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okanagan said: Here is the complete set of "Amazon Stalker points" as of this moment, 9:30 am Tokyo time, 4:30 pm Pacific time, 7:30 pm Eastern time. V1 2015/3/25 BD ..990 DVD 196 V2 2015/4/24 BD ..878 DVD 206 V3 2015/5/27 BD 1094 DVD 271 V4 2015/6/24 BD 1260 DVD 329 V5 2015/7/24 BD 1464 DVD 376 V6 2015/8/26 BD 1718 DVD 442 The first column: Volume number (there will be six volumes) Second column: Release date (date going on sale): Y/M/D "BD" means the "Blu-ray disc" For each, the numbers shown are the "Amazon Stalker points". People are just waking up in Japan right now, so most people have not seen Episode 4 yet. I am collecting these numbers now as a baseline. I want to see whether Episode 4 makes these points go higher or lower in Japan. "Amazon Stalker points" are one measure of the popularity of an anime series among Japanese fans. Specifically, it is based on the number of pre-orders placed for the Blu-rays and the DVDs, but only on Amazon. A complicated mathematical algorithm is used to predict how much money will be earned from sales of Blu-rays and DVDs. This income is essential to the "bottom line" of an anime series. As a non-expert on Amazon Stalker points, these numbers look really bad (abysmal) to me. In other words, people in Japan don't like Yurikuma. In case anybody here wants to learn how to look up Amazon Stalker points, here is an excellent explanation: https://bakalaureate.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/guest-post-anime-and-sales-analysis-by-yuyucow/ As well, here is the key webpage where the title of a series is entered and the "Amazon Stalker points" then pop up for each BD/DVD volume. http://www27392u.sakura.ne.jp/index2.cgi?sort=rankup All of the instructions are in Japanese, much of it kanji, but you don't need to be fluent in reading Japanese in order to use it. Those aren't accumulated stalker points, those are predicted final totals which if they hold are indeed absolutely abysmal. Kind of surprised to be honest. |
| Great ep. Finally much needed info on Lulu. I hope they go more out for Ginko info later. Smudy said: Thank you for this. Pictures could not do that scene with justice at all. |
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ihateeveryone said: This is some intriguing shit yo Lol. Right! I was not expecting this show to even have deep meaning like this. |
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| I still don't know what to think of this show, but this was a step in the right direction :) |
| Kaioshin_Sama said: Those aren't accumulated stalker points. Yes. Thanks. You are correct. Those are not the 最新累積ポイント Those are predicted final totals. Yes. You are correct. Those numbers are the 最終予測累積ポイント which if they hold are indeed absolutely abysmal. Okay, I am glad to have somebody else confirm my impression that these numbers are abysmal. Kind of surprised to be honest. Me too. It is really disappointing. Given the legendary stature of Ikuhara, why wouldn't the series be getting more respect? |
ImmahJosh said: A bird in the flock is indistinguishably from the other birds.How do birds/doves represent rejection? That interpretation seems farfetched at best, unless I'm missing something. The birdless chair in the pic was Sumika's chair if I recall. |
| Strange flashback but well done and emotional. |
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| Don't give a fuck about this show, but that shota was literally the cutest Too bad he wont get any doujins because literally every woman in this show is gay |
| Princes, Princesses, castles, shotas, oddball humour, yep we're in Ikuhara land alright. I swear to God Lulu trying to kill the prince was like something straight out a Garfield comic. Anyway, it seems this episode confirms some of the things I've speculated about. But as with Ikuhara's other shows it's becoming progressively more difficult to predict exactly where it's going. I'm looking forward to seeing Ginko's back story in the next few weeks. This show just keeps getting better and better. Frostav said: As if silly things like 'facts' and 'canon relationships' ever stopped anybody from making a doujin. Remember, Shizaya exists.Too bad he wont get any doujins because literally every woman in this show is gay |
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| I love this show. It's just so Sexy. |
| Does anyone have an interpretation of bears—what they are, what their purpose is—that is coherent given this episode? I think it's time to toss out, or at least heavily modify, "bears represent lesbian lust" and "bears are stereotypical aggressive lesbians". |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
