stories are realistic in how they aren't always gleeful or happy. Heartbreak, angst, or identity crisis, they are all displayed well through the characters. Honestly, the only major flaw is not that their problems are uninteresting, but that sometimes they aren't as developed as they should be. Some work in a satisfying way with the short amount of pages they last for, but others are definitely hindered by the limited length. Fortunately, there are only a few lackluster stories, and they don't put much of a damper on the overall manga.

The artwork is well-made. The manga consists mostly of neatly drawn lines, but is not afraid to get messy or rough if necessary. Overall, the artwork is not hurried or mediocre. For example, the backgrounds are detailed and are impressively realistic. They contain many urban locations, so the detail enhances the realistic and contemporary feel the manga strives for. Character designs are more minimal and are not as refined but still pleasing. Younger female characters somewhat resemble Chica Umino's (Honey and Clover) character art, but they are not massively reminiscent, whilst maintaining Asano's unique artistic touch. Of course, many of the characters have Asano's lovely trapezoid-like eyes that he features in all of his works. The facial expressions they all show are gratifying and convey their feelings well.

Inio Asano might have made other manga that I value just somewhat more than this one, but this one surely still manages to be absorbing and profound on its own. "Before Dawn and the End of the World" is what an accumulation of dramatic slice-of-life short stories should be like. Emotionally-involving stories that encapsulate certain feelings, be them negative or positive, and tell them in an interesting way that makes it easy to relate to. This component, along with the quality artwork, make this a solid and unforgettable manga.

Eight Pleasing, Satisfying, and Loving Kisses out of Ten.

An explosion of striking art and buoyant story developments erupt in "Kemonozume". It encompasses everything from bloodthirsty, sword-wielding monster killers to small, fighting monkeys. This is Masaaki Yuasa's (Mind Game, The Tatami Galaxy) full anime series debut. As usual, he does not allow anime industry norms tone down his surreal art style and storytelling. This is not the best showcasing of his talents or his finest work, but it still manages to be amusing and eccentric enough to be a memorable anime in and of itself.

The story of "Kemonozume" is definitely an unusual one with many twists to offer. The fierce and extremely dangerous monsters ... known as Shokujinki run rampant. Toshihiko Momota falls in extreme love with a woman who ends up being one. He comes from a family who are renown for being capable swordsmen whose occupation is to hunt down these grotesque monsters, and many issues that arise as he attempts to be with her. Their interactions together is the second most interesting aspect right behind the art.

The problem is that the interactions between them aren't as heavy as they should be. The emotional resonance for the main characters is weakened by the lack of focus that sometimes appears in this anime. "Kemonozume" gives them some nice development and back story, but not as much as it could have. Many of the other secondary characters that are introduced feel fairly dull and serve the sole purpose of being killed. They take up unnecessarily long amounts of screen time, and ultimately only hold the anime back by not leaving it enough time to fully develop the main characters, which are easily the most interesting ones.

Its art is the most noteworthy feature of the anime. It is impeccably gritty and alluring. Uniqueness does run much through this anime. Character designs are very rough and sketchily drawn. This anime does not use the huge-anime-eyes-possessing character molds that many other typical anime incorporate. Fans of moe will definitely not be pleased by this move; standard anime artwork fans are simply not catered to in "Kemonozume". Action scenes are fairly fluid, and the artwork in it enhance the intensity well. Backgrounds are often riddled with heavy brush strokes and very moody.

Much of the anime's soundtrack is jumpy and jittery. It's composed of jazz music that slightly elevates the tense or exciting moments. Other smoother and more laid-back songs preform their role well, and don't intrude the dramatic scenes they are played in. Most of the soundtrack is nice but not all too memorable. The standout is the opening theme "Auvers Blue" by Katteni-Shiyagare. It is an unrestrained jazz song that becomes as intense with excitement as the most action-filled scenes in the anime. The ending theme by Santara, "Suki", is nothing special or irksome. It's just a decent, somewhat melancholic song.

