Someone on Tumblr has just posted pieces of an Ikuhara and Morishima interview translation from the anime's starting guide (no story spoilers involved) that has completely restored my confidence in him and this project.

http://softkakumei.tumblr.com/post/1088 … -guide-the

Read the entire thing to gain a huge amount of priceless perspective on the project, but in particular these two passages:

He knew her manga (he keeps up on both yuri and BL manga regularly) and contacted her on twitter back when he was pulling together the Penguindrum manga anthology, asking her to submit to it. She is a longtime massive fan of his, to the point that she actually initially turned down his offer to work together on Yurikuma simply because she was terrified she would fail and “ruin everything” if they worked together, and she said she couldn’t have handled it if an Ikuhara show was ruined for her because she loves his shows too much. She isn’t sure she would be a mangaka if it wasn’t for Ikuhara - when she was 19, she read an interview of his that made a massive impression on her. She respects him as a creator in general - while she enjoyed reading manga and watching anime in general when she was young, his work was what made her really consider how a story is actually made, and it inspired her a lot.

Ikuhara notes that by working in the yuri genre, there are lots of things that he can only pretend to understand. To a point he considers that unavoidable with this subject matter, but he thought early on that the project needed someone with credentials people could have undying faith in: “Someone that would make people say, ‘With such a godlike person working on this, I have no choice but to follow along with it!’” He thinks some things may inevitably be a “little off” with him handling it, but believes Morishima’s involvement should keep the soul of the work intact.

People who don't follow yuri as closely as I do may not fully appreciate the genius and acumen of this decision. Morishima Akiko is a legend in the field and has been for many years, not only because of her quality work but because of her active and unusually transparent participation in Japan's nascent LGBT culture. She's known for her unusually candid interviews and her commitment to portraying female same-sex love in a way that balances style and substance.

...in short, she is one of only a handful of people Ikuhara could've selected in whom the core yuri fanbase really could have "undying faith" - and he knew it. For all that people love to cast Ikuhara as an arrogant auteur, he had the wisdom to realize how important it would be to have someone like her, not only as a figurehead but as a woman-loving woman herself, to guide the project. If he's sincere in letting her "keep the soul of the work intact", there is absolutely nothing to worry about here.

Last edited by Aelanie (01-28-2015 09:55:59 PM)

Man, episode 4 really made me tear up!

AllegroDiRossi wrote:

What is the significance of [Mirun being born on the same day that Kumalia rained down on the earth]? Because this is Ikuhara and there is no such thing as a coincidence.

[It reads to me like a microcosm of what happened between the bears and the humans. It's no doubt intended that Lulu repeats what had been said from the beginning of the show, paraphrased: "I've always hated you. And yet I've always loved you." This broken system that keeps the bears and humans apart is the same one that kept Lulu and Mirun apart. Does Lulu hate Mirun because he's more important than her or because the system says that he's more important than her? Do humans hate bears because they eat people or because the system (represented by the Judgemens) dictates that they must eat people because it's the sexy way?

The short version: Mirun's birth and the explosion of Kumalia represent a change of the rules to everybody's detriment. Or, rather, it's illuminated rules that had always been there but weren't applicable until that moment. A male heir was always more important than a princess. Bears had always eaten people. But now it could easily be seen by the one who got the raw end of the deal.]

I know you were mostly being silly, but she does have a confirmed voice actor, so she's going to at least talk by the end of all this.

What I wanna know is how she's avoided being exiled by the storm, what with the blatant disregard for uniform policies and all.

HonorableShadow wrote:

Here's an interview with Ikuhara: http://softkakumei.tumblr.com/post/1096 … -interview

I found this part interesting:

Q: What was the reasoning behind your use of bears in the story?
A: In reality, bears are creatures that absolutely must not intrude into the human world. When they do intrude, they make us fear for our lives. And yet, for a very long time, humans have also created teddy bears, and bear mascot characters, and they’re adored by many. I wanted to express the idea of that gap [between reality and fantasy].

There have been plenty of other shows in the past that have depicted terrifying grizzly bears, and there have been plenty of other shows that depicted adorable teddy bear types. I thought that depicting both ideas at the same time would be interesting.

That makes me think of the "we hated you from the beginning and loved you from the beginning" quote.

It ties in completely to the point this show is trying to make. Through yuri, which is a safe, cute, nonthreatening fantasy of girl/girl romance, popular culture has appropriated and sanitized lesbianism, which in real life is seen by many as a threatening, societally disruptive and politically charged element. The analogy works perfectly.

Last edited by Aelanie (01-31-2015 10:08:08 AM)

[So I guess Ginko ate Kureha's mother to have all Kureha for herself, but with Ikuraha I wouldn't be surprise if it has a twist and another beat ate Kureha's mom.][]

YamPuff wrote:

Latest episode slapped me in the face with the sudden Evangelion-esque applause scene. It was so disconcerting.

I too noticed that right away. [I suspected that the whole 'let's be friends' deal was only a ruse but I did not see the bear trap coming. Holy hell.]

I doubt [Ginko ate Reia, I think the Invisible Storm got to her.
And sensei is being veeery suspicious again.]

The music that played during certain scenes in ep 5 reminds me very much of BR arc music.
And no shabadado was kinda disappointing I love the way he says that.

Also, anyone have an idea [what Ginko's unmentioned 'crime' might be]?

Ginko was really cute in this episode. Especially this face:

https://31.media.tumblr.com/56263ae4e9a … t4dq4c.gif

It's nice to see her stop being so stoic and opening up. But that ending.

Last edited by HonorableShadow (02-03-2015 07:10:38 AM)

There are no spoilers, only KUMA SHOCKS.

Gaston wrote:

Snow

Also, anyone have an idea [[color=white wrote:

what Ginko's unmentioned 'crime' might be[/color]]?

I thinking about this and the idea I have is[ Ginko killed the bear who ate Reia.]

I like this!!

Uuuu I like that theory, Gaston! Especially because [eating humans doesn't seem to be a crime in the eyes of bears themselves, but eating another bear is quite certainly a Thou Shall Not (and it probably squicks out the court enough to avoid mentioning it).]

I wonder, [If the teacher is actually a bear and it was she who ate Kureha's mother. It might seem a bit random but she obviously knows more than she lets show and we know she knew Kureha's mother very well in the past. Their relationship seems a bit like Kureha and Sumika's, too.
Also, it's interesting how those drawers were she keeps the pictures of the killed students are so much like Mikage's coffins]