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Dragour1041 said: This is waaaaayyy different from the manga. I was completely taken aback. From what I remember before the anime was announced the Yuri bears were shone in a good light...what the heck happened? It's just that the anime is not based on the manga... What happened was that Ikuhara announced his project in collaboration with a certain amount of people and Morishima Akiko was in charge of character designs. However before the project aired Morishima-sensei decided to make her "own version" of Yuri Kuma Arashi in a manga, since she was part of the project she had permission so... yeah the anime and manga will not have the same story... they may share some traits but won't be the same. |
| Foot fetish in the OP? Damn it, they're really trying to make this a show I can't not watch, at least through the first one ... So much boring artsy Ikuhara crap though ... Gods I hate this creator. WTF with licking the 'lily' at the end ... our heroine turns into a futanari? That ... I'm not sure how to feel about that. Somehow the fact that all the bare breasts lack nipples makes this both creepier and hotter. This may be something I'll fast forward through, I have little interest in the plot but those lesbian scenes, OMG. And if they put foot porn in the OP I certainly hope there will be some in the actual series. |
| I was watching this with my mouth wide open the entire time... rly wth was that about? I'm speechless... in a bad way :x |
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shawnofthedeadz said: the ppl who rate anime way to early<<<<<<Sad to see this show trending so low on MAL. First episode was well executed. Maybe a lot of people didn't realize that Yuri Kuma Arashi was literally going to be a Yuri Bear Storm. |
Ducat_Revel said: I wonder how many people will end up dropping this show by the time it finishes airing. I guarantee I will not watch all of this ... I dunno just how much of it I'll be able to stand before the trainwreck just gets too far into the stages that nobody really wants to see ... this is isn't just a trainwreck, it's jumping to the part where they're pulling out bodies in the wreck. |
shawnofthedeadz said: Sad to see this show trending so low on MAL. First episode was well executed. Maybe a lot of people didn't realize that Yuri Kuma Arashi was literally going to be a Yuri Bear Storm. MAL is full of people that will automatically downvote everything that's not your pre-chewed one note material. I mean, this episode was incredibly obvious in its whole message, but this whole thread is full of "WTF, I don't get it, lol" comments. Too many people here just phase out the moment they have to expend some own effort to enjoy something. It's a perfectly valid way of enjoying anime, but i still am a little sad everytime this happens. Combine that with some resolute Yuri haters, people that just hate Ikuni with a passion and the people that just plainly didn't like it for whatever reason and you get this rating |
| In 9/10 cases, the worst thing about an anime is its fandom. |
Asria_Y said: Dragour1041 said: This is waaaaayyy different from the manga. I was completely taken aback. From what I remember before the anime was announced the Yuri bears were shone in a good light...what the heck happened? It's just that the anime is not based on the manga... What happened was that Ikuhara announced his project in collaboration with a certain amount of people and Morishima Akiko was in charge of character designs. However before the project aired Morishima-sensei decided to make her "own version" of Yuri Kuma Arashi in a manga, since she was part of the project she had permission so... yeah the anime and manga will not have the same story... they may share some traits but won't be the same. That's.....actually very similar to how Utena came about. Maybe lightning will strike again. |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
lpf said: I've written an interpretation of episode 1. http://thequietreviewer.com/2015/01/08/your-guide-to-interpreting-yuri-kuma-arashi-episode-1/ Thanks for your post. I didn't know yet about the brown bear incident. Seems like some novels etc were even named Kuma Arashi/Bear Storm. insan3Inquisitor said: That's.....actually very similar to how Utena came about. Maybe lightning will strike again. Didn't you just say a few pages back that it was different than that. >_> |
Pabilsag said: insan3Inquisitor said: That's.....actually very similar to how Utena came about. Maybe lightning will strike again. Didn't you just say a few pages back that it was different than that. >_> ....What? Ah, I made a typo there, I meant that it "wouldn't" have turned out as differently as it was to the manga. Still don't know what that has to do with this comment, though? |
| "Yes, I have been deprived of emotion. But not completely. Whoever did it, botched the job." - Geralt of Rivia |
| Japan never ceases to amaze me. What in the actual fk is this????? |
