Yuri Kuma Arashi (Yurikuma Arashi)

In the past, humanoid bears coexisted with humans. However, a meteor shower that fell onto Earth had a strange effect on bears throughout the world: they suddenly became violent and hungry for human flesh, spurring an endless cycle of bloodshed in which bear ate man and man shot bear, forgetting the lively relationship they once had. The "Wall of Severance" was thus built, separating the two civilizations and keeping peace.

Kureha Tsubaki and Sumika Izumino are two lovers attending Arashigaoka Academy, who, upon the arrival of two bears that have sneaked through the Wall of Severance and infiltrated the academy, find their relationship under a grave threat. The hungering yet affectionate bears, Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki, seem to see the bear-hating Kureha as more than just another meal, and in getting closer to her, trigger an unraveling of secrets that Kureha may not be able to bear.

When their relationships provoke the Invisible Storm, a group that keeps order within the ideological school, the girls must stand on trial with their love, embarking on a journey of self-discovery en route to attaining true love's "promised kiss."

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Yuri Kuma Arashi was known by several different working names, such as Penguinbear Project and Yuri★Asobi.

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Adaptation:

Yuri Kuma Arashi, Yuri Kuma Arashi

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Characters & Voice Actors

Yurigasaki, Lulu

Main

Ikuta, Yoshiko
Japanese

Yurishiro, Ginko

Main

Arakawa, Miho
Japanese

Tsubaki, Kureha

Main

Yamane, Nozomi
Japanese

Life Sexy

Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi
Japanese

Yurizono, Mitsuko

Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi
Japanese

Hakonaka, Yuriika

Supporting

Inoue, Kikuko
Japanese

Life Cool

Supporting

Saiga, Mitsuki
Japanese

Yurigasaki, Milne

Supporting

Kugimiya, Rie
Japanese

Izumino, Sumika

Supporting

Ogura, Yui
Japanese

Harishima, Kaoru

Supporting

Hikasa, Youko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Maeda, Toshihiro

Producer

Kaneko, Hayato

Producer, Planning

Hayashi, Youhei

Producer

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Opening Theme

"Ano Mori de Matteru (あの森で待ってる)" by Bonjour Suzuki (ボンジュール鈴木)

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Ending Theme

"TERRITORY" by Ginko Yurishiro (Miho Arakawa), Lulu Yurigasaki (Yoshiko Ikuta), Kureha Tsubaki (Nozomi Yamane)

Reviews

Mar 30, 2015

Link_of_Hyrule

Recommended

**SPOILER FREE REVIEW**

Surrealism: it’s something that you are either into or you aren’t. The plots of these shows are usually far harder to comprehend than your average anime and the actions of the characters won’t always make logical sense, but if you merely change your perspective, you will see what the show is really trying to say. Yuri Kuma Arashi, which translates into “Lesbian Bear Storm”, is no exception to the formula of surrealist art; it is NOT for everyone. While most shows are driven by their plot or by their characters, YKA is a show driven by its themes and the messages that the ... plot and characters are trying to relay. Brought to us by the artistic genius Kunihiko Ikuhara (Mawaru Penguindrum, Revolutionary Girl Utena), this show is a unique experience that allows you to really feel the passion and dedication that went into creating it; it has incredible attention to detail for the purposes of making a commentary on an important social issue. The best way to do this, of course, is through lesbian bears and lots of boobs. Right?

Synopsis: Long ago, humans and bears lived together in harmony. But then, everything changed when the asteroid Kumaria crashed into the Earth, causing the bears to go berserk and start eating humans alive. To stop the fighting, a “Wall of Severance” was constructed to separate the two beings, thus ushering in an era of pure hatred and exclusion.

In case you aren’t familiar with the works of Ikuhara and therefore don’t understand how such a silly concept can hold such a serious message, immediately stop reading this and go watch one of his shows; the only way to understand it is to experience it. I won’t hide the fact that I absolutely love Ikuhara’s style; the insane amount of symbolism, the repetition of sequences, the abstract environments, the use of color dissonance, etc. I’m an absolute sucker for all of it, so it’s no wonder why I was instantly turned on to this show.

