DO NOT discuss the source material beyond this episode. If you want to discuss future events or theories, please use separate threads.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
DO NOT ask where to watch/download this episode or give links to copyrighted, non-fair use material.
DO NOT troll/bait/harass/abuse other users for liking or disliking the series/characters.
DO read the Anime Discussion Rules and Site & Forum Guidelines.
| It was a great and beautiful ending! But it was a sad and lonely story. Most people continue exclude "the different". Kureha and Ginko had to leave the world to stay with each other. I guess that Sumika with wings and bear ears was the icon of love for Kureha. Just like Mitsuko was the icon of desire for Ginko. Some people believe majority is always right and minority is wrong. Then they start to exclude "wrong" people by justifying in various ways. I think the director Ikuhara tried to tell those things. |
| I'm not even sure if they died or not. On one hand you could argue they died, because they school girls were triumphant saying they excluded evil. They never showed bodies, but why would you brag about something if you couldn't back it up. The leader girl probably wouldn't have been as happy if they both just vanished. On the other hand, you witness twin tail girl watching them escape the gunfire by ascending to a place beyond the wall. And Lulu narrates "nobody knows where the girls went to". Implying they did escape. I interpreted it as the latter, and just assumed that the leader girl was fucking overly cocky over something she didn't do. What power brought Sumikumaria back to life though, was it the souls of tons of bears? The power of love? I didn't quite get that part. So then Kureha turns into a bear...didn't expect that at all honestly. Then they ascend to a place beyond the wall/beyond societal prejudice. Lulu and baby bro were in Yurki Kuma heaven? Reincarnated? Not sure. I assumed they were in the afterlife. Then life continues normally in the regular world. Twintail girl had her eyes opened by Kureha and Ginko. Before the bitches had a chance to even exclude her, she gets up and says fuck it I'm out. Finds "nasty" weird terminator bear, and starts the cycle of acceptance over again. ------------------ Despite how I was unsure about some of the more confusing things at the end that could be interpreted multiple ways, I thought the ending was beautifully done. Really great, metaphorical show that gets you to think. It's a shame that so many people didn't think to give it a chance because they thought it was either a stupid ecchi show, or they couldn't watch it and use their brains at the same time. Though I'm glad to see it's MAL rating shot up quite a bit after the finale, so that's cool. 8/10 really enjoyed it. Sad to see it end. |
Tokoya said: Best part of the episode was the scene with Lulu and her little brother....That was really cute :'') Sucks that those school girls didn't die tho......Anyway, I'm happy for Ginko and Kureha....Sumika being Lady Kumalia caught me by surprise =o Overall the series has been pretty fun but there were other things this season that were better (JoJo, AssClass, DRRR, GBFT, Junketsu no Maria and Death Parade just to name a few) 7/10 Agree with you but GBFT was pretty bad |
| It is so dense. Every single image has so many things going on. |
| Fantastic ending. I'll gladly put Yuri Kuma as my 5th fav for now. It made my life sexy for the whole season, actually got a tear out of me when Lulu died. I knew I'd like it from the beginning, but I didn't think this much. It was not only brilliant, but was super cute, and had feels. |
| good series overall, may read the manga at some point |
 |
| I dunno i was all down for this show the first few episode because of it's charm but unlike Mawaru Penguindrum this one tested my patience way quicker to point where i just wanted to end,even with this good ending i just lost interest in this show near the end. 6/10 "wasted potential" is all i can say to sum this up |
 |
| Well Yuri Kuma, at least you tried. 3/10 (In b4 spare me with your intellectual bullshits, I really don't want to hear them if it is possible. Utena's been my favorite anime since the time when you were just fighting for the red bucket on the playground and still saying that YKA was bad. A standard yuri stuff lies behind all the symbols with unappealing and lackluster story-telling, the discursiveness of the narrative was annoying, the characters weren't that memorable, so as the in-your-face fanservice in the first half and it wasn't that interesting or FABULOUS as Ikuhara's former works. Yepp.) |
JunchiMar 31, 2015 12:50 AM
Use your brain before using your keyboard!  |
| one thins i wont say annoyed me by found myself talking to my monitor doing was |
 |
| Yuri Kuma Arashi entertained me every week this past winter anime season and the ending was very satisfying. It was a nice touch to see Kureha becoming a bear instead and finding out that Sumika was basically Kumaria-sama wow. xD Seeing Lulu and her younger brother again was really cute. :D Although I do wonder who was that girl at the end with the black hair and green eyes saying 'I found you.' to that 'gesu' bear. That's the only thing that's bugging me. xD Overall, really enjoyed Yuri Kuma Arashi; great symbolism and meaning behind the series. 8/10 |
