If Penguins left you dissatisfied, Bears aren't a good investment. It gets better than the first episode, but it doesn't reach amazing heights. This isn't an anime for the ages. It had some fun bits, I don't mind having watched it and it's not a very long series. So there's that?

YKA is more about certain themes then about the characters which is why everyone is simplified to a few traits. And for its short run it still felt very repetitive to me and full of not-quite-filler-to-close moments, especially in the beginning.

On the other hand it does get better as it progresses and the ending is satisfactory.

As it's already been mentioned it is a short series so you have nothing (much) to lose by giving it a go and then joining us in discussing it. I would love your insight on 'em lesbian bears.

I can see why people hate YKA and I think it's the weakest of Ikuhara's series, but I enjoyed it anyway. It was well calculated series that would've benefitted from few episodes more to give characters more backbone than just a couple of traits, but it told its story well and the finale was once again beautiful. Like mentioned, it's more about themes and social commentary and yuri as a genre than plot and amazing characters. You can get a lot more out of it if you're familiar with tropes of yuri, classic horror movies (those backgrounds) and Japanese literature, but it's an experience anyway.

Satyr, very interesting to hear your response! Penguindrum rang all the right notes for me, which Yuri Kuma didn't quite do, and it seems like a common response - either Penguindrum or Yuri Kuma works for you, but rarely both. Curious as to why this is, though - any speculations from anyone?

mistspinner wrote:

Satyr, very interesting to hear your response! Penguindrum rang all the right notes for me, which Yuri Kuma didn't quite do, and it seems like a common response - either Penguindrum or Yuri Kuma works for you, but rarely both. Curious as to why this is, though - any speculations from anyone?

If I had to choose I'd pick Penguindrum because I found some characters to be either intringuing (Sanetonish being so much like Mikage had something to do with this) and/or likable (Shouma, hands down) and I actually laughed at the humor which hardly ever happens. The setting also helped as I am familiar with Ikebukuro and have a soft spot for the town.

As for YKA, I did not care for anyone. I was able to enjoy the story for what it was but it left no great impression on me.

satyreyes wrote:

And while the main characters don't stand out as being super-well-developed by SKU standards, they are actually very well developed by the standards of twelve-episode shows.  Thematically it reminds me of Haibane Renmei and Dennou Coil, but also of Utena and Penguindrum, both of which share, among other things, Yurikuma's interest in being chosen vs. not being chosen.

I suppose due to its length Yurikuma put more emphasis on the themes and plot, so some characters were pretty much entirely symbolic instead of being developed the way we usually expect them to be (which I personally loved). This is definitely NOT an anime for everyone, and I don't think it's the best introduction to Ikuhara's world (in the same way the Utena movie may seem absurd to people who aren't familiar with his visual language). Basically I wouldn't watch Yurikuma if I weren't interested in lesbians or yuri.

I'm a huge Utena fangirl and I have to hand it to Ikuni, no one else could've created something that I'd be fangirling more than Utena. Yurikuma moved me because its themes are very relevant to my own life experience, and as far as yuri anime goes, nothing else I've seen before is as self-aware and fun as Yurikuma AND actually has a broader message about lesbians.

satyreyes wrote:

Mmm hmm, I think Penguindrum's characterization was definitely better (partly because it was a longer show), and its emotional high points were higher.  But its high points were higher because Ikuni seemed to adopt the "Lost" philosophy and just do whatever seemed awesome at the time, without worrying about whether he was creating corners he wouldn't be able to write himself out of later.  For some people that's not a problem; I know DD has spoken with conviction about not really caring whether things make sense at the end of a work of literature.   But for me it is.  If I don't think the plot basically makes sense, then everything else -- the characters, the themes -- end up with a sense of artifice layered over them that makes me feel like what I watched wasn't real, wasn't worth taking seriously.  Penguindrum solidified my impression that Ikuni is great at spectacle and symbolism but rubbish at telling a coherent story, and it was Enokido's steady hand on the rudder that made SKU the masterpiece that it is.  Yurikuma, happily, makes me question that again.

No disrespect, of course, to Penguindrum's fans.  I have vivid memories of parts of that show even though I haven't gone back to it in all this time, and that's because its images and its characters and its raw feels hit more forcefully than in almost any other anime I've watched.  It just didn't speak to me, in the end -- or if it did, I wasn't sure what it was saying.

I don't think Ikuni's intention is ever to tell just one story. His works are more like analysis of human nature, and what it means to grow up and come of age.

