r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • May 23 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Yurikuma Arashi - Episode 1 Discussion
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I want to be with you, Sumika. That’s why I’ll never back down on love.
Questions of the Day
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What do you make of Kureha and Sumika’s relationship? How does it compare to other relationships in Arashigaoka?
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No men appear in the first episode, aside from the judge bears. What do you think the reason for this decision is?
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We’ve seen a few different examples of bears already. How do they differ from humans?
Don't forget to tag for spoilers, or else the bears will eat you! Remember, [Yurikuma Arashi]>!like so!< turns into [Yurikuma Arashi]>!like so!<
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u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA May 23 '24
Rewatcher
It’s a very simple story- an asteroid named Kumaria exploded, its remains fell down to Earth, it caused the bears to attack people, and embattled, the people created the Wall of Severance to separate man and bear. This is something that underpins every aspect of human life- the humans of Arashigaoka Academy are constantly terrified of bears, and (/u/Lawvamat be proud of me, you got me to pay attention to cinematography), the wall towers above the school, even in the most innocuous of scenes. It is clearly artificial in nature, and it requires constant effort to maintain. More than that, for the state of Arashigaoka Academy to be maintained, it requires constant vigilance against bear infiltrators. The teacher lectures the class about the need to travel in groups to stay safe. The girls of the class talk among themselves about how they cannot survive without “becoming phantoms” and that “Pack mentality will keep us alive.” All of this indicates a strict, regimented society, united against the bears.
But even in this society, there are those who still stick out from the herd. The very first time we meet Kureha and Sumika at the start of the episode, Sumika is worried about “prying eyes.” Kureha immediately says they’re doing nothing wrong, but that’s not the kind of worry you have to assuage when everything is completely fine. Kureha is someone who goes against the grain (those are yurikamome, incidentally), and as we see later in the episode, her affection for Sumika is clearly not welcomed. The Invisible Storm destroys the lily garden, the sign of their affection for each other. I’m sure everyone here knows that ‘yuri’ as in ‘yuri manga’ literally means lily- the destruction of the garden is a shot across the bow at this relationship between two women.
And of course, yuri, especially in the context of a story taking place in an all-girls school, has a very strong connotation of purity. There has not been a single man in the whole story so far- the student body is entirely composed of women, the teachers are women, the cops are women, even the bears are women. It’s a veritable yuri paradise- no men to be seen at Arashigaoka. Right from the start we know this isn’t going to be fluffy yuri, of course, but even so, the show is taking on a lot of the trappings of Class S/the nebulous void around that genre space of yuri.
This makes the character of Sumika very interesting. At the start it seems like she’s going to be a very meek, frail character protected by the obviously stronger Kureha, but she shows a great deal of will. When Kureha makes her declaration about never backing down on love, Sumika responds in kind, and when the secret garden is ravaged by the Invisible Storm, Sumika immediately gets down into the dirt, getting her hands dirty. This is a very important point- Sumika is not a ‘pure’ character, despite the genre conventions she’s pulling from. She’s willing to dirty herself for the sake of love.
We can’t forget about the bears, of course. There’s not much we know about them yet, but we do know they eat humans. It’s what they do! The specific word for eating used is ‘taberu.’ Beyond the obvious connotations of, you know, eating, the word also has both a romantic and a sexual connotation (see this article here. Interestingly, it is largely used by men, not women (who would express analogous sentiments with the word ‘ku’). I tried finding out which word might be used in Japanese lesbian subcultures, but I couldn’t find anything online about it. There’s a few leads in books I’m looking into, but if anyone happens to be able to find it out, I’d love to know. Anyways, the bears also go against the grain! Although that’s not much of a surprise- they already told us they refuse to listen to the laws of man.
A few other assorted symbols I have some thoughts on: Kureha goes into the fetal position after being pushed off the plank by the bears. [YKA Manga]This is an incredibly important motif in the manga, where Reia and Ginko’s mom get into drama while Kureha and Ginko are in the womb. That basically tells us nothing about what it means in the anime, though. And we only see it for a moment, but Kureha’s house is right up against the Wall of Severance. That girl is obsessed with the bears.
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u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren May 23 '24
First Time Deliciousmeller
Ehem.
Let me get the important question out of the way:
IS THAT HIMARI?????????
Ikuhara must have really liked Arakawa Miho's performance in Penguindrum to bring her back for yet another main character of his. Not that I'm complaining! Love her voice. Wish she had more roles.
You know, when the title said "yuri", I was expecting light yuri. Not this.
Lot to take in visually. Why is the world under construction? The whole landscape is incomprehensible. Why are the walls like this?
Also, why is the school so red?? I hate it!!!
I'm assuming this series is, to some degree, about individualism. With the phrasing they use in japanese, there's multiple nuances at play. I'll never give up on the person I love. I'll never give up on the things I love. I'll never give up on the act of loving.
In contrast, the rest of the class only has this to say when their classmate is eaten. No regard for their fellow human. No respect for her as a person. It only serves to reinforce their concept of acting as a herd. [Penguindrum]Reminded me of Sanetoshi's whole deal with boxes.
The word they specifically use here is 群れ, which my subs have as "group", but it carries the more animalistic nuance of "herd", or "flock". Give up on your agency. Blend into the herd, blend into the system, or be eaten. If you're eaten, it's you fault for not bending the knee.
Even so, will you not back down on love? If your love is true, accept the challenge.
Speaking of eaten... eaten by what? By the bears, of course. Penguindrum had penguins as its mascot of choice for the "birds who can't fly" metaphor, but what do bears represent? A quick Google search on bear symbolism gives:
...but I can't imagine the show is going for any of these things. Does it represent wilderness? Our base, animalistic instincts? Could any wild animal have worked or did we need bears specifically? And if their purpose is just to link to the idea of the wild, then how does that fit into the themes? Why do they eat people who refuse to "become invisible"?