| Ah. Japan. Why am I not surprised. |
| “Are there some unseen roles that we have unknowingly set ourselves into, dictating the rules of engagement whenever we see each other, inevitably leading to us hurting each other?” |
| Okay, what the fuck did I just watch? You can explain it to me, I won't get mad. The music and visuals were beautiful. |
| Well, that got very Ikuhara very fast. This will be fun. That OP is really fantastic. |
| Decent episode but I don't mind yuri :D |
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removed-userJan 9, 2015 7:57 PM
| I have no idea about what happened in this episode .. -___- |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| feet fetish OP !! |
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| Yeah, the OP sequence is beautiful. |
| Sieg Zeon! |
| The arstyle was really nice.. well there were a few cgi things and a few shots were perspectivally so bloody wrong, but it looked artistic overall (also im always a fan of cyberpunk backgrounds)... the character faces look also different fro the typical anime arstyle, which was very nice. It very much reminded me of "Mawaru Penguindrum", aslo from the ridiculous idiotic storytelling, though i have to admit that "Yuri Kuma" beats Penguindrum in idiocity by far. They should have included no story at all and made it only artistic, like Bakemonogatari^^ The fanservice was in the final scene on the border to hentai, which was very unecessary. |
LockensockeJan 10, 2015 3:14 AM
| I don't if I can keep up with Ikahura bullshit again. |
| - for a shoujo ai show this isn't too ba- - watches OP - oh my god. - i'm not even sure what i'm watching - everything is such a mess - i'm sure there was a butt load of innuendos that i've missed *shrugs* - ED is catchy though not my cup of tea. i'll take my leave. |
nowa_ said: I don't if I can keep up with Ikahura bullshit again. Then don't. It's not going to get any better for you. |
Nucksen said: shawnofthedeadz said: Sad to see this show trending so low on MAL. First episode was well executed. Maybe a lot of people didn't realize that Yuri Kuma Arashi was literally going to be a Yuri Bear Storm. MAL is full of people that will automatically downvote everything that's not your pre-chewed one note material. I mean, this episode was incredibly obvious in its whole message, but this whole thread is full of "WTF, I don't get it, lol" comments. Too many people here just phase out the moment they have to expend some own effort to enjoy something. It's a perfectly valid way of enjoying anime, but i still am a little sad everytime this happens. Combine that with some resolute Yuri haters, people that just hate Ikuni with a passion and the people that just plainly didn't like it for whatever reason and you get this rating In this case I think it's pretty justified. |
| Ikuhara strikes again. And how. His usual heavy dose of symbolism and beautiful colorful art. Definitely a keeper this season. Alas I can already see that the MAL crowd has given it a horrid rating from which it will not recover. A shame really. |
FarabeufJan 10, 2015 4:39 AM
| "Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov |
| Well, this is... this is... I'm not entirely sure what this is. Three things I can say for sure: 1) There was a TON given in this episode, much of which will likely not make sense until later, and sooooo much of the metaphor and symbolism are in the visuals. 2) The episode was so loaded I almost couldn't believe it. I'm sure I completely missed at least half of it. 3) I am absolutely, completely, 120% intrigued to see what will be made of all of the seemingly disparate or disconnected pieces given to us in this episode. Some of the metaphor and symbolism, and basic ideas and premises, were pretty clear to me: 1) Yuri=Lily; Yuri=Lesbian; Lily =/= lesbian. Technically, some lilies are lesbians, such as Kureha and Sumika, but the vast majority aren't. 2) Lots of flower and diamond imagery, signifying femininity, purity, vaginas, and a whole slew of other possibilities that are much, much more speculative at this point. 3) Bears=lesbians (possibly LGBT in general); Humans=the rest of society; Invisible storm=gossip/social pressure to conform; Severance Barrier=division. It seems like, combined, they could be used to make some points about the pro- and anti-gay conflict, or maybe human conflict in general. 4) The setting being a school, the name of the school (the meaning of the kanji in its name; also, "Arashigaoka" is the Japanese name for the novel "Wuthering Heights", which is apparently about jealousy), the statements made by authority figures (the teacher and the class rep.) as well as them being the ones to make those statements could be indicative of how the ideas that lead to conflict are perpetuated (indoctrination, essentially). 