 |
| Honestly, I'm not too big of a gay rights activist. Don't get me wrong because I'm more than accepting of the homosexual community and their lifestyle and I also think it's pretty fucked up that even in the year 2015 gay couples still can't legally marry here in Australia. But at the same time I'm not the type to go out to gay rights protests and call out people for making gay slurs on the Internet. One of my other fears going into the show was 'Can Ikuhara capture lightning in a bottle yet again?'. I mean if he just did Sailor Moon, Utena and Penguindrum and retired afterwards that's already a fantastic resume as is. So what more can he do?. Instead of moving on to focus on other themes like he did with Penguindrum, he also decided it was worth revisiting the topic of homosexuality. Considering the heavy focus on homosexuality in his previous works it begs the question 'Is there anything more for him to say?' But Ikuhara found a way. Oh boy did he find a way. Yuri Kuma Arashi is a triumph in every sense of the word and the ending was the most perfect way to cap it all off. The series is very respectful towards homosexuals but at the same time it acknowledges the darker side of the community. And much like real life, the cycle of hatred will still keep going even if it doesn't make logical sense. Homophobia is not just going to magically disappear one day in a puff of smoke because there are certain people who will still cling to their ideals no matter what and will never listen to reason. But try as they may society cannot stop two people from loving each other. And ultimately, that's all that matters. 10 OUT OF 10 BRAVO IKUHARA! |
 |
| I'm really glad to see Lulu at the end :( |
| Straightforward summary of what I feel: >The plot has very high potential of expanding. >Narrative is barely acceptable. For me, the narrative downgrades the enjoyment value. >Most symbols are good and are deep in their meaning, but some don't work well. >I don't know why some people find this a surprise ending. I actually expected that this could probably happen. It's a nice ending though. Overall: Objective rating = 7.5 for 'great'; Subjective rating = 6.5 People see good symbols, and call them ingenious. Then symbols which don't work well appear, and people look for excuses e.g. the show defies logic so it's natural. Not. |
| All hail Great Firewall of China. |
| That was good. I didn't expect that Kureha would be a bear. 7/10 |
| The world shall know the truth soon. |
| I didn't expect Kureha to wish to be a bear, didn't expect Sumika to be Kumaria either (maybe I just don't see these things). I'd say the ending was satisfying, although I'm sad Lulu died (she in, in my point of view, still dead). Well, at least she's together with Mirun now.. |
| Loved the ending, it was beautiful and yet sad, but DAT KISS, it was worth the wait :) 8/10 |
 |
| loved the end. now i dont ever have to watch a second of this ever again. |
| M.P.D.S./F.O.A.D. |
| Oh my god, that was so fucking beautiful and perfect. I... I can't |
 |
| Great series! Ikuhara is a great director. Takuan_Soho said: Best part for me was the ending. The haters continue to hate finding new reasons, and the one girl just quietly stands up and leaves them, going to find the left over and discarded bear. Wonderful scene there. Change will not come in mass, it is about converting people one by one, a spark that becomes a flame and later a inferno. The change has started. I loved the ending part with the girl and Konomi as well. It was really emotional. Nice way you put it. :) Also, I liked how Kureha became a bear/human-bear herself at the end. She isn't limited by labels anymore, she is who she is and was able to find her true love. I think this episode showed the construction site background much more than earlier episodes. But what does it mean? Does it show that the world/humanity is changing/evolving non-stop? Or does it show an industrialized world where only the healthier, stronger, faster people will "survive"? And in contrast to that, there are people like Kureha who fight for the "weaker"/less accepted people of society. Or maybe it shows the plain-colored construction plan and rules of society where right in the middle of it lives a colorfully mixed humanity? What do you people think?^^ |
PabilsagMar 31, 2015 8:01 AM
| YURI APPROVED. I am so beyond happy with this anime * u * 9/10 Loses a point for the way they append their sentences, because that just pisses me off so much. |
LemonMar 31, 2015 8:49 AM
| I like the idea of the series and it was artsy as always from Ikuhara. Hope to see more anime from him in the future although it won't be commercial success |
 |
badwolf45f said: Loved the ending gizter13 said: loved the end. I didn't really love it. That part with the twin-tailed girl and the technobear was quite touching, but the whole Kureha-Ginko stuff was (somewhat) the carbon-copy of Utena's ending. I shall use spoiler tag here. In YKA we got (almost) the same: after the promised kiss, the invisible storm and whatever, both of them disappear, leaving that small-minded world (= school) behind, where the nonames continue their lives, and not accepting those who are different (bear/lesbo). Sounds good in paper, but the "I've seen this before" feeling was quite strong here, so as the full idealized "love solves everything" part which made the climax even more forced. |