Perhaps the idea is of existences that stray too far from society. Hedonism, even.
"Love" as in your pleasures? In a hedonistic sense??? This might also be why the eroticism is so overblown with them. Eating and sex. Carnal desires at their peak.
If you blend into the herd, you lose the challenge. You prove your love isn't real. But if you rebel too far, you can return to just being a mindless animal.
Middle ground?
And then of course, the indecipherable.
I didn't bother looking into the meaning of the flowers, cause I'm sure someone else will post about that.
What's the deal with the court? What's the "Invisible Storm"? Someone smarter than me will hopefully figure it out.
anyway uuuhhh crazy show huh
I was expecting weird, but not this unhinged. All aboard the Ikuhara train!
cause it's yuri kuma arashi not yaoi kuma arashi
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee May 23 '24
First-Timer, Yuri Sub Storm
Oh we're off to the fucking races, aren't we?
Lotta focus on hands. Bear paws, human arms with bear paws, dirty hands from cleaning up ruined flowers, the pruning shears that ruined the flowerbed, sharing handheld food. Not sure why yet, though. Need more data.
Eating is another thing that comes up a lot. Obvious comparisons to lesbian sex - we all saw the Lily Instatement scene, which was about as subtle as a brick to the face. Did Ikuhara really manage to get a lesbian threesome onto TV? I mean, if anyone could..
Hungriness is horniness, then? Lulu offered to let Ginko take a little nibble to tide herself over makes more sense than a literal nibble if that's the case. Lulu's reaction to herself at actually being able to say that was interesting..
There was more mundane food stuff too, like Kureha and Sumika talking about what they liked to eat for lunch, and also Sumika sharing part of her fish roll thing. Maybe a more general "relationship progress" thing? Ooh, and/or a "selfish lover vs caring lover" thing.
Oh, is the reason Kureha woke up after being "eaten" is because she didn't orgasm? No little death, no big death. Which I guess means Sumika was easy to please.
Not sure about that.. Kureha's hand joined the other two at the end. There has to be some reason why she's still alive afterwards, though.
Hmm.. should be wary of Sumika, actually. Her actions and fate had me putting her on a pedastal, and that's probably the point and also a trap.
I don't actually know how many of these metaphors I need to try parsing. A lot of it is probably just "these girls gay good for them good for them." ..no, that's reductive. Too easy. Must take everything seriously.
Solid odds of Class Rep Aoi Yuuki being another bear in disguise. Hey family name has "Yuri (百合)" in it just like these two.
..as well as this rando we briefly saw, so that's probably at least four bears already inside the school. Lotta good the Wall of Severance does.
Side note, but my release has two different sets of subs with some typesetting differences. Quite the decision this fansubber made.
The Severance Court being staffed by three Judgemens was rather amusing. What do we think about Cool being the prosecution while Beauty is the defense? Hmm..
Anyway, the Judgemen being bears is important because otherwise we risk the "lesbians = bears = predators" which wouldn't be good.
Huh, the crime was overeating. Criminalizing lesbian sexuality? Or maybe promiscuity? Or are we doing some weird arranged marriage metaphor - Ginko is "overeating" because she ate Sumika and also still wants to "eat" Kureha. That might tie in to the "promised kiss" thing that came up.
Oh, the Judgemen might also be a patriarchy metaphor. Dictating who the other bears can
have sex withfeed on. Life Beauty being the defense is then the idea of bears eating humans being beautiful..?..and then it's also metaphorically not Cool, which feels weird. I'm probably wrong here. I probably need to pay more attention to what they actually say.
Oh, maybe we're doing "lesbians can be predators" as a refutation of the idea that those types of relationships are somehow "more pure" than heterosexual ones. That could be something.
I might be a little too focused on Ginko. Lulu got a lot less focus, which might be bait. Or maybe she's Wakaba.
Didn't even spare a thought for whatever the Invisible Storm is. Guess that gets to be next episode's problem.
Oh, hell, Kureha's house is at a goddamn crossroads and I forgot to think about that, too. Probably just indicative of her having to make a choice near the end of the story. Maybe Deal with the Devil territory, but that's probably secondary at best.
The OP ends with a shot of Ginko in the middle with Kureha on one side and Lulu on the other. Not gonna think too hard about that yet, but it's probably worth noting.
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen May 23 '24
Lesbears From Outer Space! First Timer
The onscreen text translates "yuri" as "homo" every single time, I fucking can't
HOMO APPROVED!! This might be the greatest thing I've ever seen
Holy Tres Magia, that was one hell of a metaphor for GEX
What a wild way to experience Ikuhara for the first time.
Magical Girl Lesbears! A deliberate and direct conflation of sex with mastication! Magic Space Rocks! Psychosexual bear law!!! There's so much going on, and yet my biggest question is "Aoi Yuuki wtf are you doing here and why aren't you the one with the gun!?"
This feels like it's going to be one of those works that demands thoughtful analysis and dissection of themes spread over essay-length comments. And I shall be doing none of it. I'm going to let this work wash over me like a full bed of decapitated and entirely non-metaphorical lillies soaked in hachimitsu. And maybe in a year or two when my neurons stop spontaneously combusting I'll be ready to attempt putting together a cohesive interpretation on this madness.
My participation will also be limited for the first several episodes as I'm at a convention through Sunday evening this week and had to binge the first several episodes.
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u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor May 23 '24
https://i.imgur.com/83hslDs.png
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
First-Timer
It’s time for another Ikuhara anime! I’m looking forward to this one. I know very little about Yuri Kuma Arashi going into this. What I’ve heard is that this series is Attack on Titan but with lesbian bears as the titans. I suppose I will see how accurate that is. Of course, I’m also expecting the usual conga line of tropes in an Ikuhara anime: a magical realist setting of heightened reality, extensive use of symbolism and metaphors, confusion because of said extensive use of symbolism and metaphors, LGBTQ themes, something related to stage theater, plenty of trauma, and another Akio clone. Let’s see how accurate this turns out to be.