5) The talk about food is entirely sexual innuendo, especially the fish part (before the Jesus fish was the Jesus fish, it was a symbol for the vagina). Also, food is sensual/sexual, so you have eat="eat", or maybe sex in general, and hunger=lust. 6) Pink=stereotypical color for girls; blue=stereotypical color for boys; the bears' side of the wall is pink, while the humans' side is blue, possibly indicating the male-dominated view/laws/norms of society. 7) Bear Court is absurd for a reason. It's absurd to think that something like a court, like laws, should be what decides whether or not people can outwardly pursue their own sexual orientation and be recognized and acknowledged by the rest of society. The names of the bear judges (Sexy, Cool, Beauty) represent a male-dominated (or at least a very narrow) view of sex and sexuality. And the court exists to uphold that view. 8) There are a lot of references to LGBT symbols, particularly in the color theming. The school is an upside-down pink triangle (during the Haulocaust, the Nazis used this symbol to denote homosexuals and sex offenders). It's surrounded by trees (an upside-down pink triangle inside a green circle is the symbol of alliance with gay rights and a space free from homophobia). "Bear" is the slang term for a gay man who presents himself as ruggedly masculine. There's a lot of pink and blue in the episode; they're used in multiple bisexual/transgender symbols. The rainbow-colored diamond on the teal doors at the school is probably representative of the gay pride rainbow (it also resembles a flower). Teal is the color of sexual violence awareness. Thank you Wikipedia. 9) There's probably some other stuff that I can't remember off the top of my head. Generally speaking, lots of imagery, metaphor, and symbolism about sexuality, purity, femininity, social pressure, and specific or general conflicts and the nature of conflict. A couple things I didn't notice on my own, but read about: 1) Birds=freedom; speakers=control 2) The theory that the bear court represents the male gaze A lot of this is pretty overt, which makes me curious what the not-so-overt metaphors and symbols will be (it's Ikuhara, so at the very least I expect there will be layers of meaning). I wonder if it'll come from all the other stuff that was provided, but not connected as clearly as the things I mentioned above. I think there might be some Christian element to this, judging from some of the lyrics in the OP, the atmosphere of the school and students (very, very pure, innocent, and chaste, which makes me think of a Catholic boarding school), and the name of the asteroid. Kumara might = ku + Maria. I'm not sure what the "ku" might mean, though. If this is a legit interpretation, it could also offer a more concrete explanation of the whole "the asteroid exploded and bears stood up, gathered together, and attacked humans" thing. If the asteroid is somehow representative of Christianity, or Judeo-Christian religion in general--it exploded, blew up, scattered into pieces. This could represent the gradually lessening influence of religion over time. A lot of Christians are opposed to gay rights for various reasons. Their lessening influence could give people who are gay (or not hetero-normative in general; also, remember the bears are lesbians) more freedom and opportunity to obtain the same rights as everyone else and be who they are, to gather together to become a fully integrated and accepted part of society at large (the bears gathered together and started attacking humans; at this point it's not clear just what happens when a bear eats a human, but the bears talk about wanting to "cross the barrier" and "become true friends"). If you go to a search engine and type "x symbolism" (x is whatever you're searching for symbolism of), you can generally find something useful without too much trouble. Hopefully all of this will help people who have been confused or overwhelmed by the massive amount of content in this episode. Given the length of the series and who the director is, I'm assuming each episode will be like this, or possibly even more loaded. Also, just because someone doesn't understand basic symbolism or metaphor doesn't mean they can't understand them. I think people watch things differently. Some people are naturally more tuned in to what they watch. Some aren't. I used to be just like that. I watched stuff with my mind completely turned off. It's only very, very recently, with the help of an introductory-level film textbook, that I've started to learn a bit about film and be able to watch something closely in an engaged manner and get a fair amount of meaning out of it (relatively speaking; a "fair amount" for me is probably almost nothing for some people). I don't have a knack for the stuff. I only got as much out of the episode as I did because of what little I've learned and practiced so far, in addition to knowing exactly what I was getting into and watching the episode multiple times. To people chiding others for not picking up on the "easy" or "obvious" symbolism, I just want to say that just because it's obvious