Warning: Spoilers present (but no detailed spoiler present).
Now, how do we review a show that
>is so unique that it's almost absurd
>has very polarized views
>is hard to review without spoiling detailed stuff?
Answer: To be in the sexy way.
Get what I mean? Bet you don't. I don't either.
OK seriously:
To review this show, simply trying to interpret all the symbols is not enough. More analysis must be done on whether the symbols are portrayed well, and whether the plot & characters are well done.
Now first, about how much you would expect: Don't expect a flawless masterpiece or you would likely be disappointed, and of course don't expect too little because after all it's Ikuhara.
Yuri Kuma Arashi, as an Ikuhara work, is all about symbolism, mostly criticism on various aspects of 'yuri'.
--Settings--
Literal:
So one day some meteor(planet?) falls on Earth and bears start to attack humans and... Never mind.
Actual:
The MC girls live in a world surrounded by hypocritic homophobic lesbians and yandere lesbians and... Wow, judging from this description sounds like homo is sin itself.
'Yuri ga Aku da!'(百合が悪だ！)
The only way to get true yuri love is to stay away from all those sins.
So done with the settings and that brings us to the next part:
--Design, and Portrayal of Symbols--
>The homophobia part:
It plays a good role being satirical, but when this symbol turns blatant it gets dull and only serves as something to ignite viewers' hatred towards the homophobes. (I advise viewers to view the homophobe part rationally.)
One of the good points the anime brings up is that 'Homophobia is just like the cycle of life', and also one certain character gets a deeper look. But still, those are not enough. Homophobia is criticised but not looked into properly, instead it mostly gets a typical portrayal of 'bad guys(girls/bears to be exact)' in anime.
Yeah, that's how you criticise a certain group of people: By writing a story and portraying all those people as morbid idiots without sanity. It's satirical, but unrealisitic at the same time.
Also it seems as if the homophobes exclude not only lesbians but also non-homophobes. It may serve its own purpose being satirical, but I don't see this being an actual case in real life. Maybe in Japan it is the case???
>How to face a homophobic environment:
Still quite good, but obviously imperfect since it's still potentially resourceful.
The story leaves the MCs with a dilemma: whether to hide their own feelings or to hit the society in its face. This part is good.
But the 'at what cost' (if you hit the society in its face) part is underdeveloped. To be precise: if you hit the society in its face society will hit you back, of course. But what's more important, in real life FAMILY MEMBERS are often likely to shown little tolerance to your decision for moral reasons etc. Without your family members you have little to fear, but what if you do have to face the family vs love decision?
If you've watched the show, you'll find that this part is underdeveloped. For those who may argue that this dilemma is present in a certain episode, no, it is not present there.
The fact is, if you look at it seriously, the whole point about 'love vs reality' in the anime is even somewhat biased since it appears as if the anime is telling us that 'reality is bullcrap, so forget this reality stuff already'. Is this a step in the right direction? Nah, it's a step in the 'other' wrong direction.
Let's take a look at what Ikuhara actually thinks of this matter:
Quote (from Ikuhara, translated by me so probably inaccuracies):
Ikuhara K.: I've found that people tend to have increasing desire to be 'liked'(i.e. the 'like' function in certain SNS sites). ...Of course, to have such desire isn't necessarily a bad thing; I want to be 'liked' too. But at the same time somewhere in my heart whispers 'you don't need such thing!' But if you really don't need it, can you live on your own then? ...It's not that I want to judge if this is good or bad, but that we should be self-aware of said fact. If we jump to the conclusion 'it's bad!' and live a counterproductive way, we're being self-deceiving. But the awareness of such fact should lead us into thinking 'what is it that we cherish'.
FANTASTIC interpretation. But how does the anime go wrong when it does bring up Ikuhara's interpretation?
Here's how: Since the society is depicted as a society screwed beyond reason, and with the MCs 'deprived of' their close relatives (Note: technically they may exist, but either have or show no importance in the MCs' lives), they don't actually need to face a strong dilemma and the only things they need to do are 1, to have the courage and 2, to survive from the executioners.
>The judges:
Some say they reflect the otakus' perception on yuri, some others say the judges are the dictators of the world(or patriarchy) and reflect the ruling class of the real world. But both interpretations are flawed imo. Judges = otakus? Is it that otakus rule the world or something? Not. Judges = real world rulers/patriarchy? In this interpretation some certain events/facts about the judges (which only serve as plot devices) become nonsensical in real life.
So I can't really say much, and personally I suggest that the judgmens = patriarchy and do reflect some bad perceptions of yuri, but are not well-designed as a symbol particularly due to some events in the anime. If you have a more convincing interpretation, tell me.
>Yuri as a Genre:
This is one complex problem to discuss, so here I'm going to pick one specific problem:
Fanservice: Satire or Overkill?
I suggest that it's both.
Some say that two points contribute to the anime's massive insertion of lewd scenes: 1, lesbians are fetishised and often treated as sources of (male gaze) fanservice, and 2, lesbian sex are often viewed as more indecent than hetero sex. Thus by inserting lewd scenes making them commonplace, the anime tells people that 'these scenes are nothing abnormal, stop giving them strange looks'.