"Kemonozume" is bloody, creative, albeit lacking, fun with a gripping and odd twist on traditional monster and love stories. The flaws are not enormous and the visual approach is fresh enough to outshine many of its contemporaries. Those who enjoy overtly strange, violent, and fascinating anime with an appealingly coarse and offbeat art style should definitely check this one out.

Seven Large, Staining, and Darkly Red Blood Splatters out of Ten.

"Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" is as insane and addictive as it is deeply unorthodox. The usage of: silhouetted characters, extremely polar opposites in terms of the two main characters, constant cuts to text, and a bald, glasses-wearing man for censorship are definitive proof of this. As soon as it starts it already flaunts its relentless and ridiculously funny sense of humor. A strange premise along with a non-traditional visual approach not only make it intriguing but refreshing as well.

The premise is blatantly and pleasurably off-kilter like everything else in this anime. An incredibly negative and pessimistic person, Itoshiki Nozomu, and an incredibly positive and ... optimistic person, Fuura Kafuka, are the two main characters, and they meet each other as he attempts to commit suicide. They are outstandingly different but they must cope it because they are both part of the same school. Itoshiki is the homeroom teacher of Fuura's class and there he encounters a sea of strange students. Each of the students has a unique personality trait or activity that they heavily utilize; all are parodic and stereotypical in their basis and are solely used for the anime's grand satirical goal. Every episode focuses on Itoshiki's (aka Zetsubou Sensei which translates to Mr. Despair) crazy interactions with his students. These interactions hilariously result in either him trying to teach them his bleak lessons, or him being convinced that he is living in complete and utter despair due to one of their remarks or actions.

"Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" uses satire in much of its comedy. Much of this derives from it darkly satirizing Japan and all the common people, groups, and events that it has in it. Characters that possess or partake in: suicidal thoughts, extreme isolation, domestic abuse, disturbing perfectionism, stalking, illegal immigration, non-conformist mentality, material worship, and severe identity disorder may be taboo topics for other anime but it's just a wonderful comedy playground for "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei". Much of this said humor consists of social commentary, parody, or just outright references regarding Japanese culture, so the anime can be alienating. Viewers might want to do some light research, seriously read the TL notes, and at least get a basic understanding on how Japan works or who usually inhabits it. However, being very knowledgeable isn't necessarily a requirement to enjoy or be entertained by this anime. Even the viewers who aren't too knowledgeable can still witness the insanity and high energy that makes it feel so high-octane and exciting.

The art is colorful and flamboyantly atypical. Akiyuki Shinbo, the director, along with the anime's main production studio, Shaft, definitely show off their usual eclectic style here. Intriguing color changes and silhouettes run rampant in each episode. There is not much actual animation in "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei", but it compensates with its interesting art style. There are different textures flying in and out in just about every frame. The fast and unusual fashion that it uses completely fits the insane antics and gags that constantly ensue throughout the anime.

The opening themes and ending themes used are great and are definitely adequate for the anime. "Hito Toshite Jiku ga Bureteiru" by Kenji Ohtsuki, featuring five of the female voice actresses, is the best particular song and is a delightfully catchy and maddening rock song; passionately pumping the crazy mood that the anime creates. The rest of the soundtrack that accompanies the anime is competent and conjures each of its desired emotions well.

The entire run of this anime is an entertaining frenzy that deserves much appreciation for both its art and excellent ability to create laughter. Enthusiasts of absurd and black humor, as well as successful satire, should definitely give this anime a try. "Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei" is a deranged, neurotic, and enjoyable absurdist and satirical comedy that nonchalantly criticizes everything in its broad Japanese path without ever taking a single break.

Eight Durable, Stout, and 'Height-Helping' Pink Gabriel Trees out of Ten.

Shintaro Kago's work is and will eternally be polarized. There will be those who consider every manga he has ever published to be "disgusting", "awful", and a "waste of time, paper, and ink". And then there will be those, like myself, who regard him to be the intense, maniacal, and enjoyably demented pinnacle of creativity and impurity in manga. He frequently complements his exquisitely repulsive manga with heaps of entertaining jet black humor and intriguing satire. Anybody who savors and likes these jagged qualities will definitely have a ball with his material.
"Yume no Omocha Koujo" is not his most refined work, or ... even his most entertaining or thought-provoking, but it still proves to be a solid and fascinating one.