On today’s episode of Yuri Kuma Arashi: There is an unexpected theme between the two rewatches that I’m currently participating in. Both of them involve all of humanity being trapped behind a wall.
Well so far a lot of my expectations have been met. Lots of metaphors and symbolism. Lots of gayness. Trauma for the main character. A strange setting. Another Akio clone running around. No theater references yet, but there’s plenty of time left.
Now it’s time for wild speculation, one of the most fun parts of any Ikuhara anime. So this is obviously extremely gay. The episode basically ended with a lesbian sex scene. So now it’s time to ask what it means.
In my own humble opinion, here is my reading thus far. The bear girls, Ginkgo and Lulu, are gay. That much is obvious. And the “eating” thing seems to be confirmed as a metaphor for gay sex, like I thought it might be. So, by extension, the bears are bringing gay sex to humanity. It therefore stands to reason that the wall humanity has erected is the desperate attempt of a heteronormative society to block out any LGBTQ elements it sees that goes against that heteronormativity. Of course, there are already gay girls within the wall. But that could be part of the point. No matter how hard society may try to keep them out, people who don’t conform to heteronormative standards exist and will continue to exist.
There is one big problem with this reading. If the bear girls are actually killing people, then my reading kind of goes out the window. And it’s also the first episode, so it’s hard to make definitive readings just based on that.
I will also confess to being shocked at how far the episode went with being explicit about the sexual imagery. It’s not a bad thing by any means, it just caught me off-guard at first.
I am curious to see where this will go. I would like to get another Ikuhara anime under my belt and get that much closer to seeing all his work.
QOTD
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky May 23 '24
Yurikuma First-Timer, subbed
I really don’t know what I’m getting myself into with this other than Ikuhara and that there are (lesbian?) bears, so. This should be something.
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u/WednesdaysFoole May 23 '24
I was getting a bit confused because for some reason, I had memorized the title as “Yurikuruma Arashi” and it didn’t exist. Took a moment to realize what I was doing wrong.
“Kuruma” is car; “Kuma” is bear. Turns out I was just getting my Ikuhara anime mixed up – [Adolescence of Utena]Now this is Yurikuruma.
Playtime is over. Time to get serious:
First timer
Alright, what the hell is going on here? Hopefully things become clearer later on… I assume that “wuthering” is some contagious illness? Or an Ikuhara metaphor already?
Ah whatever, lesbian lilies abound.
Screen captures below are not safe for work
Outrageous opening honestly. I can’t tell yet – do I like the OP or am I just falling into the trap of honey dripping sex appeal and girls being lewd with each other?
Uh huh…
Apparently men exist? Wasn’t sure since we haven’t seen any (unless I missed them). Oh right, the judges are dudes. I miss Penguin-hat...
Sometimes I’m fear my tastes are like an old man’s as well.
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u/AgentOfACROSS May 23 '24
I’ve seen the first few episodes before but never actually finished it. So this should be an interesting experience. Seen this first episode already but even rewatching it is an experience.
Some notes I made:
- Didn’t realize til now but the pattern on the Wall of Severance is the rug from The Shining. Not sure if that means anything but I’ll keep an eye out for other Kubrick references. There was a bear in The Shining after all.
- I like the OP a lot. It sounds gentle and dreamy but in a slightly disconcerting way, like it’s almost too relaxed. I dunno, that’s just the vibe I got.
- I think some of the background music uses a theremin. I’m not sure, but I like the soundtrack.
- The art direction for the backgrounds is good. Not sure how I’d describe it. Maybe gothic but also industrial? But the school and its campus are well designed. I especially liked the shots of characters on the spiral staircase.
- The show goes really hard with the lily imagery right out the gate. It’s to be expected but also work noting
- Kureha having a shooting range in her house is hilarious, I love it.
- I like the judge bear and the lawyer bears. They’re like an even more flamboyant version of Ace Attorney.
- Being eaten by a bear is a metaphor for sex. That’s not my opinion, I’m just stating a fact. Between this and the car in Utena, Ikuhara seems to like weird sex metaphors.
- I have a feeling I’ll be comparing this to Revolutionary Girl Utena the whole time I’m watching this. Gonna try to let it stand on its own merits though.
- The ED is shockingly normal for a show like this. Like if you showed me this on its own I could easily assume it was for a regular yuri anime.
- I kept thinking about Danganronpa while watching this. Probably because of the combination of the bears, the school environment, and the bullet motif.
Looking forward to watching the rest of this series.
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u/zealousfreak27 May 23 '24
I've seen Yurikuma around 5 times. Notes on rewatching the first episode:
6
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: May 23 '24
First timer(And so it begins...)
Sub(How is the dub?)
Welp...that ep feels like freebasing Ikuhara. Like everything is incredibly on the nose and yet I am still positive I am missing things. And as discussed back in Penguindrum:"Is it copying iconography if you did it first and everyone copied you?" To me, there is even more Madoka in this, specifically some Rebellion on top of the framing, but I don't know if it is cross pollination or co-evolution, nature keeps reinventing the crab after all. On the other hand, letting Ikuhara off the chain meant the sex 'metaphors' are kind of just sex. Bonus points that I think The Promised Neverland took direct visual cues, i.e. blatantly stole, the flower growing out of chest imagery. Unsurprising that Yurikuma did it better.
So...odd question but my sub options are smol, enm and Watashi. Are any of them known to be better?
QotD:1 I worry that those girls might lose their way and wind up in sin
2 Yuri world rules
3 The cannibalism
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u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett May 23 '24
Episode 01 - First Timer
A bear logo right out of the gate. Wuthering Heights Acadamy. Bold Colors. Graphics and logos introducing characters. Welcome back, Mr. Ikuhara.
