Is Yuri Kuma Arashi underrated?

Mar 30, 2015 8:43 AM

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Mar 2015

MrsKujo said:
This series is very underrated in my personal opinion, but it really isn't everyone's thing. If you're not the type who appreciates symbolism and prefers taking your anime at face value, then you'll hate this.

I really and truly love this series, though. The art, characters, setting, and plot are all wonderful. It's going to be an easy 9 when it ends but I know I'll be in the minority saying that.

But, admittedly part of my bias is that I'm a lesbian who's tired of class S "yuri" in every all-female show I watch, where they may as well be together but they'll never be anything more than just friends. That's a subject this show tackles, girls being extremely close friends in Japan to the point of romantic love but eventually falling away from each other due to expectations placed upon their shoulders of marriage and a "normal" life with a man. This is one of the few shows I've watched that does yuri well while managing to touch on serious, real-life topics at the same time, the other being Aoi Hana. Ikuhara had his hand in Aoi Hana as well, so I'm gonna say he's a master at his yuri craft.

But yeah, I really enjoy that I feel like a natural part of the target audience, like I'm supposed to be watching this, and I sadly don't feel that way about a lot of anime with GL. I watch it and think, 'These shows aren't for me, are they? They're for male otaku' but I keep watching because if I stopped for that reason, I'd only have a handful of shows left to watch.

And hey, bonus points for a lesbian who's past the age of 17 in an anime! Gonna miss you, Yuriika. You deserved better.

Sounds like you should read the YKA manga (which has little relation to the show), or better yet pretty much any of Akiko Morishima's other works. As a self-described "woman who loves women" she's well known for writing mature stories about adult women dealing with adult conflicts and concerns. In fact, she admits with YKA she has to keep reminding herself Yuriika isn't the main character because that's the one she wants to spend the most time writing: http://softkakumei.tumblr.com/post/108899102728/im-skimming-through-the-starting-guide-the

As far as if the show is overrated/underrated, I will agree this is Ikuhara's weakest work other than Adolescence of Utena (which is a train wreck; a beautiful, glorious train wreck.) Considering the plot synopsis I was expecting this to be him at his most unhinged, when the most surprising element has been how conservative it has been. Seems like he is retreading a lot of old ground I felt was pretty firmly covered in the Utena TV series and the new elements are not exactly provocative thinking for a generally LBGT friendly Western viewer fan base (and I'm sure his Japanese fan base likely is LBGT friendly too, but can't speak to how much it challenges their perceptions.) We won't know until the last episode airs how vague the ending will be, but it seems like they've left very little that is completely up to viewer interpretation compared to Utena and Penguindrum.

That said, I've enjoyed myself watching every episode so far, have been excited to see the next episode, and have spent hours trying to decode and predict what was going to happen (usually I was overthinking it). It's an entertaining series, and I think it has a good message if not as deep or complicated as his other works. Won't give a number rating until I see the finale.

Mar 30, 2015 8:47 AM

#52

Kyon90

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Dec 2008

The best is Penguindrum. IMHO.

Mar 30, 2015 9:21 AM

#53

Grungehamster

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Mar 2015

Kyon90 said:
The best is Penguindrum. IMHO.

Really? I find Penguindrum sort of went off the rails at the end and the conclusion left some big things unanswered that ultimately left a sour taste in my mouth (mostly what the deal was with the boxes and how the hat/rabbit dynamic wasn't completely fixed. Oh: and Mario being a pointless character.)

Utena has some major issues (Swords of Hate, what exactly happened after the final duel) but it felt easier to come up with a coherent interpretation that was satisfying (if still bittersweet.)

Mar 31, 2015 12:21 AM

#54

antonnn

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Apr 2010

1200

Penguindrum easily the best IMO. This was good, massively underrated. For me, underrated anime of the winter season.

Apr 1, 2015 8:24 AM

#55

Xenocrisi

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Jan 2015

15104

antonnn said:
Penguindrum easily the best IMO. This was good, massively underrated. For me, underrated anime of the winter season.