The stories include a wide foray of atrocious topics: gritty Japanese folklore, body modification and destruction, rape, deviant hospital staff and battered patients, experimentation on pregnancy and birth, turtles, natural disasters, space warfare, disturbing future predicaments involving sports, etc., are all touched on in at least one of the chapters. The standout chapters typically are done in an interesting satirical approach. All of the chapters have good doses of creative black comedy in them and are not bashful about it in their frank execution.

The art is slightly crude and not as well-polished as his more recent work. The character designs are at times special and detailed, but not usually so. However, what is certainly memorable are the delineations of the especially sickening and weird portions of this manga. These specific delineations depict acts that are outstandingly bizarre and grotesque. Kago's sense of humor is always apparent, and many laughs ensue from the warped and highly strident situations drawn in "Yume no Omocha Koujo. Human anatomical features are elaborate and are given nice focus. The ornate nature of many of the body gags only make them all the more enjoyable.

Satirical elements are not too concentrated on and used in "Yume no Omocha Koujo", which does make this overall volume a slight disappointment. Kago works at his best when he finely mixes his black humor jokes with clusters of stirring satirical themes and ideas. However, although the overall lack of satire is a letdown, the gags are on point for the most part. They are generally morbid and odd, and are successfully funny.

Unfortunately, "Yume no Omocha Koujo" is somewhat inconsistent. There are underwhelming chapters that are ultimately only barely amusing. Thankfully, the setbacks are not wildly major. There is a good amount of chapters that are genuinely hilarious and gloriously gross. It also is rejuvenating to read an effort that works well with the scatological element, at least in terms of making it thoroughly interesting and comical.

Readers should take the disclaimers spread throughout the internet into consideration. It is very inaccessible and will absolutely turn-off casual readers, but will captivate those who appreciate and appease this sharp and rampant style. "Yume no Omocha Koujo" is mostly a darkly humorous and rewarding aggregation of thirteen nasty, nefarious short stories.

Seven Likable, Dirty, and Scat-Filled Diapers out of Ten.

Uziga Waita. The sickest of the sick. The grossest of the gross. He makes other artists of filth look like sensitive, menstrual-cycle-having schoolgirls who draw tentative shoujo, whilst cheerfully dancing and frolicking in soft fields full of moistened flowers, gleaming rainbows, and tiny, cutesy, inviting animals.

He is an extraordinarily perverted sicko who showers "Death Face" with his dark, strange, and heinous fetishes. "Death Face" is an entrance to his constantly swirling, blood-drenched, nauseating, and luridly violent and sexual universe that he has steadily been building with each one of his revolting releases. He is not the type to care of whether he ... is "going too far", because "far" to him just means average. Waita consistently strives to keep pushing it as much as he possibly can with his able body. "Death Face" is one of his most vile, repugnant, and nasty releases he's ever published. It is an uncompromisingly sadistic and blackly humorous postmodern piece of extremity.

"Death Face" is a ero-guro collection that is made with the intention to be grim, extreme, and highly sexual with blood and organs regularly flailing about, and in that sense it succeeds very well. These stories are viciously and interestingly filled with nightmarish and undesirable topics flowing everywhere in each one. It continuously plays with coarse and bitter subject matter: gang rape, insects, rough bondage, graphic mutilation, cruel sexual tools, loli devastation, etc., all are shown in unrestrained fashion. Bodies are simply toys ready to be damaged, pulled, and stretched in many creative and damaging ways in Waita's unforgiving "Death Face".