to you doesn't mean it's obvious to everyone, and "I don't understand" doesn't mean "I can't understand". Saying, "learn to analyze" isn't necessarily as simple or easy as it sounds. Edit: I just came across something about the song Lulu is singing as she and Ginko are walking down the stairs around the midpoint of the episode, thanks to TL notes on Watashi-subs' page for the episode. The short version is that the song is a Japanese children's game similar to Red Rover, where two sides line up parallel to each other and try to get kids from the other line to join their line. So, the bears are talking about bringing someone from the human world over to their side. Could that be what happens when they "eat" someone? I wonder if their intent is to turn them into bears, or just to make them sympathetic to and accepting of bears. |
SejinJan 10, 2015 7:15 AM
| Very informative speculative breakdown of the first episode, concept of the series and a lot of hidden meanings that are shrouded in plain sight, Sejin. Thank you a lot for writing this much in great levels of detail! |
DeadIEndJan 10, 2015 10:52 AM
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| You can't fail with a storm of hungry lesbians bears, gao. On a more serious note, most of the problem with the low average note comes from the fact that the trailer and first's leaked screenshots almost promised gal's eating their jellies all the time, and that didn't happened aside the "that" scene and the opening. So yeah, a lot of people got disappointed, dropped and kill-ranked it. I'm not gonna lie, the trailer was horrible considering how the show was gonna be in the first place, but that doesn't matter for me. Another problem that arose were the subtitles. The first two subtitles released were troll as well and a lot of people watched the show with them, or in other words, not understanding anything. Even Asenshi and Watashi just did a fine job, but it's still hard to follow what's happening and understand everything without rewatching too much. Anyway, I think it was a fine first episode, it accomplish to introduce you in a funny way to the show's world. Deconstruction is always interesting and a yuri deconstruction was never seen before, so it got extra points for originality. |
NyaraJan 10, 2015 3:40 PM
| Holy shit the amount of sexual innuendos in this series is strong. |
bla bla bla The endless debate between fans and haters. At one point, after spending a lot of time on MAL, you just realize it's totally pointless.Niko-kun said: On MAL, everyone who has used the lame rating system becomes a critic and an intellectual by default, haven't you heard? |
| I admit, I'm not a Ikuhara fan, and I can't stand his work, so I went into this with low expectation. But this... this was fucking stupid. i mean, at least with Penguindrum I kinda liked the first few episodes, but this right off the bat is pure schlock. |
| You're welcome, guys! I'm glad it's been useful! I read through all the posts on the thread before making mine, and there were people here and there talking about some of the stuff that a lot of people were missing, but it seemed kinda sporadic. I know a lot of people probably don't read all or most of the posts in a thread before making theirs, so a lot of my intent was just to be another explanation post closer to the new end of the thread, so it'd be more likely to be seen than the posts that are buried further back, chronologically-speaking. Really, what anyone can do if they're confused is to search for anibloggers (e.g., search for something like "Yurikuma Arashi blog/analysis/review) talking about the show. You can also go on Anime News Network, where they've got impressions for the first episode by multiple writers. And I'm sure that whichever reviewer does their weekly write-ups for the show will know what they're talking about. I guess the reason I'm bringing this up is that I know for a show like this, if you're not inclined to watch things critically, or just aren't very skilled at it yet, or if you're not familiar with who Ikuhara is and his MO (for me, even just having some idea of what I was getting into when I decided to watch the episode by knowing who Ikuhara is and having some idea of how he does things helped a TON), I can see how you'd have no idea what you just watched. Doing some basic internet searches about what you see on screen and reading the thoughts of people who have been watching things critically and writing about them for a long time can be unbelievably helpful in making sense of what would otherwise be very confusing and incongruent material. Another thing you can do that I've found can be surprisingly useful if you don't know Japanese is to look up meanings of names. Find an online Japanese dictionary (I like to use Denshi Jisho) and, using the MAL pages for the characters, or Wikipedia, copy and paste the kanji into the appropriate boxes on said online dictionary and see what you get. Even just knowing what