| This was really good. It blended being informative with being funny as fuck. Starts off with Life Sexy and the other bears in bear form. Life Sexy is on his back looking fat as shit. No fucks given. That's the sexy way. Shaba da doo. Life sexy doing the Shaba da doo to the beat of the music was hilarious. I lost it there. SHABADAAAA~ SHABADABA-DAAA-BAAAAA~ Lulu attempting to murder her brother all those times was hilarious too. The court gets even more confusing this episode. So instead of the normal, will you be invisible or will you eat humans thing, it actually offers Lulu an ultimatum. And because of that she cant receive kisses anymore? Hm.. Also we find out Ginko actually has a connection to Kureha, which has yet to be fully explained. Ginko has Kureha's mother's necklace. Does that mean it was given to her by her mom? Did Ginko cross the wall to find Kureha's mom, only to find out she's gone, and now wants to be with Kureha instead? Or did she possibly meet Kureha when she was younger and she got that as a gift, and she crossed the wall to meet Kureha grown up? Also adds another layer to her mother's importance in the story. And it seems to keep growing and growing. Which also means that blonde principal lady probably has more importance to the story too. I noticed in the OP that the girls pouring honey on the naked girl are Mitusko (a bear) and Yuriika, the blonde principal. I wonder if the fact that it's THOSE TWO characters specifically pouring the honey has any significance. |
Smudy said: Yes. I fucking love you. That's the sexy way. |
| Yes, this is the kind of episode I've been waiting for. Everything we've seen so far has a meaning and it's going to get explored. Let's see how they follow up this good one. |
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Funniest part so far xD Nice episode, added deep and background story to the really random previous episodes. Now I wonder why the black haired bear has a crown if she is not a princess (I guess) like the other one. |
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| Dat IKuhara story telling with the Princess. So why can't Kureha love Ginko and Lulu. These two will help her move on from Sumika's death and her love. |
ImmahJosh said: Does anyone have an interpretation of bears—what they are, what their purpose is—that is coherent given this episode? I think it's time to toss out, or at least heavily modify, "bears represent lesbian lust" and "bears are stereotypical aggressive lesbians". It still works because all bears to travel to the other side of the wall have been shown to be 100% gay (this episode with Lulu rejecting the advances of the princes). That does not mean that all bears are though To me it seems that bear kingdom should be the one with all kinds of sexual preferences and gender identities, while the "human world" shut itself off from all of that with the wall of homophobia(meaning of which was confirmed this episode both with bee/bird symbolism and the equation of shooting stars to true love and we all know the shooting star that was kumaria's pieces falling down the earth is what caused them to erect the wall) To me this episode showcases that bears have different interests, goals, lifestyles etc. While to humanity "all bears are the same and all bears are evil and are there to eat you and kill you" |
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CookingPriest said: ImmahJosh said: Does anyone have an interpretation of bears—what they are, what their purpose is—that is coherent given this episode? I think it's time to toss out, or at least heavily modify, "bears represent lesbian lust" and "bears are stereotypical aggressive lesbians". It still works because all bears to travel to the other side of the wall have been shown to be 100% gay (this episode with Lulu rejecting the advances of the princes). That does not mean that all bears are though To me it seems that bear kingdom should be the one with all kinds of sexual preferences and gender identities, while the "human world" shut itself off from all of that with the wall of homophobia(meaning of which was confirmed this episode both with bee/bird symbolism and the equation of shooting stars to true love and we all know the shooting star that was kumaria's pieces falling down the earth is what caused them to erect the wall) To me this episode showcases that bears have different interests, goals, lifestyles etc. While to humanity "all bears are the same and all bears are evil and are there to eat you and kill you" Nice! So this show isn't really about being straight, gay, bi, whatever. It's about being true to yourself! After all, the lulu's love isn't a sexual one but a familial love. Bears are true to themselves and what they desire whereas humans have become invisible, hiding themselves from the public. |
| Holy crap, finally an episode I actually freaking understood! About bloody time! Okay I still don't understand everything but it at least gave foreshadowing as to the rest of the mysteries being solved later on. I am fairly certain Ginko and Kureha are sisters somehow... or maybe Ginko is Kureha's mother's sister.. or her lover... IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH KUREHA THAT'S ALL I KNOW. I think Kureha as a character though is supposed to be on a story arc of sorts that explores how to love again after you have already lost the one you love and Ginko and Lulu might be trying to help here in that case. Regardless, Lulu was COMPLETELY established and fleshed out this episode. Thank you show for finally giving me a good character to follow. She isn't the most interesting character in the world but I was intrigued by her story nonetheless. I like how she is more or less using Ginko as a way to resolve her own guilt by helping Ginko to achieve what Lulu herself took for granted and lost forever. I just hope that isn't her entire character but the show is only 12 episodes long so I guess I can't really expect 10/10 characterization. Lol This show has such a weird way of portraying it's themes of striving for love, yuri and homophobia. It is fairly obvious now that the wall of severance is the wall separating