The short stories, "Night of Chrysalis" and "4th Class: Biology", best exemplify the 'majorly tortured victim' component that "Death Face" incorporates in every single one of its stories. "Cockroach" is the starter and begins the collection with a creepy use of cockroaches and an unbeknownst female victim. "Boxer" is devastating and contains an bleak ending, like many of these tales, because the relationship it shows never ended up going anywhere. "Ultra Mariko" is a very quick one, and the most unimpressive overall despite some very detailed artwork portions. "Material" is the most ambitious and also the longest one. It has three strange sections that involve insane amounts of amputee rape, torture, and submissive behavior. It also has a literal human flesh toilet. It is the most bizarre, funny, and unsettling story in "Death Face".

The art in "Death Face" is either the most appealing or off-putting factor of it. It depicts its absurdly vile situations appropriately through an explicitly violent and grotesque fashion, thus practically removing all the soft eroticism in the sexual acts due to the exceptional maximalist approach. This is one of the prime reasons that makes "Death Face" so interesting. The other primary reason that makes this exceedingly amusing is the usage of dark, coal-like black humor spread throughout the manga. "Death Face" is very funny while still maintaining its aggressive, rapacious style at a non-stop speed.

"Death Face" routinely uses many shades of black in the artwork. These shades aren't always solo with much space between them. They may overlap and become tones with varying degrees of gray, or coexist very closely next to other shade of black. The end result of this is quite intriguing and attractive. These numerous shades are achieved by heavy utilization of blood, saliva, sweat, and of course, seminal fluids. Backgrounds are competent and not flashy or elaborate; characters and their actions are given full concentration. The somewhat minimal character designs are refreshing considering the subject matter; lolicon characters are the best example of this. It's fascinating to see these designs being portrayed in such atypical situations. Any seemingly saccharine developments are quickly squashed and killed. The title obviously sounds painful for a reason.

Waita's manga may lack the darkly satirical edge of one of his contemporaries, Shintaro Kago, but he does possess the raw intensity and brutality that makes this particular work feel so kinetic and pleasing humor-wise. This assemblage of stories one of his best showcasings of his greatest qualities as a relentless and efficient guro artist and humorist.
"Death Face" is as abrasive as it is vigorously entertaining. It is satisfying and definitely titillates the usually concealed sweet tooth for entertainingly immoderate depravity and black-humor-styled hilarity.

Eight Abused, Battered, and Oozing Lolis out of Ten.

Gaping mouths filled with various bodily fluids, exposed and leaking pregnant stomachs, torn and stretched anal passages, pulsating body organs, severely bleeding and wide open vaginal entrances, mistreated amputee victims, etc. are all shown in great and unapologetic detail throughout this very stomach-churning and diabolically pleasing manga anthology.

"Hell Season" is the infamous and ferociously hardcore collection of short stories by some of Japan's most talented and relentless manga extremists (aka wonderfully wretched perverts who can draw and create genuinely filthy yet imaginative situations). This collection includes several well-known and wicked guro manga artists, such as Shintaro Kago, Waita Uziga, Jun Hayami, ... and Henmaru Machino. Each story varies on effort and quality but they all are of the utmost depravity. This manga has in the last few years turned into somewhat of a test on how much one is able to stomach and handle sickeningly high amounts of twisted material. This anthology does not cop-out or soft-pedal its goal and focus. The quantity of horrific and surreal depictions of intensely violent and sexual acts involving much blood, gore, saliva, scat, and multiple other body secretions in this anthology is copious and plentiful.

Lovers of pitch black comedy and appreciators of fantastically gruesome artwork, such as myself, will enjoy this fierce collection; they will find it wickedly entertainingly. Also, those who possess gnarly and vile tastes in pornography will like it as well. Everyone else will be alienated and should steer very far away in another direction, unless they actually plan to be open-minded and experiment with something that is ridiculously over-the-top.

Overall, "Hell Season" is a solid collection of stories that all revel in disgusting severity. A nice sampling of many of the mangaka that work well in the small but harsh category known as ero guro nansensu (aka ero guro or guro). It is intricately drawn, queasily enjoyable, and a fine maximalist work of transgressive art in the format of manga.

Eight Brutal and Messy Human Intestinal Extractions out of Ten.

