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yuri kuma arashi review

Yuri Kuma Arashi

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Alternate Titles: Yuri Kuma, Love Bullet Yuri Kuma

Review by Chiaki

Embark on a bizarre, seemingly nonsensical visual journey and come out on the other side with a depth of commentary rooted in symbolism.

Here’s the problem with symbolism: everyone can see something different, or nothing at all. It’s that frustrating debate that happens around art that I’m reminded of the age old “if a tree falls.” If the audience doesn’t understand the symbolism, does that make it not real? If the audience sees symbolism that the creator didn’t intend does that make it superficial?

There’s no one answer to these questions. Personally, I think that the truth lies somewhere between the artist’s interpretation and the audience’s reception. I think that the artist can make thoughtful decisions and that has as much merit as what people see in it.

So, let’s start there. Yuri Kuma is directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara who was also behind Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum. Looking at his body of work, he’s a creator who has something to say about love, sexuality, and the world society constructs for those things along with how that world intersects with the individual’s world.

That alone is kind of bold, when you think about it. A Japanese man talking about sexuality and the system in a very frank and real way. Yuri Kuma fits in snugly with this body of work, contributing its own perspective – unsurprisingly given the title – focusing on lesbians.

The story is part fantasy, part fairy tale, part insanity, in equal measure. It takes place in a world where “bears” and “humans” are at odds and they are separated by the “wall of severance.” Sworn enemies, they fight whenever they come into contact with each other.  Our heroine, Kureha, lost her mother to a bear attack. However, as bears cross the wall an infiltrate her all-girls school she ends up learning deeper truths about her past and the society.

The thing I think most anime viewers will struggle with when it comes to Yuri Kuma is the same thing that I think the same barrier almost all of Ikuharas’s work has. Where many anime thrive on plot, or characters, Yuri Kuma thrives on ideas, messages, and metaphor. The story and its players are vessels for the message Ikuhara wants to give, so approaching Yuri Kuma from a “plot” perspective is almost a disservice to Ikuhara’s work.

The central conflict evolves from believing in love despite the pressures to be invisible and conform in society. At the start of the series we’re presented with the following:

“Can’t Follow Societal Cues = Evil = Bear”

And then the classroom continues their discussion on how people who don’t follow societies rules are caught up in the “invisible storm” that we later find out is quite literally everyone else. The Invisible Storm serves two functions as presented in the anime. The first is to force people to be invisible once more through force. The second is to strengthen the community:

“The ritual of banding together to exclude someone makes the invisible connection called “us” feel real to them.”

The classroom takes place in the “human world” so I initially interpreted this to be “straight” and the bears to be “lesbians” but I don’t think this is quite what Ikuhara was intending. The reason why I changed this is because of the lone 3 male characters presented in the anime. There is a “bear court” that operates on behalf of the wall of severance and the “goddess” that oversees this world. They have the names of “sexy” “cool” and “beauty.” Throughout the anime they call characters into question and ask them “if their love is real.”

There are two things I see this court representing. The first is the male gaze. They’re passing judgment on the characters and offer commentary on how something that is “sexy” is approved – much like how men view homosexual women in society.

The other thing I think this court represents that changed my opinion of what the bears represented is specifically the media. By being a part of the wall of severance they’re keeping the bears and the humans apart and judging their interactions. Looking at it from this perspective, I begin to think that they represent the male gaze as told through the media on the perspective of lesbians and how they’re portrayed: that lesbians are either aggressive and sexual (bears) or almost completely devoid of passionate interaction and are “innocent” (humans).

“Only one thing is certain — Desire. Love is a savage emotion. To love someone is to rule them. To want to become one with them so badly that you consume them.”

Operating under this, the ending becomes clearer as it is two people who break this mold and define their love. Through this lens we can see that the “story” (and story meaning Ikuhara conveying his message) has a complete flow and reaches a satisfying conclusion.

All of this being said, you have to be in the mood for an Ikuhara show. And many people aren’t and don’t want to look into these things, or won’t see them. Personally (the final official score is an aggregation of my score and Kazuo’s) I give this anime 4.5/5

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cute high earth defense club love review copy

Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!

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Alternate Titles: Binan Kōkō Chikyū Bōei-bu Love!

This show was made for Sailor Moon fans.

Wait, what did I just say?

No seriously, it was… And I’m going to prove it to you.