characters' or places' names mean can be useful in understanding some of the core ideas in a show. Also, from what I've noticed, Japanese wordplay for double meanings often does one or both of two things, which can easily add meaning and make connections without being obtrusive: 1) using a word that means different things when written with different kanji (e.g., "tsubaki" is the Japanese word for the camellia flower, but using a different kanji it means "spit/saliva"), or; 2) using a kanji that has multiple meanings to convey a more rounded or multi-faceted idea ("danzetsu" in this show has been translated as "extinction, severance, or isolation", and even very loosely with context in the Watashi subs as "species divide"). I'd previously only watched the Asenshi subs, and just recently watched the Watashi subs. It was interesting to see how the different translation choices and phrasing affected the tone and what seemed to be more emphasized. I like different things about each of them, and I think watching both gives a fuller picture of what's going on. In particular, the Watashi subs' use of French in the dialogue led me to go back and look up some more stuff about bears on Wikipedia to see if there might be any French-specific references. Two of the more likely possibilities I found were a French film called "L'Ours" (The Bear), which is an adaptation of the American novel "The Grizzly King", and has themes of "orphanhood, peril and protection, and mercy toward and on behalf of a reformed hunter". I think this one actually makes a lot of sense in light of some of the content in this episode (Kureha's mother is apparently gone and she doesn't seem to have a father, Kureha talks about protecting Sumika and there's peril from the bears and the invisible storm, and I think you could consider the scene of Kureha practicing with the rifle to maybe have a hunter connotation as well as the fact that humans hunt all kinds of animals including bears). The other possibility I found is a comedic play by Anton Chekhov, also called "The Bear" (which was inspired by a French play), in which the "comedy derives from the characters' lack of self-knowledge". Two of the main characters are "stock examples of alazons: figures made ludicrous by pretending to be more than they actually are." Apparently, it's one of three stock characters in ancient Greek comedy (the other two are bomolochus and eiron. Looking more into that, it seems like there could be connections to various groups or characters in the show. Again, all this info is from Wikipedia. Also, the Watashi subs translate the children's song that Lulu sings as "Red Rover", making that connection much easier to percieve for non-Japanese speakers than in the Asenshi subs. I tried to watch the FUNimation subs by getting a free subscription, but was having a lot of trouble getting that to work and ultimately wasn't able to watch it. To anyone who has seen the FUNi subs, how do they compare to the Asenshi and Watashi subs? How do they translate key terms and names? I forgot to mention in my initial post that I'd also read the idea on a couple blogs that the bears are this story's (were)wolves. Apparently, in many stories with (were)wolves (e.g., Little Red Riding Hood), the wolves stand for awakened/awakening sexuality. I also looked into the novel "Wuthering Heights" more on Wikipedia and found that Wuthering Heights is the name of the farmhouse where the story unfolds. The book's core theme is the destructive effect of jealousy and vengefulness both on the jealous or vengeful individuals and on their communities. Also, it was considered controversial because its depiction of mental and physical cruelty was unusually stark, and it challenged strict Victorian ideals of the day, including religious hypocrisy, morality, social classes and gender inequality. Further, Author Joyce Carol Oates sees the novel as "'an assured demonstration of the finite and tragically self-consuming nature of 'passion'" and Ellen Moers demonstrated a feminist theory that relates female writers including Emily Brontë (the author of Wuthering Heights) and the Gothic. Catherine Earnshaw (a character in the novel) has been identified as a literary "type" of Gothic demon in that she "shape-shifts" in order to marry Edgar Linton, assuming a domesticity contrary to her nature. Catherine’s relationship with Heathcliff conforms to the "dynamics of the Gothic romance, in that the woman falls prey to the more or less demonic instincts of her lover, suffers from the violence of his feelings and at the end is entangled by his thwarted passion." Pretty much all of this paragraph is direct quotations from Wikipedia. Again, soooo much of this is highly speculative at this point, but it's still really intriguing to think about. |
| wow this was really surreal. My brain just shut down and I lliterally had my mouth gaping open for the remainder of the episode after the kuma court showed up. Looking forward to the next episode |