Now first, I find these points to make some sense. However, it is NIGH IMPOSSIBLE for any viewer not being distracted by the scenes in the first place. Furthermore, making lewd scenes&events (EVEN ASSAULTS!) commonplace seems to tell the viewers that for a lot of lesbians, their desires for sex are present anytime and are likely to dominate their motives for actions. So it's still overkill, in my humble opinion.
And after all, even though the fanservice may turn some people off, it's still fanservice and does attract male gaze.
>Minor symbols:
They are scattered everywhere throughout the anime. They can be fun to interpret, but don't add a lot of bonus points to the show's rating, and sometimes the presence of those symbols can add some frustration.
A particularly good symbol is 'how sex being treated unequally lead to horrifying consequences'. The most well-designed symbol in the anime, personally speaking. Hints about sexual liberation are good too.
As for some other symbols such as the true meaning of the promised kiss (specifically: in the culmination of the Lulu arc), I doubt if what they reflect are actually positive in real life, though.
Symbol Design & Portrayal: 7/10
--Story--
The main problem with the story is that it's rather messed up. Many parts are even messed up intentionally to confuse the viewers at first glance, but serve no extra purpose.
The storytelling is a love it or hate it thing. For me, I find the storytelling barely acceptable. The earlier episodes are typical examples of how the storytelling can turn people off.
As for the story, it's good for the most part, but for some points.
Before we name some of the improvable points in the storyline, I shall point out that many parts of the story are UNRESOLVED (to be exact 'underresolved').
(Rule for unsound storyline in YKA:
If a part of the story technically doesn't make sense but doesn't create a flaw in the points the anime tries to deliver, this isn't considered unsound.
Illustrative examples:
'Why didn't they shoot her instead of waiting her to complete her speech?' This is not unsound.
'Why didn't they shoot her when they didn't hesitate to shoot another character?' This is very flawed, but borderline sound.
'Why, in a case where timing was of importance in its meaning as it could explain other people's motives, didn't they shoot her, while in the equivalent case IRL, people around her would not hesitate to do anything to stand in her way?' This is unsound.
The above events may or may not happen in the anime.)
Some other improvable points:
>What is it that you mean love?
The show's portrayal of this is unique but flawed nontheless. The show has shown and made mockery on many bad perceptions of love, but the ending isn't completely satisfying judging from this point. I mean, how can MC1 accept MC2 that easily after some certain event that is due to MC2's wrongdoing? (This is not the problem with the ending itself though.) Even when the show tries to forgive MC2 this problem still stands. A typical example of the symbols not being transcribed well.
And this is quite ironic: The show has tried to criticise 'love is based on possessiveness'... until the ending, which, if you connect it with the previous events, actually indicates that being possessive is not a bad thing after all, it's all about who laughs last rather than who truly knows love. Just look at the pitiful deaths someone who truly know love deserve!
BTW, what is it that I think of love? In my opinion, love is not only based on feelings but also trust. (How can trust be kept if one does such things to hurt the one she loves, simply out of jealousy?) And also the best state of a couple should be when their characters are complementary. Etc. So there are many ways to exploit 'love', and YKA is not doing the best job with it.
>Higher level of existance?
You can interpret them as dead or not, but in both interpretations, this part is cliched.
What's worse, Ikuhara seems to have contradicted his own statement: 'To completely ignore other people and live a counterproductive way is self-deceiving'. The only purpose the two serves, for the society, is to act as a symbol--a middle finger to the screwed-up society, and nothing else. So basically the way they choose is counterproductive in all other ways, and again it seems to encourage an unreasonable way to deal with the previously said dilemma IRL.
Now, why is the plot inferior to the symbols? One of the reasons is that everything in this anime is meant to serve the symbols.
e.g.: In the first example given, jealousness is meant to bring up a false perception of love that the show wants to criticise, but unfortunately, to conclude stuff the MC2's wrongdoings must be forgiven. In the second example, the higher level of existance thing is meant to make mockery on the point 'for homo love, love and reality cannot coexist', but ended up being not successful enough.
Story: 6.5/10
--Characters--
Weakest aspect in the anime. Besides the main cast, other characters mostly serve symbolic purposes: In order to bring up the themes, many characters, potentially resourceful, are wasted and underdeveloped.
Even the MCs suffer from not having interesting/memorable traits, one exception being Lulu.
This is why the show would likely be better had it been 2 seasons instead of 1.
To name a few characters:
Haris**** K****: The show spends a good portion on her actions, but aside from fueling viewers' hatred towards homophobes, what other purpose does this character serve? And plus she could have had a backstory, but the fact is she doesn't have one in the anime. Hell, even her symbolic purpose is too insignificant.
MC1: Being the MC, she undergoes little character development in the earlier episodes. Even when she does undergo character development in the later eps, the development still seems more of something symbolic.