YKA’s plot may be nothing special if you take it at its face value, but when you examine the purpose of it all and how masterfully it is worked into the theme of homosexuality as well as how society perceives homosexuality, it becomes quite clear how well written it truly is. In case the title didn’t tip you off, this is an anime that uses lesbianism to make a commentary on society; not necessarily for fanservice (though you could certainly argue the amount of naked girls is gratuitous). It should go without saying, but this isn’t ACTUALLY a show about lesibians vs. bears; it’s an abstract concept used to display a theme. Some people are simply unable to get on board with that, which is understandable, but for those who do appreciate this sort of thing, YKA’s world building and storyline will be truly appreciated. There is a great deal of depth to it that I still haven’t taken the time to fully digest myself, but I definitely plan on rewatching this show in order to do so. Without doing a full on analysis of this show complete with spoilers, that’s about as much as I’m allowed to say about YKA’s narrative.

While I could gush over everything this show does right all day, let’s talk about why you are never going to hear it mentioned in conversation amongst most anime fans. First and foremost, it gets off to a slow and confusing start. The first 3 episodes of YKA are far more abstract and cryptic than the rest of the show, which was admittedly a poor choice considering how assessable the themes are made later on. Because the characters take so long to be introduced and fleshed out, many people were scared away because of how strange and “out there” the anime appeared. It’s ironic that the symbols become so much easier to understand than Ikuhara’s other works later on, because it’s for precisely the opposite reason that so many people dropped it.

The aspect of YKA that really makes the show work and ties all its themes together without many loose ends is the cast of characters. While they initially feel distant and unrelateable, they eventually emerge as unique and likable, not to mention the fact that they are perfect manifestations of the concepts that the show is working with. Ikuhara is a master of making sure that every character, no matter how minor, serves an important role. Outside of the main trio of Lulu, Ginko, and Kureha, every character has a symbolic purpose, thus painting the picture of a twisted dystopia that excludes all who do not conform to their standards. In addition to being thematically brilliant, the characters are a main source of the show’s fantastic comedy. Did I mention that this show is laugh-out-loud hilarious? I think it says something about the directing of a show that can make you think hard and laugh hard in the same episode. Sure, Kureha is bit bland and serves mostly as vessel for the show’s agenda, but this is overall a great use of characterization.

Perhaps the best thing about an Ikuhara work is the animation itself; he always finds a new and unique way to portray something that could have been mundane, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for that. The sheer intricacy of each and every shot makes it clear just how much effort was put into this show in order to make it great. Regardless of whether or not you like his style, it is a commendable effort. The music choice is strange, but somehow fitting. This show contains easily the weirdest use of a choir I’ve ever heard, but I mean that in a good way.

I think I’ll stop there just because even though there is so much to talk about with YKA, so little of it is worthwhile to someone who hasn’t actually seen it yet. I would highly recommend that you go watch it; even if you aren’t into the whole symbolism thing, this show makes it accessible enough that anyone can understand at least the basic gist of it. Sure the fanservice can be distracting despite its occasional relevance, the first few episodes are off-putting, and it isn’t exactly as bulletproof as Ikuhara’s other shows, but it’s a memorable, funny, and worthwhile experience nonetheless. If you’re looking for a show that actually has some depth, check it out. Shaba-da-doo.

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Apr 7, 2015

ZephSilver

Mixed Feelings

"Everything is good in moderation" ..now if you were to say that to Ikuhara he would probably pimp slap you with a proverbial hand and skip off into the schizophrenic sunset of left field allegorical stew, while conjuring new ways to make even Satoshi Kon's nuttiest creations to look like tamed Saturday morning cartoons.

Yuri Kuma Arashi is a dream factory chock-full of symbolism and motifs with everything being beyond what's presented at face value. This isn't for casual viewing and if unprepared to really dig deep it can be either taxing or repulsive upon initial impression. I normally don't like to judge works based on ...

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Mar 30, 2015

HaXXspetten

Not Recommended

Watching Yuri Kuma Arashi is like trying to memorize the first 100 digits of Pi. Succeeding might technically be considered an accomplishment, but good lord is it meaningless.

Yuri Kuma Arashi is a textbook example of an anime that tries to be too damn smart for its own good. It's a show which attempts to utilize intricate symbolisms and references rather than to present a story which you can take at face value. By hiding content in-between the lines, it tries to provide a plot which is unorthodox, deep and thought-provoking. However this is nothing more than a façade which tries (and fails) to cover up ... the fact that the plot itself is in reality nowhere near as complicated as it makes itself out to be.

The story takes place in a world that has been struck by an asteroid called Kumaria, and after the following meteor shower ended, for whatever reason all the bears all over the world rose up and started attacking and eating humans. After the dust settled, a giant Severance Barrier was erected in order to separate the world of the bears from the world of the humans, and to try and cause a ceasefire in-between the two warring sides. Or at least that's what the premise states that the story is about, but in reality almost none of that is correct as Yuri Kuma Arashi is all about symbolism.