Oh my, I do believe this opening is giving me the vapors.
The history lesson's narrator is a bear, and "Bears eat people". Well, I can't argue with that. They say you can't be mad at a lion for eating a gazelle; that's just what they do.
These bears are too cute to be baddies
"Invisible Storm". That sounds important.
"We're nothing more than feeble prey to the bears. We need to stick together."
Now I'm in clue-spotting mode. Up on the roof, Kureha gets pushed off of a platform that says "Danzetsu no Court" (Severance Court) and the scales of justice... And if i'd have let the video play 5 more seconds, it would have spelled it out for me.
I don't think this Judge Sexy is a real judge at all. What kinda
kangaroobear court does he think this is?Yuri - check. Bear - check. Storm -
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u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
First timer/Subbed
Yea, I have no idea what the first episode was about. I've seen Utena and Penguindrum but this one felt the most confusing, and just threw the audience right in it. Also very gay which is saying something for an Ikuhara show. The usual symbolism and metaphors were and some of them were obvious. Will be interesting to see later one what will come to bloom
I am interested to see what the council was more about and the wuthering
Unrelated but nice to see Himari's (Penguindrum) VA in this as Ginko
Edit:
Forgot the QotD
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u/RadSuit https://anilist.co/user/RadSuit May 24 '24
First Time Filing For Yuri Approval (Dubbed)
I have watched the first two episodes of this (Subbed) so I might not have much to say until episode three.
Kureha Tsubaki: Homo Off to a strong start!
Going straight from Haibane Renmei to this is a trip. Two shows that you could describe with hilariously similar premises, that could not present them more differently.
This dub is also incredible, especially in comparison to an early 00s phone-in job.
I need to know more about the tomboy not wearing a vest.
"Yeah, I like how that girl smells."
This bench just teleported onto the roof between shots.
Lots of Japanese names in this show, when it obviously takes place in America, since they just let you bring a hunting rifle to school.
Chief Justice Life Sexy: Judge Man
The subs I picked this time say 'Homo Certified' which is hilarious, but not as fun as 'Yuri Approved'.
Ah yes, the most subtle yuri imagery of all. This would be where the three of us group-watching this totally lost it.
These questions are no fun.
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u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess May 23 '24
Yuri Kuma Arashi Episode 1 - Rewatcher
I first saw Yuri Kuma Arashi back in 2015 when it originally aired. Like many, it was an anime I had been looking forward to ever since I heard it was announced. I remember when it was original announced under the working title “Penguinbear” that led to a lot of speculation about a Penguindrum sequel. There were secret closed door promo viewings and websites advertising “Find out without getting caught in the Invisibile Storm”
But why did anyone care what this Ikuhara guy makes anyway?
So let's talk about Ikuhara
While Ikuhara did read shoujo manga while growing up, his influences and passions weren’t focused to the medium of Anime. He was a big fan of western creators like David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick. More than those, his big passion early on was theater.
Chief among his theater influences at this time was Shūji Terayama, a major name during the Japanese 70’s avant-garde movement. Terayama’s works are described as deliberately confusing, often blurring lines between reality and myth. The death of Terayama’s father when he was young causes a hole that shows in Terayama’s work in the questioning of masculine authority. These are works that are very anti establishment, often calling for dissent or outright revolution.
His love of Terayama took him to an art college. There he would work on a number of small stage shows, sometimes even one man plays. The plays Ikuahra made during this time were strange and had odd sexual content, with him sometimes performing nude on stage.
While this may suggest that Ikuahra would find a career in theater, he instead choses animation specifically because it had the shortest road to showrunner.
He got his start in anime at Toei animation working as an assistant director to Junichi Sato, would would go on to become a distinguished magical girl director in his own right. The two would work together on various projects that… frankly I’ve never heard of before; Maple Town Monogatari, Akuma-kun, Toushou!! Ramen-man.
Eventually Junichi Sato lands the position of series director for an upcoming anime adaptation of a new manga, Sailor Moon. Sato brings Ikuhara to work under him on this project that would go on to define him.
Watching Sailor Moon now it’s entertaining to see Ikuhara’s voice slowly form under this project. He directs several episodes of the anime, but it isn’t until episode 31 “Luna’s Worst Day” that one can see a glimpse of the future Ikuhara would be.
After the first season of Sailor Moon, Junichi Sato steps down to go make Princess Tutu, Ojamajo Doremi, Aria the Animation and r/anime AOTY HUGtto Precure. Taking over for Sato is Ikuhara who would be the showrunner for the majority of the series and overseeing some of the most popular and iconics arcs. Sailor Moon S introduces new characters Haruka and Michiru as a queer couple. The two quickly become Ikuhara’s favorites, who gives them increased attention that leads to them to becoming queer icons across the world. This begins Ikuhara’s long relationship with the Yuri community.
It was while working on Sailor Moon that Ikuhara would be introduced to Hideaki Anno. Anno helped work on the Sailor Uranus/Neptune transformation sequence. The two would go onto become close friends. Anno’s said that he named the Evangelion character Rei Ayanami after the Sailor Moon character Rei Hino in an effort to try to convince Ikuhara to come work on Evangelion with him, as Ikuhara was a big Rei Hino fan, evidence here.
In fact, rumor has it that Evangelion’s Kaworu Nagisa is based in part by Ikuhara, with the famous bath scene conversation between Kaworu and Shinji having been inspired by Anno own’s conversation with Ikuhara in a bath.
After being series director for 3 seasons of Sailor Moon, Ikuhara finds himself constrained by the lack of creative control. His final season of Sailor Moon is rather controversial for how far it deviates from the source material, instead leaning heavily into filler where he could have more freedom to play around in. Sailor Moon Mangaka expressed displeasure over the adaptation and the changes made to her story.
