What it was all about.

Mar 30, 2015 7:55 PM

Offline

Oct 2012

6648

As my last post on MAL, I want to end with a bang, so I am going to explain this show.

The main theme about this show was love. In other words it is about "the self" being able to accept "the other". This

This conflict takes place on three levels, the animation has all three.
1) the societal level (race, creed, nation, religion, any group vs group, in this show it is humans vs. bears);
2) the intra-social level (majority vs minority, conservative vs liberal, hetero vs homo, in this show it is represented by the invisible storm);
3) and the individual level (any individual falling in love with another person, in this show Kureha vs Ginko).

Exclusion represents the physical manifestation of the division between the "self" and the "other". Bears were excluded from humans, the girls at the school excluded those who "stood out", and ultimately the court excluded Ginko from Kureha, though this should not be taken the wrong way because ultimately Kureha caused the exclusion.

It should be noted that exclusion can only be breached on the individual level. On an individual self can love the other, only the collection of selves at the social level can accept those excluded on the intra social or societal level.

Here I want to focus on the individual level. Kureha loved Ginko, she recognized that as long as Ginko was recognized as "the other" there would be problems. Her solution was to convert Ginko from the other into the self.

To address this on the three levels in reverse order:
3) on the individual level, the self (any individual) wants the other to be like the self
2) on the intra social level, this would be the demand for the minority to assimilate to the majority.
1) on the societal level, this would be for one group to demand that the other group be "just like them".

In all three levels this is the "self" demanding that the "other" change in order to be accepted.

The means of breaching exclusion can only be found in love. Love is the state when you accept the other as the self. If the "self" loves the "other", then the self should be willing to lose the self to the other. If the individual self can love the other, then the intra society can love the other, if the intra society loves the other, then an entire society can love the other.

Kureha was given a choice, would she love Ginko or would she change Ginko. This decision occurs on all three levels. Again in reverse order:
3) on the individual level, can Kureha accept Ginko as she is.
2) on the intra social level, can Kureha accept Ginko despite the hostility of her peers.
1) on the societal level, can Kureha abandon her tribal allegiance (race, gender, etc.) for the other.

Kureha's crime was that she decided to change Ginko to accepting Ginko. This shows that Kureha valued the self over the other. The court realizing this punished her accordingly. The removed the desire she had for he other to change to the self to help her realize that she had to accept the other in order to find love.

Kureha's redemption was she realized that the societal, intra-social, and individual exclusion were artificial. In willing to "kill" the self (as symbolized by her willingness to shoot herself in the mirror), Kureha was able to accept the other. This, on whatever level, is the essence of love.

The supposed "killing" of Kureha and Ginko was nothing of the sort. Basically when a single individual moves, the other individual who form the intra and also the societal deny that such an event can occur. If the remaining girls of the High School acknowledged that Kureha was willing to abandon the group for her love, then the meaning of the group has no meaning. Since they still value the self above the other, they cannot accept that such a decision was made. So for them, Kureha had to die, otherwise their understanding of reality would be challenged.

But while the "herd" denies that the self has embraced the other, companions to the self (in the intra social and societal level) recognize that some self has accepted the other. In this story the one girl understood this, and accepted the propaganda of the "self" against the "other" and instead decided to embrace the other. Far from "dying" or "disappearing", Kureha and Ginko's example inspired others to see beyond there own narrow definitions and to accept a broader classification.

This is the beauty of the one human girl who, listening to the intra social leaders pretend that nothing had changed, respects what Kureha and Ginko accomplished, and decides not to exclude even the most pathetic other and in doing so moves the self forward.

That is what this show was about. Overall I think this was more satisfying than Penguindrum. For me Penguin sort of was a cop-out, but Yurikuma expanded the ending to encompass all of humanity.

Mar 30, 2015 8:18 PM

Kenchiin

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Aug 2011

1817

The message was nice, the narrative not so much. I think it was really boring.

» Escapism.