Okay, let's begin by addressing the tremendously obese elephant in the room. I gave an anime involving moe a nine. 
  But before many of you collect pitchforks, torches, tough rope, and a sturdy tree and begin to hurt, riot, and chase my sorry Gluteus Maximus, allow me justify the rating. The second season of "Yuru Yuri" is actually an accessible, light-hearted, and very funny triumph. One of the many great things about the second season of "Yuru Yuri" is that you don't need to: live in a dingy and cramped basement, own multiple moe figures, have several colorful posters plastered across your wall, possess gigantic male breasts, and ... have hair cover 95% of your body. In other words, you don't need to be a typical, easily-impressed moe fanboy to enjoy the series. The anime actually provides authentic laughter along with a gratifying array of cutesy, endearing, and wonderfully quirky characters.

It makes genuine attempts at being humorous and is thoroughly successful with them. The gags haven't gone stale since the first season because they are all generally reworked in pleasant ways. The second season is solid enough to stand on it's own feet. In fact, it's actually even stronger than the first. The playful sense of humor is even more apparent but without being overbearing or intolerable. The clever jokes are even more consistent, and it accomplishes its fairly simplistic goal of being both being very funny and adorable.

  The premise is familiar and the situations are seemingly mundane. When one approaches this anime without any knowledge, it does certainly seem that this is just another throw-away series made by a random anime studio in a yet another substandard, thoughtless, and desperate attempt at making a successful anime sales and revenue wise. These attempts are typically composed around heavy amounts of pandering, poor humor, weak characters, and complete lack in any real effort or care. It is very easy to cast off this anime as just another one of those, but doing this would result in missing out on one of the anime industry's hugest and most surprisingly satisfying efforts to premiere in 2012.

  It's four girls, one club, and a never-ending stream of endeavors at amusing themselves performed by the four main character girls. The club's title, The Amusement Club, obviously reflects the real purpose. The main character, Akari, is supposedly the heroine, but is usually ignored and barely has any screen time. The series uses her being ignored as the subject of many of its jokes. It also uses female-only romantic affections ("yuri" is in the title after all) as a very capable source that ensues in much hilarity. Many of the characters have crushes on each other and one club member in particular, Chinatsu, is very direct about her attraction towards another club member Yui. The final club member, Kyōko, is very vocal with her attraction and borderline obsession towards Chinatsu. Most of the attractions are unrequited, but their misfortune only causes more hearty laughs. Although the second season of "Yuru Yuri" is still an actual yuri anime, it continues to parody and lampoon certain tropes of other prominent yuri series. At times, Kyōko and Chinatsu's love illusions towards their chosen ones are amplified to such high degree, which ends up resulting in a pleasing parody of standard yuri.

  Akari Akaze is the main character that everything is supposed to revolve around. However, situations tend to never go in her favor. She is a very cheery and bubbly girl who wants to be everybody's friend. The problem she faces is that her personality isn't particularly memorable or special compared to her three closest companions and fellow club members. They frequently ignore her, and don't even notice her even though she's practically always with them when they get together as a club. Multiple gags are based on this including the ever popular "AKARIN!" invisibility joke that she sometimes does. She is an enjoyably pathetic character that deserves either heaps of resonating empathy or great pity. It's interesting to see such an unflattering depiction of the character in an anime. Whether it be comedy or not, this is rare and very refreshing when done well. And "Yuru Yuri" provides an excellent execution.

  Kyōko Toshinō is arguably the most lovable character because of her hyper personality and amusing shenanigans. She's always pulling something and it seems to always annoy Yui or Chinatsu. She typically bothers Yui with her bold actions, and irritates Chinatsu with her constant pestering due to her giant attraction towards her.

  Yui Funami and Chinatsu Yoshikawa are vital characters as well. They are also the basis and the cause of many successful gags. Yui plays the usual, calm, and somewhat quiet girl who acts with a reasonable mindset. Chinatsu is average on a superficial level, but deep inside her burns a violent passion for Yui. She admires and is severely attracted to her. Chinatsu's love delusions involving Yui, like Akarin's popularity expectations, are priceless and honestly create some wild laughter.