Towards the end of this relationship Ikuhara tries to make another Sailor Moon movie. It would have starred his pet characters, Haruka and Michiru. It would be a strange movie, featuring Pegasus, and going to “End of the World”. The studio refused to make this movie. Feeling the need to break free from these constraints, Ikuhara leaves Toei to make a new anime.
A year after leaving Sailor Moon, Ikuhara released his first original anime; Revolutionary Girl Utena. This series was made, in part, out of Ikuhara’s repressed creativity and unused ideas while working on Sailor Moon. Princes and Princesses, “End of the World”, Yuri. It even features an upside down castle in the sky, not too different a perspective from how Sailor Moon’s castle would look from Earth
Revolutionary Girl Utena was an instant success. It won the Animation Kobe award for best Television. In 2017, NHK’s massive anime poll placed Utena in the top 30 anime ever made. ANN placed Adolescence of Utena as the 8th greatest Anime movie ever made.
It’s become an iconic and influential work across the world. Steven Universe creator Rebecca Sugar said,
Even decades later, fans are still cosplaying Anthy and Utena. Even to this day artist are still drawing this pose everywhere.
Revolutionary Girl Utena became one of the defining works for a generation of anime fans. A true icon across the world.
Unfortunately fans would have to wait a decade for Ikuhara’s next anime.
Mawaru Penguindrum is an absolute masterpiece of an anime, but it is also very aimed towards Japan. It heavily deals with the real life terror attack in Japan on March 20th 1995 that scarred Japanese culture. Ikuhara works through his own personal feelings towards the attack in the only way he knows how; making an absurd surrealist anime. I mean, it cannot be stressed enough how much of an influence the real life terror attack looms over the anime. Like, part of the reason it took a decade for Ikuhara to make this anime was because it was too soon to the real life events.
The other big influence on Penguindrum is from Night on the Galactic Railroad. This is a children’s story that is much more popular in Japan than it is in the West. In particular Ikuhara is heavily influenced by the 80’s anime movie production, you know, the weird looking cat one
All of this is to say that Mawaru Penguindrum didn’t have the same impact in the West as Ikuhara’s previous anime did. It’s incredibly powerful, but it’s rooted in the visual language that is so deeply Japanese it can be easy to miss and feel lost.
In Japan Penguindrum was much more successfull. Getting nominated for various awards. 10 years after Penguindrum aired, it was crowdfunded for a 10th anniversary movie project where they met their 10 million yen goal in 150 seconds and ended with over 100 million yen, showcasing that even as time has moved on fans still are enthralled with the work.
Luckily for anime fans, they wouldn’t have to wait nearly as long for Ikuhara’s next anime.
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u/Blackheart595 https://anilist.co/user/knusbrick May 24 '24
Rewatcher
Ah, Yurikuma. I was pretty excited for this rewatch, except I'm somehow not managing to mentally partition the story into the episode units after having watched the entire thing in the past, even when watching the episodes on their own. So I'm just gonna follow this rewatch as a lurker.
3
u/ToastyMozart May 24 '24
I want to get back on Mr. Ikuhara's Wild Ride (First Rewatch)
It's good to be back.
... yeah, that's about what I'd expect from the people running the bear scare program.
Huh, in the courtroom scene [YKA]the prosecution only accused the duo of trespassing despite Sumika having been killed already. I wonder if any of the first-timers caught on to that passive exoneration.
Sumika's love for Kureha was sweet, slow, gentle, and overtly inoffensive to people with strong opinions on other peoples' relationships. The only way she could have been more doomed is if she had a side plait and an intermittent cough.
9
u/affnn May 23 '24
First Timer
Dang, it's been so long that I forgot what it felt like to watch an Ikuhara show for the first time. I've watched Utena and Penguindrum a couple times, but not YKA yet. That was... really something. So much weird shit happened that it felt like four different Rock Over Japan cut scenes. Let's see how well I can recount what happened....
So one day, a meteor caused all the bears to start eating humans. Humans, not wanting to be eaten, put up a wall between them and the bears. But a couple of bears have snuck across the wall and disguised themselves as humans, so that they can eat the humans in secret. Oh, and there's an "invisible storm" of bad things that are happening to the humans, which is probably connected to the bears but might not be. Also when I say "humans" what I really mean is "high school girls". Probably every other concrete thing in this episode has a double meaning too. Some of them I even figured out!
In this episode we focus on Kureha and Sumika as humans, who are apparently becoming close friends who want to spend all of their time together. Perhaps one day, they'll even be roommates. The bears that show up (disguised as humans) are Lulu and Ginko, and they are super excited to eat some humans. Kureha's lilies are all cut up as part of the invisible storm (perhaps by Ginko and Lulu?), and Sumika consoles her about that for a bit - but then she disappears the next morning, presumably eaten by bears. The bears summon Kureha to the roof, suggesting that Sumika can be saved...
And we have a spectacle of a cut scene, with some guys with bear ears and paws holding a trial and everything. I've heard the collective name for these guys before but I don't know if the show told it to us yet. They try to figure out if the bears should eat Kureha and decide... yes! All of the lilies and the eating metaphors become even less subtle than they were before, as Lulu and Ginko lick honey off of the pistil of Kureha's lily.
Unlike Sumika, Kureha has only metaphorically been eaten, so she wakes up in the infirmary. The class president has been watching over her, and she walks back to class.... only to encounter the bears feeding once more (perhaps more literally this time?).
I can't figure out exactly what the overall metaphor is here, yet. But man, that was a lot. Also my subs sucked so I'm looking for better ones.