Mar 31, 2015 8:40 AM

Lemon

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Feb 2014

3237

That was a very clear analysis and very nice to read! :3

I'd also like to add as a Chinese person, the cultural significance of Ikuhara's critique of the Confucian cultural hegemony in East Asian. Japan is a very socially conservative country and I don't know if viewers in the West will fully appreciate the importance of conformity in this kind of society. The Wiki article on the differences between a shame-controlled society (most East Asian countries) and a guilt-controlled society (the West) is a good starting point, these subtleties can be hard to appreciate if you've not being brought up in the specific environment so I would recommend this for anyone who wants to better understand the context behind Ikuhara's points.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shame_society
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_society

Because while social conformity seen as a good thing in the West and people do understand it, it is no where near as important and pivotal to the functioning of the whole society like it is in Japan. I mean, language in East Asian countries evolved to cater for varying levels of politeness and you are expected to understand social standings from a very young age; to know your place in society and act accordingly. I was raised in the traditional Chinese way but since I live in the West, I can see where the disjoints lie but I can also see how it would be easy to forget about it when thinking about work that's not produced by people who share the same cultural background.

So I think anyone who's thinking over and mentally digesting the themes in show needs to not forget to take context into account.

Mar 31, 2015 9:20 PM

Py687

Offline

Jul 2009

134

I agree with everyone above, haha. Takuan-Soho's analysis is well done, and CoffeeSquid's reminder on perspective is a good addition. Yet the show did leave something to be desired, and the presentation of its story wasn't exactly exciting in my yuriphilic eyes.

I very much appreciated the appropriateness of the show's vocabulary. Conforming to the majority is exactly like being Invisible. The Promise Kiss I liken to kissing the bride; when you marry, you love and prioritize your partner above all else. Lady Kumaria is an obvious pun on kuma (bear) and Maria (the Virgin Mary).

Unfortunately, I'm a little stuck on making sense of the judges...

All things considered, I still must admit I find Penguindrum a better watch than Yurikuma. The latter had too much symbolism and implicities, and the ending was at once too happy yet not happy enough. To boot, the premise of Yurikuma was quirky and the narrative incomplete.

Mar 31, 2015 11:14 PM

ichii_1

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Sep 2013

22818

Lesbians.

Apr 1, 2015 2:13 AM

Gensan

Offline

Jul 2014

2431

ichii_1 said:
Lesbians.

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

Apr 1, 2015 4:12 AM

Xenocrisi

Offline

Jan 2015

15112

Takiya_Oomine said:

ichii_1 said:
Lesbians.

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

Your post is terrible. HATERS BACK OFF

Apr 1, 2015 11:11 AM

teaknight

Offline

Oct 2009

229

CoffeeSquid said:
That was a very clear analysis and very nice to read! :3

I'd also like to add as a Chinese person, the cultural significance of Ikuhara's critique of the Confucian cultural hegemony in East Asian. Japan is a very socially conservative country and I don't know if viewers in the West will fully appreciate the importance of conformity in this kind of society. The Wiki article on the differences between a shame-controlled society (most East Asian countries) and a guilt-controlled society (the West) is a good starting point, these subtleties can be hard to appreciate if you've not being brought up in the specific environment so I would recommend this for anyone who wants to better understand the context behind Ikuhara's points.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shame_society
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guilt_society

Because while social conformity seen as a good thing in the West and people do understand it, it is no where near as important and pivotal to the functioning of the whole society like it is in Japan. I mean, language in East Asian countries evolved to cater for varying levels of politeness and you are expected to understand social standings from a very young age; to know your place in society and act accordingly. I was raised in the traditional Chinese way but since I live in the West, I can see where the disjoints lie but I can also see how it would be easy to forget about it when thinking about work that's not produced by people who share the same cultural background.

So I think anyone who's thinking over and mentally digesting the themes in show needs to not forget to take context into account.

CoffeeSquid, thank you very much for the info :)

Apr 1, 2015 1:05 PM

Ahenshihael

Offline

Jul 2007

23708

Or on other hand just read ANN reviews of this show that clearly lay out the problems it explores and the societal problems with homophobia that Japan has.