The show starts off with a magical pink wombat falling from space and telling five pretty boys that they are going to be magical warriors for love. As they’re learning what this means an anti-love monster appears, a monster that you quickly learn was created by an equally ridiculously clad opposing group.

The five boys then go through magical transformation sequences, that’ll have you laughing instantly as they kiss their magic bracelets and proudly proclaim “love making!” to become the Earth Defense Club. Ensue spinning, rainbows, hearts, and a magical transformation sequence that’s actually better than the recent Sailor Moon reboot. Within the first few episodes those who have a special place in their heart for the nostalgia of magical girls will be squealing and roaring with laughter.

That’s because Cute High Earth Defense Club Love knows exactly the type of show it is and at the same time has some great things to say about the genre. What “The Daily Show” is to news programming “Cute High Earth Defense Club Love” is to the magical girl genre. It takes everything you’re familiar with and turns it on its head. It embraces the ridiculous and makes a point to laugh at almost every trope.

Even the characters make it a point to frequently break the fourth wall and give a wink at the audience in the first four to six episodes. They comment on how silly their costumes are, how ridiculous their moves are, and how things just work because “hey we’re magical now, we guess.”

The episodes themselves follow a familiar format. The characters you know and love are met with an internal problem, a random monster appears spawned by another person with a problem whose heart is closed to love, the boys transform, say their lines, use their magical powers, and then save the day. The “bad guys” lament on how they were foiled yet again – those dastardly Defense Club boys! – and live onto the next episode.

When I watched the first episode of this show I was loosing my shit, for lack of a better term, right off the bat. This show feels like a bunch of guys – or girls? – got together, had a couple drinks and said, “woah, woah, what if-WHAT IF-we made a show with MAGICAL BOYS?!” and you get to feel like you’re at that table with them imagining all the crazy hyjinks that you could come up with for such a concept.

The characters are appropriately tropes, rather than “characters.” There’s basically no backstory to speak of and no development. But it makes the “pick up and go” aspect of the story much easier as a result. You have Yumoto the really eager rape cuddler (that got a little creepy). There’s En, the “cool guy” type. Atsushi, the “glasses wearing” type. Io, the smart entrepreneur who’s always focused on the bottom line. And finally Ryuu, the cheerful sporty bishonen.

Equally their opponents are bishonen.

In fact, there’s a complete lack of girls in this whole show. The ONE beach episode that there was ended up being shades of boys love as the characters ended up at a possibly gay muscle beach. For a show that feels like it was made by women, for women, it’s worth noting that the director was a man! The director, Shinji Takamatsu, has directed everything from Gintama, to School Rumble, to the 1996 After War Gundam X. The chief character designer and animator was a woman, but that’s the most notable female on the staff.

The problem with Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is the fact that it’s an idea that you get about five episodes in and then nothing changes. It’s the same thing magical girl/monster of the week shows suffer from, formula issues. That repetition clearly works for some, but it can begin to feel dragging and LOVE! is no exception.

After the novelty of the concept wears off and you see the boys in a few various settings, from being turned into kids, to the beach episode, to the obligatory “the club could be disbanded” episode, you know how everything’s going to play out and that shiny glossy charm of “OMG IT’S MAGICAL BOYS” wears off.

For me, this came around episode 7, which, when I consider that, is actually pretty good. So, I give it some credit. The show sets a course, tells you what you’re in for, and then continues the course until the last episode and a half when they wrap it up with a fun little twist that’s appropriately dumb.

And, I think that’s a fair way to wrap up the review: “Appropriately Dumb.”

This show has its laugh, it’s fun moments, and it’s completely transparent with the viewer. I give it novelty and amusement points, but deduct the usual points for all lack of substance. It’s not stunning looking and the music is average and show-appropriate. But, it was far more amusing in what it was doing than just a random romp we’ve seen 100 times. It was a random romp we’ve seen 100 times done in a completely new way.

As I said, it’s the perfect show for Sailor Moon fans because it’ll evoke nostalgia for Sailor Moon in a crazy fun and novel way that makes you admit to how ridiculous all the magical girl series really are. This is the perfect show for guys and girls, for different reasons, and I think it’s a great “party” anime. When you have a bunch of friends over and you can watch an episode, laugh at how ridiculous it is, have fun, but then play cards against humanity as it plays in the background. It feels like something I would’ve watched in college.

It’s an easy 3.5 magical boy transformation sequences. Nothing amazing, but above average for the amusement factor. This is a show I recommend at least the first episode of for the sheer ridiculousness of it. If you like that, you’ll like the rest.

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