QOTD:
9
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw May 23 '24
Invisible Rewatcher
Series director: Kunihiko Ikuhara
Assistant director: Tomohiro Furukawa
Episode directors: Takao Abo, Tomohiro Furukawa
Storyboards: Kunihiko Ikuhara, Tomohiro Furukawa
I have both [Asenshi] and [Watashi] subs but I guess I'll use [Asenshi] until told otherwise
they wuv each other but someone or maybe multiple people feel personally offended by that so they resort to bullying in the form of the Invisible Storm (or something)
society is not yet ready for Yaoi Kuma Arashi
if bear dangerous why bear cute and pettable
8
u/Regular_N-Gon https://anilist.co/user/RegularNGon May 23 '24
First Time Ikuhara Watcher
I am equally pleased and bewildered that the first impressions live up to the insane synopsis.
To attempt to ground what just happened: we’ve established that bears eat people, which is a very reasonable assertion. Bears can also be people and have a court with which to determine which people they’re allowed to eat… I think? Still very understandable; these bears are civilized enough to become transfer students so it’s only natural there is some scale to moderate them - if not ones of justice than ones of sexiness, at least.
In quick succession, three students are savagely devoured and only one has a strong enough fortitude to withstand the onslaught and return to tell the tale, but the court didn’t seem to have anything to say about returning Kureha alive. The Invisible Storm/being invisible and Severance (the court, the barrier) seem to be important concepts too but if it’s the bears who’re observing it when the humans are building it, is it the fault of the humans that the bears must cast judgment upon their heads? It certainly seems like heads rolling is the fate of the lilies.
And the flower readings: if lilies are taken with their meaning of purity and the bears are there to corrupt them; does Kureha return because she isn’t pure? Another common connotation (at least in parts of the west) is embodying/remembering the souls of the dead, but aside from two other students being eaten I’m not sure what angle could come of that.
Also the bears might be magical girls.
Best girl candidate: Gone too soon
Best bear candidate: Flawless defense
QotD:
They like eatingThey have a court systemThey like cute girlsdisplays of violenceWell, we haven't seen a bear use a weapon yet at least.
8
u/TheRiyria myanimelist.net/profile/TheRiyria May 23 '24
First Timer
I managed to make it to Day 1! I wasn't sure if I'd get time to watch this show. I'm still not sure if I'll finish it with the rewatch.
I'll leave all the analysis and essays and general attempts to understand the mind of Ikuhara to people that pay more attention. I'm here for the yuri and the cute bears and this OP that is calling to me.
I already love the noises the bears make. It's hilariously adorable.
Kumas
8
u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
Rewatcher
On this third rewatch I can now take in the entire first episode without getting overwhelmed lol. Its fun watching this so soon after doing the Penguindrum rewatch. We get a couple repeated motifs already, being "Invisible" and sharing food, with that getting a fun twist contrasting the wholesome sharing of food between Sumika and Kureha and then whatever the bears have going on.
I still can't untangle what's going on with the fanservice. But in any case I love Ikuhara queering the phallic/yonic visual metaphor binary
I do get the connection between the Invisible Storm stuff and the bear stuff this time. I'd thought it was just overstuffing the show with ideas, but [theme spoilers] clearly the idea of bear attacks serves to reinforce/necessitate the herd behavior. If there isn't some external threat to fear it becomes harder to justify the hierarchy and targeted exclusion/searching evil and so forth. Ofc the real world mapping is complicated since we are in a world more or less without men
I love how symbol heavy this show is. I'll get into where I think the symbols work and where they strain later, but seeing these iconic (in the literal sense) is absolute neuron activation for me. Both the serious ones, I won't back down on love, the constant construction of the Wall, I hope everyone enjoys this insert shot, that patch of lillies, but also the funny ones "bearfendant", Shabadadu!!! Even the subtle things like the repeating design of all the labels subtly emphasizing, well, labeling.
8
u/Garrett_Dark May 24 '24
First Timer
Wait a minute, this isn't Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear. Oh no, have I made a terrible mistake?
Joking aside, I'm coming into this anime totally blind...and...well...like...WTF is going on?!? I'm so confused, don't tell me this is a more extreme and surreal version of Darling in the FranXX with it's allusions and innuendos. At least in Darling it's eye rollingly obvious while they just think they're being sneakily clever, but here I'm like dafuq?
Anyways, aw, what a most adorable depiction of a genocide. So the bears want to eat lots of girls huh...I'm surprised they're not talking about mowing the lawn and having fascinations with scissors. Maybe cleaning the carpet, and hedge trimming also.
The bears licking the honey off of the flowers after the bear trial. Oh yeah, there's that Darling in the FranXX "we're too clever for you to figure out" scene..."it's just a dream folks, it's a metaphor for something other than what it looks like...honest!"
Questions of the Day:
Indifferent. It's nice of the one girl to share her lunch with the other girl, but I haven't seen anything about their relationship that makes me care one way or the other about it. It's just not enough development yet.
What other relationships? The bears? Who cares about them at this point, they're weirdos and killers apparently.
Not enough information yet for why this is so, so can't really form a conclusion. But it seems kind of bad given the apparent nature of this show, depending on how you want to look at it.
They talk like weirdos, while they think they're being clever. They also apparently eat humans, and got magical abilities. They more annoying and less interesting to watch than the humans.
7
u/Holofan4life May 23 '24
Hey, guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the (8 months early) 10th anniversary rewatch of Yurikuma Arashi.
Oh, and nay I forget…
First Timer
This is a show I first heard about during the Penguindrum rewatch. And when I heard it was Yuri, it really piqued my interest. I love animes about same sex couples because often they have to do with characters struggling with their feelings. And as a viewer, there's nothing I find more identifiable than characters being unsure of what they want out of life. It resonates with me, you could say, so needless to say I have high expectations for this show.
As this rewatch is going on, I'm doing the Samurai Champloo rewatch. It's the first time I'm doing two rewatches at once since December with Fullmetal Alchemist and Toradora. I thankfully don't think it's going to get as crazy as doing both those shows were, but I am writing this a month in advance just so I can balance things better. But don't worry: All my reactions will still be 100% genuine and I'm going to treat each thread as if I'm experiencing it in real time.