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| I really like this show so far. I'm guessing the court sequence will become a regular thing along with the Yuri Installment part too. It feels alot like Penguindrum's Seizon Senryaku and Utena's duel stairs/elevator sequence. The show has a lot of promise and much to explain in 12 episodes. Who knows it might become as deep as Penguindrum and need 12 more. |
| by Baka-Chibi |
| This show gave me a headache. Most likely I won't even bother with the 3 episode rule because, funnily enough, I don't like having headaches. |
| I want Rambo in a mecha-suit with a laser-chainsaw gun that fires nuclear warheads, fighting the love-child of Predator, Alien, a group of Bangladeshi terrorists, and Satan. (Actually that would be a pretty sick show) - StopDropAndBowl |
| i hope Ikuhara doesn't fail me with this one, i trust him. it seems my type of show as for now, i'm afraid it will turn out pointless |
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| What I am most confused about is on how to interpret the cut lilies symbolism. I see two mutually exclusive interpretations: 1 the lilies represent their lesbian passions (yuri = lily), and 2 they represent the opposite, purity, which would be more in line with the flower's western symbolism. Note that the flowerbed is quite out of the way from the school building, it was a secluded place for them to indulge their romance. It was only there that they were shown to interact, never in public. Not a single scene depicted them so much as chatting or exchanging glances on the schoolgrounds proper. Except for when the bears show up in class, and Kureha seeks Sumika out in the rooftop, and actually exchanges affection in the schoolgrounds. Immediately after taking this (semi-public) step, the lilies are destroyed. Going off on 1 entails that the flowerbed represented their budding romance, and the cutting of the lilies represent the societal backlash against their daring lesbianism. When Sumiko retrieves the lily (reaches out to defend their romance) her hands are dirtied, which clashes with the idea of the lily being pure. The president acknowledges their relationship, and laments having turned a blind eye to the vandalism, i.e. the attempts to curb their love by others. When she vows to help them, her hands become soiled as well, which she welcomes by saying that she is now "one of them". But for 1 to be true, then the flowerbed must have been vandalized by the rest of the school, i.e. society curbing their love that went too far, too open. However, it is implied that it was the bears who did it -- they were, after al, the only actual witness to the rooftop lunch. Considering that the bears obviously represent the unapologetic acceptance of the sexual desires, their cutting of the lilies should represent the corruption of their purity, from the societal standpoint. If 2 is correct, then the president's goal is not to further their relationship and stand with them against society's repression, but to restore their "purity", i.e., making they conform with the repressed standard. The "Invisible Storm" is not society's backlash, but their own urges, which soiled the previously pure relationship. The president wishes to help them go back their pure relationship and fight against said urges. But then again, if that is so then how does her dirtied hands fit in this? More in line would have been if the president had cleaned Sumika's hand instead of dirtying her own. |
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| Heavy symbolism? Yuri? Man eating bears? I'm already looking forward to the next episode. xD |
| Memories may fade, but that doesn't mean there isn't any point in making them. |
| The ED song image is really QUALITY. |
| Everybody had a different response to everything, except for the transformation hybrid human-bear... someone thought about it? |
| <img src="http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6832/anigiftus.gif"/> |
Aredros said: Everybody had a different response to everything, except for the transformation hybrid human-bear... someone thought about it? That would be simply the humans who accepted their feelings and urges. The bears becoming human, or rather being disguised as one, is their infiltration on the normal society by pretending to be compliant. If we take the wall as the societal barriers that segregate those who accept the social codes and those who don't, and therefore are ostracized, then the only way to breach it would be to pretend to be what you aren't, to pretend that you are normal/conformist (human) while you are actually a deviant (bear). |