JunchiMar 31, 2015 9:20 AM
Use your brain before using your keyboard! |
Grungehamster said: Junchi said: I didn't really love it. That part with the twin-tailed girl and the technobear was quite touching, but the whole Kureha-Ginko stuff was (somewhat) the carbon-copy of Utena's ending. I definitely share the criticism that Ikuhara retreaded a lot of ground I felt was already well covered in Utena (and to a lesser extent Penguindrum) because he's basically got one overarching message: that pain and suffering and cruelty cannot be eliminated, but through mutual acceptance AKA love AKA self-sacrifice on behalf of another you can mitigate the pain and move past it. In Utena it was toxic interpersonal relationships. In Penguindrum it was the uncaring nature of society at large which grinds down individuality. In YKA it is the harassment and alienation of your peers, due to either cliquishness or fear of the deviant. I could see giving the Utena movie a 3/10 because it fails to really develop its own voice and message to any degree because it has too much plot to blast through and just assumes you'll get it and enjoy the visuals. But this was very well executed, just didn't seem to be pushing the envelop as much as his other two shows did. it is not retreading the ground. It is exploring similar temes. A lot of Utena dealt with misogyny and sexism. A lot of YKA deals with homophobia Both have common spots - society. And all Ikuhara works focus on perception of reality. |
 |
Junchi said: badwolf45f said: Loved the ending gizter13 said: loved the end. I didn't really love it. That part with the twin-tailed girl and the technobear was quite touching, but the whole Kureha-Ginko stuff was (somewhat) the carbon-copy of Utena's ending. I shall use spoiler tag here. In YKA we got (almost) the same: after the promised kiss, the invisible storm and whatever, both of them disappear, leaving that small-minded world (= school) behind, where the nonames continue their lives, and not accepting those who are different (bear/lesbo). Sounds good in paper, but the "I've seen this before" feeling was quite strong here, so as the full idealized "love solves everything" part which made the climax even more forced. i think you missed my joke. ;) |
| M.P.D.S./F.O.A.D. |
| I must say that this was my favourite anime of the season. This was my first Ikuhara show and it impressed me. An all-around well-made anime. The ideas it presented and the way it presented them entertained me every week. 7.8/10 |
Kikoman589Jul 15, 2015 4:55 PM
| The statement below is true. The statement above is false. |
mwsmws22 said: The Court of Severance is just our mind’s inner debate over right and wrong. Good point! mwsmws22 said: I love that Kureha wishes to become a bear. She realized that the only way to receive a promise kiss, was for herself to change, not forcing it upon Ginko. Hadn't Ginko embraced the same wish though? And, as we were shown, basically bear and human societies are both pretty terrible, so I don't really get how becoming a bear is more wise and less selfish. They - Kureha and Ginko - both desired to "crash themselves" and yet somehow it's Ginko who is a "winner". Well, to be entirely blunt, I haven't felt much Deep Love between those two. Kureha has our good old amnesia and Ginko is basically a killer (if we assume that Sumika was a human girl and not Kumaria-sama). "Ah, we hang out when we were 5 and our mom forced her weird shipping fantasy on us two, so LET'S DESTINY, that must be TRUE LOVE!!!". Psh, give me a break. The only one who knew of love there was Lulu, but of course she doesn't deserve to be loved back romantically. I do understand that the point of the show was to deliver its strong symbols rather than to create a logical and believable picture though. Kureha and Ginko are walking symbols of the titular Lily and Bear. But I wish the characters were a bit more alive, and the chemistry easier to sense. *** Btw, what interests me most - the majority of metaphors were very easy to figure out, but what did Prince Milne mean by saying that instead of asking Lulu for a kiss he could just kiss her himself? To kiss means to share love, but wasn't it what he'd been trying to do all along while returning the honey pot? |
StarryKiteMar 31, 2015 12:06 PM
| We have to keep our dreams alive. Something to look forward to. |
| Ended pretty much how people predicted it, but at least most of the questions were answered especially Kumalia's identity. And they could conveniently shelf the whole issue of Ginka being an accomplice to Sumika's murder, but hey, she wasn't (oh God I actually forgot the main character's name...) the TRUE love of the protagonist so who cares? At least it's over. While it's definitely applaudable when a show has a message and social commentary, it should not forget that the narrative must hold up to a degree as well. Yuri Kuma is the perfect example of how much entertainment value is lost when the characters and the plot are used as a means to an end and not developed enough. I honestly couldn't care about any of the girls, maybe with the exception of Lulu who at least had some funny and nice moments, hell I can't even recall the main girl's name. And I hope I never have to hear her VA again, what a lifeless performance. There was a terrible over-reliance on dramatic clichés which served no purpose apart from creating artificial tension to keep up the interest the other parts of the show failed to do. 3/10, the ED song was pretty nice. |