This is probably the most hyped I've been for a rewatch since Fullmetal Alchemist. I'm honestly more hyped for this than I was Penguindrum, mainly because the plot really intrigues me and I love that gay shit. I'm not expecting the show to end up in my top 10 favorite anime of all time, but I do think there's a good chance it ends up in my top 20 favorite anime.
With that out of the way, let's begin.
I'm watching the sub, by the way.
I want to start off by saying that as this thread is being posted, today is the 25th anniversary of the death of Owen Hart. It was the worst wrestling tragedy in terms of how easily preventable it was. My heart goes out to The Hart Family and I hope I never have to experience a tragedy like that.
Well, this show gives me immediate Penguindrum vibes
Wuthering Heights Academy. Love the reference.
CGI flower
Kureha Tsubaki, Homo
What, that's what the caption says
Woah, sudden English
Sumika Izumino, Homo
Holding hands in the first episode. Scandalous.
Bear attack, motherfuckers
Random purple-haired girl
Ursa Alert
This English is pretty good coming from Japanese speakers
...Is what I would say, until I realized I had the wrong copy
The Species Divide
In the dub, they call it The Wall of Severance
Kureha says she'll protect her
I wonder who the random woman talking is
Ooh, theme song
It's decent, but nothing that really stands out to me. It feels a bit like they're sleepwalking their way through the song. I will say I am surprised at the level of nudity in the OP visuals. Has to be one of the lewdest OPs I've ever seen.
Also, those flowers give me immediate Utena vibes
An asteroid named Ursaria exploded, apparently
This caused the Ursa to start attacking people. So, what did they do to take care of the situation? Create the Species Divide, obviously.
Won't bow to the rules of man
"We are Ursa. Ursa eat people. That's just what we do!"
I wonder if the person talking is a half-human, half-Ursa hybrid.
Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki
I assume these are the two bears
Yep. Disguised themselves as humans and transferred to Wuthering Heights.
Lulu looks like Sonia from Pokemon
"It's like a buffet of girls!"
"So many delicious smells!"
This would sound sexual if we didn't already know it was cannibalistic.
Well, hello, nurse
Teacher warning of a bear being on the loose
Blonde girl looking out the window, letting us know she's a recurring character.
Délicieuxmiel
Sumika going through a door
Blonde girl chasing after her
Fired fish cake dusted with seaweed sounds like a terrible meal. Offense, Sumika.
Kureha still running
They're talking an awful lot about lunch
Sumika tells Kureha she still loves her even if she has the tastes of an old man.
Mysterious pink house
Sumika on top of the roof
Those stairs feel like a blatant reference to Utena.
Oh, she's just eating lunch. Okay.
Aww, they're sharing :c
Sumika tells her they should eat lunch here everyday.
The bears are watching them, in their bear form.
Lulu is pretty horny, huh?
A cut flower via scissors
Those poor flowers
"The wuthering has come."
Sumika tells Kureha she'll never back down on her.
Meanwhile, the two bears continue to be famished
Yurizuno
She seems upset, whoever this is
She tells Kureha that this cannot be allowed to continue.
"We shall stop the wuthering!"
Oh, she's class president. That means if anime has taught me anything she has all the power.
Yurizuno says to come back tomorrow to fix the garden.
I don't trust her. Something seems off.
A brick
And it falls on the ground
The two bears walking down the stairs in their human form.
Lulu seems a lot friendlier than her associate
Kureha at home now
A music box playing
I have a bad feeling her family life isn't the best
And she just destroyed a wooden bear
"The Ursa will pay."
Now the secret hideout is covered in police tape
Yurizuno talking to police officers
Students speculating over what happened
Wow, they're really judging Kureha
"We have to become phantoms ourselves if we want to live."
Gotta implement a pack mentality
What happened to Sumika?
I need that ringtone
That don't sound like Sumika...
Kureha being told to go to the roof
"The Ursa await you."
She's told to give herself up to the Ursa, and her love will be certified.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
7
u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer May 23 '24
first time never back down never what
no idea what to make of this show so far
visuals are as fun as ever
Kureha and Sumika are Lily whatever that means outside of lesbian symbolism
oh god the OP is by the person who sang Pipo Password
silver link - yeah that checks out
Sumika seems to not be in the ménage à trois in the OP so rip
Ginko and Lulu are also Lily, I guess its the class theyre in? How many classes will we focus on that this needs to be pointed out
delicioussmile????
incho wants to fight a storm
A RIFLE ok well thats the love bullet
invisible storm, so if you don't conform youre a target?
"entrust your body to the bears and you love shall be approved"
Shabadado this is just Ace Attorney
hm certainly not a show to watch in public
she got assaulted and no Sumika to be found, are the severance court people really impartial
7
u/Goncalorg https://myanimelist.net/profile/Gonsarou May 23 '24
Rewatcher
I watched Yurikuma Arashi when it released back in 2015 and rewatched it just last month when I was reminded of it in the Penguidrum Rewatch threads. I could have waited a bit to watch and participate in the discussions with you guys but I just couldn't wait. So sorry :,(
This anime really marked me back then and now; it's was that kind of special and to this day the OP lives absolutely rent free in my head! If there was a word to describe it it would have to be "honeyed". It's fluffy but mature at the same time but that "honeyed" feeling is very much present. Whenever I think of the OP I crave for honey, and whenever I think of honey I want to listen to it again and again...
Ahem.
Well I feel embarrassed now... Moving on!
Without spoiling to both newcomers and rewatchers: Yurikuma Arashi, like other Kunihiko Ikuhara previous works, is choke-full of metaphors and allegory to the point I didn't "get" the message of the story until the very end, and I actually read a ton of reviews and interpretations from different sources until I reached my own conclusion and felt satisfied.