Maybe for you was better Penguindrum but you can't say that this isn't a beautiful anime. I think were better 24 episodes...but okay.

Apr 16, 2015 1:44 PM

#56

moaru

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Jan 2013

648

DrCoppelius said:
I've been an Ikuhara fan since my early days of anime fandom, but Yuri Kuma Arashi is simply not that good. I like it, but I think that mostly has to do with loving Ikuhara's distinctive style and not with the show itself being great. Not a trainwreck, but it's not up to par. Not underrated at all.

Well put.

Apr 19, 2015 2:40 AM

#57

w7n

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Apr 2014

So how to put it?
The show is underrated by a specific part of audience(those who think it's bullcrap at first glance and drop it), and overrated by another specific part(those who think that massive insertion of symbols = masterpiece, and don't properly analyse the symbols).

All hail Great Firewall of China.

Apr 19, 2015 3:40 AM

#58

Lollo36

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Nov 2013

9208

w7n said:
So how to put it?
The show is underrated by a specific part of audience(those who think it's bullcrap at first glance and drop it), and overrated by another specific part(those who think that massive insertion of symbols = masterpiece, and don't properly analyse the symbols).

I'm pretty sure that there are many people who properly analyze the symbols and believe that Yurikuma is a masterpiece.

May 5, 2015 12:33 PM

#59

Xenocrisi

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Jan 2015

15104

Overall, this show needs more love

May 6, 2015 1:27 AM

#60

Beryllus

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Oct 2012

I did hear this anime was polarizing before starting it. Must say I enjoyed my time watching it.
Leaves me with the desire to give Penguindrum another try.

May 7, 2015 12:48 AM

#61

lmaonade200

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Oct 2014

The average score for all shows on MAL is around a 7.6 I believe, to say that this show is not underrated is to say that it is below average compared all anime listed. Do people really believe this? I get that you may or may not score on a different scale (as many people on this site use a 4 point or something close to it), but when you consider the aggregate do you really believe this is a below average show? I can agree that this isn't ikuhara's best work, I can agree that this show has glaring flaws, but this show does not deserve a below average rating considering all the shit that's at or near average...

May 7, 2015 10:51 AM

#62

antonnn

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Apr 2010

1200

Beryllus said:
I did hear this anime was polarizing before starting it. Must say I enjoyed my time watching it.
Leaves me with the desire to give Penguindrum another try.

Do it, Penguindrum is much better. How far in did you get? It gets more juicy after episode 8. The latter stages are bonkers.

May 11, 2015 8:19 AM

#63

RPG2000

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Feb 2015

144

Beryllus said:
I did hear this anime was polarizing before starting it. Must say I enjoyed my time watching it.
Leaves me with the desire to give Penguindrum another try.

I did enjoyed Mawaru a lot more. Don’t get me wrong this show was fine, but the whole story and characters didn’t grab me the way Mawaru did.

As far as if this is underrated or not, I don’t know. Perhaps it could use some more love. But hey! it is what it is, plus it doesn't matter either way (if this series was ranked higher, then I'm sure people will be calling it overrated instead). Though, I gotta say that people watching a series only based on their scores and rank is just ridiculous. High or not, well receive or not, popular or not..... you should always give a series a change, especially if you are somewhat interest it and/or are fan of its genres.

May 11, 2015 8:28 AM

#64

busan

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Feb 2013

3631

Not really...? It gets very ridiculous and cringey most of the time. And so repetitive it makes me dizzy. But it's fine if you just want to spend time with something I guess.

May 12, 2015 1:13 AM

#65

Mayuka

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Jul 2012

48251

Here guys, have a cake to make your salty tears go away

underneath the stars

May 12, 2015 6:50 AM

#66

Xenocrisi

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Jan 2015

15104

Oh god...i need it

Nov 23, 2017 10:08 PM

#67

-HippySnob-

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Apr 2017

2476

Is this the one they mentioned.. Penguinbear by Ikuhara

"Think about that glowing dust
That destroys the night sky's dream of
Just being nothing"--

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