Now, there is this masterpiece called The Hunchback of Notre Dame written by Victor Hugo, and it has its own reasons to be a masterpiece: character-wise, the characters are not only symbolised but also very fleshed out. For example, the Archdeacon, Frollo, stands for one oppressed by asceticism and eventually driven to morbidity. While being symbolised, all his actions are very properly explained, and readers will find him 'a real human being' instead of simply 'a symbol'.
Yuri Kuma Arashi, on the other hand, fails at this aspect. What this show desperately needs are more details on the characters themselves -- to let fleshed-out people and vivid events come to life, and thus let viewers fully accept the symbols. (Though the show is too short for what it aims to achieve, imho the story pacing is still rather improvable.)
Characters: 5/10
A few minor aspects:
Sound: 7/10
The OP stands out most, other tracks are of OK quality.
Animation & Art: 7.5/10
This is likely subjective opinion, but I find the animation quite good.
The unique thing about it, is of course, the fact that almost every 10 seconds there will definitely be at least one symbol presented via the animation. Usually, these scenes are more abstract, which can turn people off sometimes. But overall, it's a pleasant experience.
--Enjoyment Value--
Not high enough, at least for me. It's inspiring to say the least, but this show requires you to come back to interpret it for a total of 6 hours before you can fully understand everything and eventually find that it's not as promising as it is advertised to be. (This is why some commentators called this anime an 'Ikuhara-ised Junkyard'. I don't like this name, but it isn't completely nonsensical)
Also, since the anime's symbols are more ambiguous in the earlier episodes, it's not until the ending of the anime than you can finally start making your own thorough interpretations and analysis. The interesting fact is that even ANN commentators interpreted some symbols in the 'wrong' way, or at least not what they turned out to be.
Enjoyment Value: 6/10
--Inspiration Value--
The inspiration value is off the charts. With such unique settings and all those symbols to work around with, there are a quintillion ways to make our own interpretations.
My only complaint though is something about the settings: Homo vs Hetero(what society requires) = 'Same' vs 'Different', but Human-Bear vs Human-Human & Bear-Bear(what society requires) = 'Different' vs 'Same'? This made some other real-life problems among homosexual people hard to portray in the YKA settings. (I have been writing a doujinshi actually and I've found this problem to be a bit frustrating.)
...Also, a curious point is that the literal 'homo relationship between girls' seems to be considered more 'natural' in the show, and this can also be quite of a barrier if one decided to write a fanfiction of it.
Inspiration Value: 10/10
Summary:
Clarifying some points I previously made:
>The points the anime tries to deliver are mostly good, but many are not looked into seriously. Flawed or not, every symbol is very inspiring.
>The storytelling can really turn a lot of viewers off, even non-casual viewers.
>The characters aren't developed enough, and are not really fleshed-out.
OVERALL RATING: ...
HOLD ON, ONE MORE THING!
--What Does the Bear Say?--
Translation: What subtle things does the show implicitly tell us?
This question arose when I was writing my doujinshi for YKA.
Now, as ironic the jealousy/possessiveness thing may get, we all know that the show has tried to criticise it.
So exactly what does the show ENCOURAGE US to do?
To completely turn your back on reality when it rejects your dream?
To kill those bullies when the bullies bully your friend/lover? (The show has indirectly criticised this behaviour though)
To ...
That will not be the reasonable way!
What we should learn from the show, is the signal of freedom and liberation over conventional social norms and order.
But, do not pursue freedom, happiness etc., in an unreasonable way that is counterproductive to society and people close to you. Society is screwed beyond reason in YKA, but not in real life.
As I've observed, many people enjoy climatic but irrational plot (and hence the 'why not kill those b*tches!' comments). Yeah, the plot should develop for sheer climax & joy, is it not?
Unfortunately, Anderssen's 18.Bd6!? could be met with the cold 18. ...Qa1+ 19.Ke2 Qb2 20.Kd2 Bxg1 with an unclear position. And IRL, people directly following the MCs' footsteps on an impulse would likely find themselves facing hard-to-resolve difficulties and living a life not as happy as they once imagined.
(Whether or not it is this part that boosted the unhelpful rate from 20% to the current unhelpful rate, I'm not going to remove this part.)
In a word:
Learn from the symbols, but not the actions.
OVERALL RATING: 7/10 (for 'Great' in my scales)
DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS ANIME? Yes, but keep yourself level-headed when watching it. Also, if you're still not into the show after Episode 4, it's likely not your taste, so don't force yourself to complete this.
CLOSING WORDS:
In a show that is meant to reflect real-life problems, anything that doesn't make sense in real life has its value halved.
(Note: This review's helpful stats, along with those of some other reviews of this anime, has undergone some weird manipulation.
On 22 Apr 2015, when MAL still had the unhelpful button, the helpful rate was at its highest point 17 out of 21, and then the review was bombed 11 consecutive unhelpfuls in 20 minutes, and probably 8 more on the next day.
The highest observed helpful count was 44 (not long after MAL cancelled the unhelpful button), however recently as of 24 Dec 2016 the helpful count is observed to have DROPPED to 38.
Show me how to cancel a review vote, anyone?
The cause of this manipulation can not be confirmed. And out of all my reviews, only this review has undergone this manipulation.)