the homosexuals from the homophobes. Especially considering in order to enter the walls you need to become a "Criminal-Bear". It doesn't really go into it in any clear ways though so it's still rather vague about the whole criminal part. Since apparently it's also criminal to trust your love with another person, though perhaps because Lulu is trusting her love with Ginko, another female, it's more or less the same as saying she is in love with her. Still confusing... if anyone can give me a bit of clarity on this I would appreciate it... The comedy this week was so good too! I was laughing all throughout the episode! It was so over the top silly fantasy, I loved it. Overall, this show is slowly reminding me more and more of the first time I watched FLCL... Only difference is FLCL had more interesting characters and more action so I don't like this show nearly as much. Regardless, it's still a good time and I'll continue. Hope it continues it's progression of having episodes better and better as they go on. Shabadadoo |
KetenJan 27, 2015 12:40 AM
| Do you want to see doujin images of all of the characters in Yurikuma? You're in luck. Many talented amateur artists in Japan have been tweeting their drawings directly to director Ikuhara himself! He has been re-tweeting many of them. You can see all of them on his personal Twitter account here: https://twitter.com/ikuni_noise Note that you DO NOT need to be a member of Twitter in order to use Twitter. A large black window will pop up which tells you to sign up. However, you can just close this window and proceed to see Ikuhara's Twitter page. Don't worry about seeing any overly-explicit doujinshi images. It appears that Ikuhara has been checking them very carefully before re-tweeting them. If you sign up on Twitter, then you will be able to send tweets. I once did this and it is fast and easy. So then you too can tweet your doujinshi art directly to Ikuhara and perhaps he will re-tweet it for the world to see. One time I sent a tweet to a famous anime director and he re-tweeted it along with his reply. So everybody in the world saw it. It was so thrilling. |
| The little brother was extremely cute! I want one like that too! |
| Still dont get whats going on but this was the 1st episode where time actually flew by while watching. mayb this show is getting better |
| Shirayuki= Most Perfect Female MC ever |
NessieFynn said: Lastly, this episode really reminded me of Penguindrum's episode where Masako repeatedly tried to kill her grandfather. I think thats his way of saying that we don't really care about what we have until we actually lose, at least thats how it looked like in this show. |
surfboard_ said: NessieFynn said: Lastly, this episode really reminded me of Penguindrum's episode where Masako repeatedly tried to kill her grandfather. I think thats his way of saying that we don't really care about what we have until we actually lose, at least thats how it looked like in this show. Good call, which reminds me I might need to rewatch Penguindrum. |
| Interesting flashback....I really felt bad for Lulu's brother and then herself in the end :( But day necklace reveal tho.... |
| Wow, the episodes are actually getting better and more understandable. This feels like an actual anime I can watch now. Hopefully it stays that way. |
| https://twitter.com/LightningDash02 OTPs || MyAnimeList || MyMangaList || Favorite Guys || Favorite Girls || Favorite Anime  ~LightningXDash02 |
Takuan_Soho said: I agree. This episode probably shouldn't be viewed through a lens of sex and lesbianism. That just... feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole.I know this ship has sailed, but I really think people need to stop thinking about sex and start thinking about love. Lulu didn't reject her suitors because they were men, but rather because they didn't love her. Each of them thought she should automatically love them because how wonderful they were. They saw her, not as a person, but as an accessory. The honey pot is a metaphor for putting another person's happiness in front of your own. That is what love should be. Lulu's younger brother loved her, he wanted to be happy and he went after the honey pot so that she would become happy (but all too often people reject love out of pettiness or spite, which is what throwing the pot meant). The reason Lulu "loves" Ginko is because Ginko represents salvation for Lulu, in returning the pot she presented Lulu with a change to atone for how she treated her brother. Just as her brother sacrificed for Lulu's sake, Lulu wants to sacrifice in order to make Ginko happy. In doing this she will be redeemed. I'm not quite satisfied with bears being the vague "other", but I'm sure we'll learn more about them soon. |
LoneWolf said: @Josh makes me sad to call myself Canadian. |