| So Ginko & Kureha get killed and everyone lives happily ever after in the afterlife.. The series as a whole is pretty entertaining. But I found the chemistry between the leading ladies too forced though. Kureha x Sumika pairing seems most natural and real to me. |
| My old Japan blog which I'm never going to finish: https://ramenshojo.wordpress.com/2016/08/07/day-6-nakano-broadway-harmonica-street-zauo-restaurant/ |
| I love happy endings :) 9/10 for the yuri love :) |
 |
StarryKite said: mwsmws22 said: I love that Kureha wishes to become a bear. She realized that the only way to receive a promise kiss, was for herself to change, not forcing it upon Ginko. Hadn't Ginko embraced the same wish though? And, as we were shown, basically bear and human societies are both pretty terrible, so I don't really get how becoming a bear is more wise and less selfish. They - Kureha and Ginko - both desired to "crash themselves" and yet somehow it's Ginko who is a "winner". The difference with Ginko is that she wished for herself to change, Kureha didn't. Instead Kureha wished for Ginko to change and let human society's hatred of bears come before her love. Ginko's wish was selfless and unhindered by any social boundaries. |
| Nice Ending The Promises Kiss |
 |
PetitFours said: If you are talking about the finale, then you should watch Utena, they have essentially the exact same ending.I understood Mawaru Penguindrum but not this. |
| I was very worried at the beginning that a lot of things still wouldn't make sense at the end, but everything's been neatly resolved. The ending was fantastic and had some great things to say, which aren't limited to issues surrounding female homosexuality and societal views. Instead of trying to change the one you love, change for the one you love. Dare to break your self image. Accept yourself. If even only one person is inspired to break away from the norm, then there is hope for greater change. (That's what I got from it, anyway). I need to watch Ikuhara's other shows now. But jeez, now I'm tired from all the symbolism and metaphors. The anime I usually watch doesn't make my brain work this hard, haha. |
| Loved the ending. Loved this anime. I've said before that Kureha was my least favorite character... I take it back. I love her a lot and I'm sad it was at the finale that I realized it. I'm definitely going to make some time for a thorough marathon just to catch things I know I missed. I'm also hoping it gets some sort of BD/DVD release. Great season. Good job, Ikuhara! 9/10 |
reeeb said: The first 3 episodes are certainly a lot more abstract and fast paced than the rest. They probably felt that they were "overdoing it", or just did that in order to impress the viewers (I think the first court session caught everyone by surprise once we saw what came after YURI APPROVED). Fact is, from episode 4 and on we see more acessible material and the death of the somewhat subtle images we treat as "symbolism" material. Its indeed a decline but it doesn't compromise the substantial material.Well, it started great, but I think the anime lost itself in the middle episodes. I found it a bit forced sometimes, maybe trying to be a "new Penguindrum". But the final episodes closed it well. |
| A strong ending to a strong show. Actually, I didn't watch Utena or Penguindrum and without the episode reviews at ANN, and also a bit the episode discussion threads here, the symbolism would have been going way over my head. But I'm glad I had that guidance so I could enjoy the show this much. |
| The final, unlike the rest of the story, is somewhat difficult to interpret, but not quite cryptic in its meaning. Narrative that reveals the secrets of the past, but I think a longer series would be the best choice, but still maintaining the quality always high as seen in this TV series. Drawings and animations really beautiful to see, soundtrack that looks good even her. Overall my rating is 8/10! Takuan_Soho said: Best part for me was the ending. The haters continue to hate finding new reasons, and the one girl just quietly stands up and leaves them, going to find the left over and discarded bear. Wonderful scene there. Change will not come in mass, it is about converting people one by one, a spark that becomes a flame and later a inferno. The change has started. Nice that Lulu got her love back as well. Nice happy ending. This. |
 |
| This is just FABULOUS.... Yuri Approved Ending.... Dat Kiss.... Finale - 5+/5 Series - 8/10 |
 |
More topics from this board
Poll: » Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )Stark700 - Feb 2, 2015 |
107 |
by Bing_101010
»»
Sep 16, 2023 9:44 PM |
|
Poll: » Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )Stark700 - Jan 19, 2015 |
140 |
by Bing_101010
»»
Sep 16, 2023 9:14 PM |
|
Poll: » Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )Stark700 - Jan 12, 2015 |
194 |
by Bing_101010
»»
Sep 16, 2023 8:57 PM |
|
Poll: » Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )Stark700 - Jan 5, 2015 |
417 |
by Bing_101010
»»
Sep 16, 2023 8:39 PM |
|
Poll: » Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 )Stark700 - Jan 26, 2015 |
167 |
by sketchy12
»»
Apr 21, 2023 4:26 AM |