Apr 2, 2015 4:50 PM

#10

amare135

Offline

Dec 2010

304

Takiya_Oomine said:

ichii_1 said:
Lesbians.

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

Worst taste I've ever seen

Apr 2, 2015 9:23 PM

#11

moodie

Offline

Apr 2014

4400

Takiya_Oomine said:

ichii_1 said:
Lesbians.

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

u literally dont know how Ikuhara directs

its funny how u have madoka as ur fav when Ikuhara basically inspired shinbou

Apr 4, 2015 5:54 PM

#12

SeibaaHomu

Offline

Mar 2012

5238

Takiya_Oomine said:

ichii_1 said:
Lesbians.

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

Yeah, it's not like I had it set at 10/10 ever since episode 3.

Oh wait, I did.

Apr 5, 2015 12:03 PM

#13

Stellio

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Feb 2012

311

Well said, OP.

Apr 5, 2015 8:21 PM

#14

The_Maw

Offline

Apr 2015

I've been looking for fan theories, but OP's post is interesting because even though it explains the plot's structural dynamics it still allows for contextual interpretation. I'm going to flesh this out more into an equally detailed post. Even if it isn't cannon it'll still be fun to do.

https://twitter.com/TheWhaler_/status/584578589254909952

Apr 5, 2015 11:24 PM

#15

Gensan

Offline

Jul 2014

2431

Moodie said:

Takiya_Oomine said:

+100

just a plain boring anime. MALs over-reacts to the last episode and ignore the other 11 terrible episodes.

u literally dont know how Ikuhara directs

its funny how u have madoka as ur fav when Ikuhara basically inspired shinbou

hmm well yeah i dont really know how Ikuhara directs, actually i dont even know who Ikuhara is(also i dont even know what's that "shinbou" that been inspired by Ikuhara is ). it's not even a year since i start watching anime so........ whose directs what anime is not a big deal for me. if it cant get me from the start ( 1/3 of total episodes) it's hardly get high rating from me.

Apr 6, 2015 3:55 AM

#16

Xenocrisi

Offline

Jan 2015

15112

-Gensan- said:
Hhmm well yeah i dont really know how Ikuhara directs. it's not even a year since i start watching anime so...

Okay, so stop talking.

Apr 6, 2015 4:02 AM

#17

Gensan

Offline

Jul 2014

2431

Xenocrisi said:

-Gensan- said:
Hhmm well yeah i dont really know how Ikuhara directs. it's not even a year since i start watching anime so...

Okay, so stop talking.

will i get fined for continue?..........

Apr 7, 2015 3:25 PM

#18

Py687

Offline

Jul 2009

134

The_Maw said:
https://twitter.com/TheWhaler_/status/584578589254909952

Eh, the premise feels too extravagant and convoluted to be about something as simple as gender conflict. I mean, what would girls wearing bear outfits represent then? Overcoming the problems in a male-female relationships?

Apr 11, 2015 10:48 AM

#19

Saffron_entity

Offline

Aug 2013

142

Py687 said:

The_Maw said:
https://twitter.com/TheWhaler_/status/584578589254909952

Yea, there is a lot in this anime. I think the reason this anime is so incredibly obtuse is because it is supposed to let (or rather force) you to come up with your own interpretation of what you see and understand. Of course, everybody has the same general understanding, but everybody has greatly different understandings and (more minor) interpretations on the story.
It's like classic music. All professional classic musicians can play Pachelbel's canon in D. But everybody has different interpretations on it despite reading the same music. Some people try to try to find Pachelbel's emotions in the piece, while others try to find their own or other emotions in the piece. Similar situation with this anime. The biggest difference is that YKA is almost entirely purposefully ambiguous and allegorical while most classic music isn't. And it being a different art form.

I greatly enjoy this stuff.

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Seven-Coloured Puppeteer.

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What it was all about.

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