ImmahJosh said: Takuan_Soho said: I agree. This episode probably shouldn't be viewed through a lens of sex and lesbianism. That just... feels like forcing a square peg into a round hole.I know this ship has sailed, but I really think people need to stop thinking about sex and start thinking about love. Lulu didn't reject her suitors because they were men, but rather because they didn't love her. Each of them thought she should automatically love them because how wonderful they were. They saw her, not as a person, but as an accessory. The honey pot is a metaphor for putting another person's happiness in front of your own. That is what love should be. Lulu's younger brother loved her, he wanted to be happy and he went after the honey pot so that she would become happy (but all too often people reject love out of pettiness or spite, which is what throwing the pot meant). The reason Lulu "loves" Ginko is because Ginko represents salvation for Lulu, in returning the pot she presented Lulu with a change to atone for how she treated her brother. Just as her brother sacrificed for Lulu's sake, Lulu wants to sacrifice in order to make Ginko happy. In doing this she will be redeemed. I'm not quite satisfied with bears being the vague "other", but I'm sure we'll learn more about them soon. Let's stop with homophobia. Yes the show is about love overall and the themes of love as shown by every "Duel" with the bear encompassing different aspect of love(obsession jealousy etc) But THE FOCUS is on sexual freedom versus homophobia. That is what wall of severance is about, that is what incredibly homophobic human side of the wall is about. You can NOT erase that aspect and go "oh its about ALL love NOT homosexual love no no" |
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| Can you please stop regurgitating what I already said? human side is all about HIDING self, while bears supposedly are true to themselves(possibly not limited to concepts like sexuality but also transgender concepts, etc). I already stated that in my explanations of episode 3. That does not change the FACT that the focus of the story is set in the school setting that seems to be exploring the whole class s relationship idea, with gay characters being bullied(which is made even more clear in the manga version) for declaring their sexuality. The only acceptable way in that school is to progress from "friends"(class s/lilies) to invisible(straight/doves/birds) The explored messages ARE about love(I already said that in Ep3 thread) but the way it is explored is via "human side's" reactions to homosexuality. Which actually goes right together with Ikuhara's own rants about japan's twisted perception of homosexuality The focus is on Kureha who does not want to become invisible and wants to plant her garden of lilies(her declaration of her sexuality) and her encounters with the bears and how severance represents rejection(yet again bird/insect/bee symbolism) The court represents typical toxic masculinity that thinks females should fall for them for their traits(ignoring sexual preferences and personal preferences) and they are judging lesbian characters whether they are allowed into the "human side" of the world". So yes the show's theme is LOVE and the severance is any kind of rejection of other's self be it homophobic, transphobic, sexist, racist, etc, rejection, but the spotlight of the setting and the story is on exactly homophobia, and characters dealing with that. And yes trying to diminish that spotlight is homophobic(its the same as the whole "white people matter too" slogan that tried to diminish the ongoing fight in usa) |
AhenshihaelJan 27, 2015 9:00 PM
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CookingPriest said: While I agree the theme of the show revolving kureha is about homosexual love (obviously), from this episode in special I think it is plausible to assume that overall theme it IS about love, which includes homosexual love (Ginko's promised kiss). If you take the love from this episode into account.You can NOT erase that aspect and go "oh its about ALL love NOT homosexual love no no" From homophobia as theme of the show: This episode really confused me on this, it seemed to be the case for me until this episode which made me really divided on this. I can easily see the strong homophobia relatism symbols, like Court of Severance as a whole (speaking of which, I just noticed its opening, which shows humans on the left, and bears on the right) (which also coincides with the positions of Life Cool - Left (who sides with human) and Life Beauty - Right (who sides with bear) and Life Sexy who passes the judgment in between them). Could be not backing down on love in general, could be lesbianism in specific, or could be the joint of both (not backing down on love even if it provokes the invisible storm - homosexual love). I don't see much proof against the case of each case, although the latter seems to be the most likely yes, although the latter could still apply for love in general. -- Oh, and could there be any difference from the honey / love her brother offered her, and from the friendship porridge (tomodachi da yo!) Lulu offered Kureha? The simplest conclusion I took from this is that the porridge she prepared expresses that friendship love also uses love (The special ingredient Lulu mentions). Didn't see much else to look into. It is also interesting how similar Lulu and Kureha's position are in the triangle, the above plus the fact that, the only person Lulu's bee (heart) opened for was her brother, then Lulu's brother died. And the only person Kureha's heart has opened for was Sumika. But once Ginko brought her brother's honey to her at the end of the ep, her bee heart also opens to Ginko. So that makes it Lulu's dead brother and Ginko; Kureha's dead Sumika and Ginko* (who acts almost as a link between the two). *Although from what was implied by the OP (http://i.imgur.com/VD0Cv86.jpg) and now confirmed by Ginko's speech at the end of the ep, Kureha gave her promised kiss to Ginko first (who is now to return it). Though how does Kureha's mother enter this equation is really confusing, I hope Ginko has her mother's collar just because it was Kureha's mother and not because her mother was the one who gave her the promised kiss (this wouldn't make much sense and it would break the equation). |