I watched YKA when it was first airing up to the 9th episode. There was a filler documentary the next week, so I ended up skipping that... and the rest of the series. From what I watched, it was pretty interesting even if the characters were more thematic and broad than anything else. I tend to lean towards shorter length series in a binge watching sense anyways.
One of these days, I need to catch up with the rest of the series, even if it means rewatching the episodes I saw before.

The first few episodes of YKA are designed to mess with you. Lulu and Ginko aren't the best with personal space, but I think that the more you learn about them the more you will understand.

There is some sexual assault in the show later on, none of it committed by protagonists. In true Ikuhara fashion, everyone is a victim of some kind, but the antagonists are still very wrong people.

Last edited by Arale (06-02-2017 11:59:17 AM)

I didn't realize it's already two years since Yuri Kuma Arashi first aired. Sheesh, does time fly.

I watched YKA when it first aired and wasn't all that amazed. I guess it's partly because of self-induced hype - after watching Mawaru Penguindrum I realized I'm in love with Ikuhara's style and will watch everything that come from him because obviously it's gonna be at least the nearest thing to masterpiece I can watch nowadays. And then YKA happened, which I felt was waaaaay more style than substance. I remember that I got similar feeling when watching Penguindrum but overally the number of episodes provided for enough time to actually weave a coherent plot. Utena and Penguindrum operated evenly on both symbolism and story-telling planes, while Yuri Kuma Arashi drowns in countless metaphors, becoming a plotty mess. I also thought YKA is one of those anime, that elude the Three Episodes Rule, because said first three episodes should be completely rewritten and the show really picks up from 4th onward where, you know, the plot actually shows up and is not overshadowed by licked lilies and shabadadoo. This was the time that I came to conclusion that...

satyreyes wrote:

Penguindrum solidified my impression that Ikuni is great at spectacle and symbolism but rubbish at telling a coherent story, and it was Enokido's steady hand on the rudder that made SKU the masterpiece that it is.

Just replace Penguindrum with Yuri Kuma Arashi. Still I'm going to re-watch the series in binge to gain some perspective and hopefully have a chance to change my view on lesbian bears saga. Take my ramblings with a grain of salt - I only remember the strongest feelings I had during airing; I'll probably write something more coherent after watching Yuri Kuma Arashi again.

My biggest problem with YKA was the fact that it bombed hard in sales, which could close doors for any future projects from Ikuhara. Unless I have out-dated information and it picked up in later volumes, for what I sure hope so.

YKA bombed in Japan? Huh. Can't say I'm surprised because TBH I didn't really find it compelling at all and didn't finish it. Penguindrum was interesting, and worth a view, but it lacks a strong emotional attachment to the cast, and like satyr said, I think that's because that particular element in SKU wasn't actually Ikuhara's.

That it bombed is...kind of a good sign if you're hoping for new SKU anime? Because if they're not going to give him new projects, they almost definitely would let him do more Utena, since that's like free money as far as there being an audience ready to consume it on brand recognition alone. I'm kinda wondering if all this 20 year stuff they're doing is kind of a testbed for interest.

With Ikuhara there's also Schell Bullet and Nokemono, the former has a scanning maybe translating project going on, and the latter I just bought the manga for so could feasibly start a project to bring stateside myself. I'm honestly interested in both because he used the Utena wave to attach himself to very big name artists for the projects, and the latter is if nothing else a fucking pretty picture orgy, since it's affiliated with Baby the Stars Shine Bright. But at the end of the day, my experiences with Ikuhara have been that he can be a very compelling director, with some real style to his work, but he needs someone else to lead his characters into being effective. He is kind of a Christopher Nolan type, in that he does the aesthetic like a boss, but someone else better write the characters or they're going to be simple vehicles for his story.

I don't think that the sales are too much to worry about due to Ikuhara's "senior position". I'm not really knowledgeable enough to explain it, but being recognized as a director of classics and long-time creator will go a long way for you. YKA probably wasn't meant to succeed; it takes a rather hostile tone with its watchers, pulling a lot of bait-and-switch and making the premise very obtuse. (Almost everyone assumed that the Invisible Storm was a single entity (ala End of the World) instead of an event/group/force, and the show did nothing to contradict that until it actually showed what it was.) And I think that's why it's only 12 episodes; so his career isn't banked on it. Well, that's what I hope anyway. I posted elsewhere on the forum that Ikuhara did say he's working on "something new"; that could be a brand new show or something for the Utena anniversary, but I'm glad that he's doing something at all either way.

I do hope he works with Enokido again though. Enokido is sorely underappreciated, there's lots of mean comments about him on his page in the MAL database. He doesn't always write amazing things either, but he's still a real cool guy and obviously worked with Ikuhara beautifully.

Last edited by Arale (08-08-2017 11:00:36 AM)