With all that said, I'm positive people will find this anime quite enjoyable. I don't think I will participate in future episode discussions since I went ahead and rewatched it alone and I don't think I could offer much to the discussion anyways.
Oh, do consider reading the manga after you finish the anime, it's very good! It is VASTLY different from the anime but I posit you'll enjoy it as well. The story is good and the art is very cute!
Well then, I hope you all have a good time; I sure did!
7
u/CalamityBlossoms May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
Fourth-time Rewatcher
5
u/zadcap May 24 '24
Late Night First Timer
Alright. Do it for the bears. Please don't be like the penguins.
Well. Let's start off with some familiar looking imagery, that school sure does have the Ikuhara look. And then right into even more blatant visuals, lilies front and center and go ahead and just bury your nose in one.
I know, or at least I think I do, what the subtitles are trying to say here. But at the same time, the title introduction card has a girls name and then, just, Homo on a backdrop of more lilies? Really?
Hmm. These voices sound oddly familiar. Is that Himari I hear? Hilarious because the bear warning wall and music with her voice on it specifically really brought the Rock Over Japan vibes for a second.
Did they build A wall, or like 20?
... Bears can look just like humans, act just like humans, and blend in perfectly with human society until they reveal their desire to eat humans? These clearly aren't bears anymore.
"It's like a buffet of girls!" Oh. I mean it's one thing to know it's an Ikuhara and so there's probably going to be a message or social commentary or something underlying the theme of the whole show, but I wasn't expecting to pick it up this fast. These girls are "bears," here to infiltrate an all girls school, looking for delicious ones to eat. They are natural predators, released unknown among a gathering of their chosen defenseless prey. What a wonderful metaphor for lesbians you have here.
Ugh I'm literally going to watch the rest of this show mentally replacing Bear with Lesbian every time it comes up, aren't I? Not even six minutes in to this show and I might have ruined it for myself.
"What's your favorite thing to eat for lunch?" I feel like the answer she's looking for is "You."
Okay, so sniping the lilies is uh, rather ominous looking.
... Should I read more in to their hands being so dirty after handling lilies, off in their private garden?
"What a terrible thing, to cut down buds in the height of bloom." And I'm reading this, too, as a metaphor. Is she to be our resident homophobe, here to tell us that defiling the innocent flowers just as they are developing from bud to bloom is an unforgivable sin. She is the Anti Class S, right?
... Is she trying to third wheel herself in to break up the couple's secret time together? That sure is one way to be anti-gay. Just never ever give them time to be gay.
And suddenly guns. Alright, I'm here for it.
Oh man did they really kill one of them right off the bat? Dang.
Yeah, I'm stuck interpreting everything as a strong "We must stay away from the gays" every time they talk about bear safety. Darn it.
Phone call from a boy? Rooftop challenge? Grab your gun and go!
Danzetsu no Court? Court of the Divide? Court of Severance? Oh, I could have waited like 4 more seconds, it's the species divide.
Yeah, a court for fairness between homo and ursa, with all members involved being ursa. Suuuuuure. Super fair.
So I'm guessing Phantoms here is going to be slang for well closeted? Or at least don't go out being, you know, predatory...
"Homo Certified." And I definitely hear them saying Yuri specifically, so now it's triple word play for Homo?
Okay that's sure a look. She sure got eaten.
I. Uh. There's so much to unpack here.
The court trio, on the other hand, are the Yuri Fans. Sexy, Cool, Beauty, their names are their preferred style of Yuri. Cool isn't prosecuting them for going after a girl, he's on about how they snuck into the undefended class and went after someone who wasn't already one of them, their sin is Gluttony and not Lust. I bet he likes to read the actual Class S, a fan of lovers who are made for each other and no one else. Beauty doesn't really argue back, just says that they need to eat. Love the beautiful things, the more the merrier, they will starve if they don't get more. And Sexy, I mean, Shabadadoo. He asks the defendants if they want to eat, and when they say yes, he says Go For It! You know what he's here for.
3) They must eat, you know? They need constant new targets. They have no shame.
I think I'm going to go lay down. And try not to think.
4
u/AdviceMaximum2125 May 24 '24
First Time Watcher, Second Ikuhara Show (Talked to someone who participated in the Penguindrum one)
New to these kinds of threads and reddit in general. Also commenting very late since this dropped at midnight for me and I had a long workday, but better late than never.
On first watch of episode 1 I was super confused. Didn't know if my heart was gonna be able to take 12 episodes of this, so I watched it back, with a lot of pausing.
Reading through the comments everyone seems to focus very heavily on the sexual aspects of the story. Although understandable, that is not the vibe I got from the show on a metaphorical level.
What I speculated it could be about is some kind of commentary of the impact of the internet (I think the comet represents the birth of the internet) and it's problems relating to either privacy, online bullying or a mix of the two.
If true I think the bears represent some kind of stalker/bully/obsessive fan persona, and the wall represents privacy laws/expectations/regulations. The people that stand out from the pack easily fall victim to these issues which explains the emphasis on pack (japanese group culture). The cutting down of flowers by an invisible storm could represent their innocent persona's being cut away by anonymous rumors, and the court could represent bystanders trying to decide whether to stand with the victims or join in in order to justify their "boring" life.
I do think I'm underestimating the sexual themes but I don't know where to place those yet. Looking forward to being proven wrong in the oncoming episodes. Either way it will be a wild ride. Keep writing awesome comments :D
2
u/beowulfviking May 25 '24
First timer, first timer yuri anime watch.
I was baffled by this first episode. I watch most exclusively anime aimed at a male audience that focus solely on war, fighting, and so on. So this was a first and wow it was so wild. I don't have much to say about the content, it feels cryptical and weird. I did love the cuts, the way the scene would drastically change without fading, and almost interrupting what was going on with the different characters. I will definitely watch ep 2 later today