MomonoJan 27, 2015 9:08 PM
| I find it interesting that the court is implied to literally BE the severance barrier in that picture. They are what is in between the bear world(expressive freedom) and human world (restriction of self expression). Would certainly fit the villains of other ikuhara shows. Yeah Lulu certainly display friendship love towards Kureha but at the same time displays selfishness via trying to fulfill the dreams she can't fulfill via fulfilling Ginko's dream. I am more interested in how the teacher(Who is obviously a bear because Yuri in thename) fits into this whole Kureha's mother thing too. I also wondering what themes will other "duels" after this explore. So far we had Jealousy(Ep2) and Obsession(Ep3) |
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| So this is story about lulu |
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| this episode alone got an A+ review on Anime News Network. I've seen A's and A-'s before, but rarely A+. |
| 俺の命を百合に。 Currently translating Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke o - Atelier no Koibito-tachi -- when bored. Above visual novel is 22.22% translated with progress uploaded to youtube; if you're into yuri VNs, check out my channel.  |
| @billybob300c: Thanks for pointing out that review by that university student Gabriella Ekens. . Hmmm... . A+ Apparently, she is half-way through her second year of university, and ... well ... it kind of shows. Sorry to say. |
okanaganJan 28, 2015 12:22 AM
| 1 more EP and i will decided to either Hold till season is completed or send it to Deecims for final judgement to the void. |
billybob300c said: this episode alone got an A+ review on Anime News Network. I've seen A's and A-'s before, but rarely A+. I am actually surprised at how good ANN's reviews of this show are and they seem to get the main themes real well so far. Especially considering how BAD the reviews of this person have been for other shows(FSN). |
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| After spending some time thinking of it, I realized that most people (and I'm including myself here) are giving too much thinking of "symbolism" and "metaphors" as if it is some sort of puzzle or video game. It also impresses me how all the conclusions and analysis we see around look somewhat distant from the anime each time I watch it. For me, this is just a light painting that hints over this and that, rather than being it. This is a situation where I embrace myself with the idea that what we see is more an optical process than an emotional experience. Takuan_Soho said: I know this ship has sailed, but I really think people need to stop thinking about sex and start thinking about love. Sex is an extension of love, depending on how you evaluate it. Takuan_Soho said: The honey pot is a metaphor for putting another person's happiness in front of your own. That is what love should be. Yeah, thats one facade of love. |
lordmage said: 1 more EP and i will decided to either Hold till season is completed or... That might be the best strategy. I've been considering just that — and it's something I never do because I enjoy watching anime as it airs, but damn, this one sure makes me question that. |
| Best episode so far |
| I thought it was pretty obvious this episode was more about love, in a general view, than only the homossexual one. I don't see any homophobia in thinking that. Lulu's disapproval of other princes was because tthey were only looking at her as an object. Either for personal desires (like Life Sexy and Life Beauty) or for money and fame (Life Cool). None of them truly loved her, like the prince Mirun did. It didn't matter if it was a romantic, familiar, friendly love, they didn't. That's the point. I don't think her sexuality played the biggest part in this... It was about how she finally noticed the attention she had before was only because of her reputation. No one really loved her, besides her little brother. Who would want to marry or kiss someone they don't love in Lulu's position? I mean, judging by this episode, she doesn't seem the kind of person who would want to do that without feelings or just for fun. Anyway, this episode really gave me Mawaru Penguindrum feelings. Not only seemed like Masako's episode, the talk about kiss also remind me of (Penguindrum spoilers): I'm not sure if it would fit well in Yuri Kuma or not, but the focus on kiss, especially in this episode, maybe it does. It seems Lulu sees a kiss like Himari does- something empty without the 'fruit' (which would be the love). She can't receive more kisses because her love disappeared. And she'll give up on kisses for Ginko's sake, since they would be empty anyway. |
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| Shaba-daa...shaba-daba-daabaa XD f*cking genius, 11/10 XD "DESIRE MAX" I see what you did there ;) I really need to rewatch penguindrum :( Maybe Lulu will get her promised kiss but because she gave up on kisses she will die when she does kiss her brother, who will come back as trail to test her or something. |
ichii_1Jan 28, 2015 8:20 AM
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