  Other less important characters are shown serve basically as gags that don't give much purpose or gather as much as interest as the main cast. However, all of them are generally funny, albeit in a lesser degree. Thankfully, they are given less attention and in turn, do not really bog down the anime as a whole. They are generally pleasant detours and don't become obnoxious.

  The main characters' interactions are hilarious and the various, variegated jokes that come from them are fantastic. Throughout the anime, they generally stem from their appearances, actions, and mindsets. In particular, the appearances component, specifically doing with hair, surprisingly works well under the enjoyable direction the anime takes. The gags range everywhere from Akari's dual-balls of red hair to Yui's dark, black shoulder-length hair to Chinatsu's frightening and monstrous clumps of light pink hair.

  Other gags are references to past situations that occurred in the first season, but viewers with a hazy memory should not fret. These references are far and few between, and are still funny in and of themselves. Vast and detailed knowledge is not required to enjoy the numerous charming antics that take place in the second season of "Yuru Yuri". It still remains accessible and is devoid of any major duds regarding its humor.

  The character designs are obligatorily cutesy and palatable. They are simple yet attractive. In a soft comedy like this, they are not only pleasing but appropriate too. The colors are light like the humor, and the visual brightness is slightly high and not faded. The backgrounds are simplistic like the character designs, but don't border being half-baked. They are sufficient enough to not detract the audience. They might not be spectacular or especially intricate, but that's mostly due to the main focus being on the characters and their quirks. Excessively fancy or detailed backgrounds would be inadequate for the mood the anime creates. 
 
  The music that joins this anime is fairly sparse and unobtrusive like other certain aspects (i.e. the visuals) in the second season of "Yuru Yuri". The tracks are typically quiet and, like the appealing backgrounds, are composed for the purpose of pleasantly accompanying the anime in a gentle fashion. What actually makes the soundtrack 
noteworthy are the playful OP and ED. Minami Tsuda, Rumi Ōkubo, Shiori Mikami and Yuka Ōtsubo are the creators of both the opening theme, "Yes! YuYuYu☆YuruYuri♪♪", and the ending theme, "100% Middle Schooler". The sixth episode has its own OP and ED, but they aren't as likable as the usual ones played in every other episode of the season.

  Sheer enjoyment is honestly the primary reason as to why I'm writing this review in the first place. The humor tends to be so spot-on and really satisfies my expectations for slice-of-life and moe-involving comedies. This anime is delivered so well mainly due to the focused and very humorous direction of Masahiko Oota (Miname-ke, Mitsudomoe). He is a rising anime director who typically works with comedy and puts out successful works such as this one, "Yuru Yuri".

  I fancy all the four main characters and absolutely adore Akari and Kyōko. This second season only provides more reason on why they're so interesting and likable. I admire the fact that there are no grand phony attempts at serious depth and that its purpose is not muddled or fuzzy. It is not ashamed to be just be quirky and entertaining. It rigorously and proudly utilizes its best strong suit of light humor and enjoyable characters.

  Ultimately, any anime like "Yuru Yuri" that involves light comedy and moe will keep on being polarized. Many will continue to completely dismiss any anime that contains moe and consider them all to be utterly terrible and unwatchable. It's not true that every single anime that includes moe is good, or that all those that use moe can only be remotely enjoyed whilst at a distance. "Yuru Yuri" proves that an anime can have moe and still be a very charming, whimsical, and enjoyable experience. It incorporates some minimalistic aspects and its methods aren't flashy or dazzling. It's not that type of series. It relies on the lean muscle of humor that it smoothly sculpts with its endearing characters, solid jokes and gags, and a delightful, sweet atmosphere that continuously builds as the anime progresses. It's not regretful or embarrassed of what it really is.
"Yuru Yuri" realizes it and shamelessly showcases it to great effect with heart, wit, likability, and light, well-polished, and very potent humor.

Nine Rum Raisin Flavored Tubs of Ice Cream out of Ten.