This is of course because Yuri Kuma Arashi is written by the one and only Ikuhara Kunihiko, famous for other deeply symbolic and successful works such as Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum among others. Most things in his works look like one thing but in actuality represent something entirely different. It's kind of like solving a riddle in that sense as you have to try and figure out what everything really means on your own. Yuri Kuma Arashi is no different either as it primarily revolves around homophobia and society's view on it, but there's one clear difference here: although the story is unorthodox, complex and filled with references, that still doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of it feels completely uninteresting and intangible. The execution of Yuri Kuma Arashi is one of the most random ones I've seen in a long time, and it doesn't really make the viewer care very much about the actual events occuring throughout the course of the story.

Merely including references and symbolisms to various works of media like The Shining and historical events such as the Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident does *not* make a good story in and of itself. That's not how scriptwriting works. If all you needed to make an interesting plot was to haphazardly throw in cryptic references and symbolisms wherever you could, then writing a "good" storyline would be easy as pie. However that's sadly not the case, but Yuri Kuma Arashi seemingly fails to understand this. As a result you end up with a story which contains countless plot elements from various sources, but in actuality the vast majority of them don't matter whatsoever in the end. When it all comes down to it, what you're left with is a pretentious and quirky Yuri story, complemented with tons and tons of completely irrelevant references.

Speaking of which, I also have to say that Yuri is one of the absolute rarest genres in anime, and also one of my favorites. However if you're looking to see some cute, romantic, erotic or dramatic girl-on-girl moments you should look somewhere else because this anime has very little of that. The Yuri elements in this show are mostly used as a plot mechanic in order to be able to talk about homophobia. It is not really anything meant to try and be satisfying on its own.

The characters... who were they again? If it wasn't for the fact that their names themselves are pretty easy to remember, I probably wouldn't be able to name them without double checking here and now. That's how forgettable and wholly uninspiring they are. Ikuhara's writing style is heavily integrated into the characters' personalities and as a result they come across as quite intangible and hard to really get a good feel for. Well at least the main characters' goals and intentions are pretty clear since the show never stops repeating them, but other than that they all feel like nothing more than plot devices instead of actual persons.

Also a more subjective issue I have with this anime is how cringeworthy the dialogue is. If you've watched any Ikuhara shows before, then you'll be familiar with some of the more random catchphrases that he tends to use. I mean who can forget about SEIZON SENRYAKUUUU and penguins for example. However those still felt appropriate and humorous somehow, but in Yuri Kuma Arashi it only made me hold my head in agony. "Gao Gao", "Shabadadoo", "Deliciousmell~", "Kuma Shock!", and the list goes on. It's so unbearably awkward to listen to. Am I supposed to be watching a psychological seinen anime, or Teletubbies? Sometimes I'm honestly not sure.

If there's anything good to mention about this show, then I'd still have to give the animation some credit. Yuri Kuma Arashi uses a very artistic and Shaft-like art style which is very reminiscent of the Monogatari Series in how it looks, and also how the show utilizes it. The OP is also very atmospheric (and even has some decently pronounced French lyrics in it), and the ED is very catchy and addictive. Overall the production value is quite solid, but sadly that is not all you need to make a good anime. If pretty artwork and nice music was all that mattered, then you're better off watching something more dedicated on that front like Iblard Jikan or similar.

I don't bother making negative reviews very often, simply because a) I don't actually hate anime, and b) most of the bad shows I come across are just bad because they're predictable, generic and boring. However it's been a very long time since I saw an anime which genuinely annoyed me as much as this one did, because I sincerely believed it had a lot of potential before the season started. I like Ikuhara's writing style. I think it's very unique and interesting, but in this case it just didn't work out at all. The first episode alone left me with a horribly negative impression, however I still had hope that it would get better over time when things would start to be explained and make more sense, but I am left somewhat disappointed on that front as well. Fortunately the eventual ending of the entire show was a lot better than everything before it, but that alone doesn't really make up for all the time where the story is pitifully bad.

If you haven't seen an Ikuhara anime before and you're interested in seeing what they're like, all I have to say is [go watch one of his other works]. There is no need to bother watching this one before that. If you've already done so and you really liked them, then I guess it might be worth at least giving Yuri Kuma Arashi a shot. But just make sure to not get your hopes up too high because odds are that you're going to be left somewhat disappointed if you do.

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