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Uuchie said: What I am most confused about is on how to interpret the cut lilies symbolism. I see two mutually exclusive interpretations: 1 the lilies represent their lesbian passions (yuri = lily), and 2 they represent the opposite, purity, which would be more in line with the flower's western symbolism. Note that the flowerbed is quite out of the way from the school building, it was a secluded place for them to indulge their romance. It was only there that they were shown to interact, never in public. Not a single scene depicted them so much as chatting or exchanging glances on the schoolgrounds proper. Except for when the bears show up in class, and Kureha seeks Sumika out in the rooftop, and actually exchanges affection in the schoolgrounds. Immediately after taking this (semi-public) step, the lilies are destroyed. Going off on 1 entails that the flowerbed represented their budding romance, and the cutting of the lilies represent the societal backlash against their daring lesbianism. When Sumiko retrieves the lily (reaches out to defend their romance) her hands are dirtied, which clashes with the idea of the lily being pure. The president acknowledges their relationship, and laments having turned a blind eye to the vandalism, i.e. the attempts to curb their love by others. When she vows to help them, her hands become soiled as well, which she welcomes by saying that she is now "one of them". But for 1 to be true, then the flowerbed must have been vandalized by the rest of the school, i.e. society curbing their love that went too far, too open. However, it is implied that it was the bears who did it -- they were, after al, the only actual witness to the rooftop lunch. Considering that the bears obviously represent the unapologetic acceptance of the sexual desires, their cutting of the lilies should represent the corruption of their purity, from the societal standpoint. If 2 is correct, then the president's goal is not to further their relationship and stand with them against society's repression, but to restore their "purity", i.e., making they conform with the repressed standard. The "Invisible Storm" is not society's backlash, but their own urges, which soiled the previously pure relationship. The president wishes to help them go back their pure relationship and fight against said urges. But then again, if that is so then how does her dirtied hands fit in this? More in line would have been if the president had cleaned Sumika's hand instead of dirtying her own. Great stuff! I agree it's difficult trying to mesh the two interpretations or see how they could coexist. Seeing as this is an Ikuhara show, I'm guessing it's probably somehow going to be both, even if it's difficult to see how that makes sense at this point (it is only the first episode, after all). Spoiler-tagging due to length: Aredros said: Everybody had a different response to everything, except for the transformation hybrid human-bear... someone thought about it? Well, I don't have a terribly deep understanding of Utena, but there may be something there that's useful for understanding the humanoid bear transformations in this show. In Utena, when Utena transforms during the duels, she gains the power to take big steps toward her goals. In these moments, she's in both "worlds" so to speak. She fights for her values and goals that she's carried inside her for years (the "outside Oohtori Academy world"), and she's fighting for them in the context of Oohtori Academy, which is pretty much its own world. Having an understanding of both sides of an issue puts you in a much better place to resolve said issue in as optimal a way as is possible. Similarly, the humanoid bear forms could be representative of this same exposure to, and eventual understanding of, both the human and the bear worlds. I'll be very curious to see if a human can take this form as well. In this light, I think it's really interesting that the judge and attorneys in bear court are humanoid bears, as well as being male bears. In real life, courts are supposed to be impartial, and because of this they hear arguments from both sides of a case, putting them in "both worlds". However, in reality, courts can be partial because bias can be difficult to truly eliminate. This could be an explanation for why the court's bears are male. One of the metaphors in the show is bears=lesbians (and possibly people who are LGBT in general) and humans=the rest of society. Even though this has been gradually lessening over time, society is male dominated. So many of our societal norms, as much as they may have become more progressive, are rooted in that history. Thus, even though the bear court is trying to be fair with both species, and even though the judges themselves are bears, because it's metaphorically rooted in typical societal values, fairness is interpreted through that lens. The names of the judge and attorneys are indicative of this, as well as the fact that there has to be a court to say whether or not bears can be allowed to be bears in the first place. It's really amazing...as much as I've thought about this episode and tried to piece what I can together, there's still so much there to be perceived and pieced together. |
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