One of the great joys for me as curator here at Okazu, is when our readers escalate into advocates and reviewers in their own right. It’s been my pleasure on multiple occasions to present to you reviews by readers who have decided to commit themselves to a higher level of engagement. Today’s Guest Review is especially wonderful, as it was written by long-time Okazu reader and commenter, C. Banana, someone whose views rarely match mine, but whose perspective I appreciate.  CB is writing about Yuru Yuri, a slice-of-life anime available legally and for free on Crunchyroll. As the first “Yuri” anime from Ichijinsha (publisher of Comic Yuri Hime magazine) this is a significant anime for Yuri fans. The story is a very understated “wacky adventures of four girls goofing off.”  As this was a series I myself did not enjoy, CB offered to step up and write a review for us.

Please welcome our newest Guest Reviewer with all the warmth I expect from the Okazu audience!

Ah, the Yuru Yuri anime series. By my own anecdotal evidence, this would seem to be the most polarizing series among Yuri fans. Considering that it seems to have beaten the polarization of Kannazuki no Miko, it’s quite an accomplishment. I seem to fit in between those who adore and those who despise the series as Yuru Yuri’s episodes for me, ranged between mediocre, alright, and pretty decent. I really didn’t have that strong a reaction to any of the episodes. The fanservice, while not something, I would seek out really didn’t bother me.

One good quality of Yuru Yuri is that while it is definitely in the moé slice-of-life comedy genre, it does mix it up enough to not feel like a rehash of others. In some episodes, it follows more of sitcom formula than a slice-of-life formula, and its wacky hijinks are played up more than in most other shows of the same ilk. Another thing is that some of the characters were allowed to have traits that escaped from moé templates. Also, while not as self-aware as their manga counterparts, the cast is certainly more self-aware than the characters of other moé series. Of course, for better or worse there’s also the fact that the Yuri fanservice is up a couple of notches compared to something like K-ON! or A-Channel.

The Yuri, as a whole in the series, is actually a notch higher than it was in the manga. More effort is put into the characters being portrayed as having genuine crushes rather than it being just some random Yuri gags. However, the sparse development in any of the relationships will definitely turn many Yuri fans off of the show. Himawari and Sakurako in particular would benefit from some character and relationship development rather than being stuck in their double tsundere gag.

Kyouko definitely steals the show for me. She got the most laughs with her suitably punchy and absurd theatrics. A lot of the time, you’ll be wondering why the other characters are friends with her since she’s really a big jerk (but admittedly that’s part of the joke). Kyouko’s character does underline the fact that the show places wacky hijinks as its highest priority. However, the humour taken overall can be a bit hit and miss. It’s not briskly paced enough to be a laugh riot and sometimes relies a bit too much on slapstick.

Overall, while the show has some good qualities going for it, it would need better comedic pacing and/or character development to get closer to being one of my favourite shows. The show definitely leaves itself open for having iterative seasons so if the show is reasonably successful, I’ll likely sign on to the next season to see if show builds on itself or stagnates. From my point of view, it could go either way.

Ratings:

Art – 6
Story – 7
Characters – 7
Yuri – 4
Service – 8

Overall – 7

Erica here. Thank you so much for the review of a series I wish I could like, but have never been able to. The superficiality of the comic doesn’t stand up to too much analysis, and any anime that included underwear gags in the first 10 minutes has already lost my attention. It is obvious that Ichijinsha is putting money and effort into promoting this series which both pleases and distresses me. I’m not seeing polarization in the fandom here, though. Mostly I’m seeing the same kind of ambiguous “it’s okay” that this review expresses. I’m in a minority (as always!) in feeling very negatively towards it.

Nonetheless, we should acknowledge that Crunchyroll did as decent a job as I’ve seen on the localization, and they have made it available as widely as they were allowed, so each of us can decide for ourselves what we think of it.

Once more, thank you to C. Banana and to all of our Okazu Guest Reviewers!

I would like to begin this review with a sincere apology to the fine people at Ichijinsha. I know that a lot of work and energy went into the making of Yuru Yuri and I wish, I truly do, that I could have liked it. But, I did not. If you habitually like the kinds of anime and manga I dislike, If you love series like Lucky Star and A Channel, then do not read this review, just hurry over to Crunchyroll and watch Yuru Yuri – you’ll love it.

I have spent more than a decade promoting Yuri, highlighting series that focus on women in love with one another, pointing out over and over that “Yuri” is not, really, anything like the fantasies creepy loser guys have about girls. Yet with Yuru Yuri, the creators go right to Fanboy territory, then crawl slowly steadily down to wallow in the most banal, most creepy possible tropes. I’m genuinely frustrated by the choices made here.

Yuri Yuri is the story of four girls who hang around and do nothing. These four are all very typical moe types, so forget having any kind of personality. Less than 5 minutes into the anime, there were already 4 underwear gags, the main character had forgotten that school started that day (which is totally likely if you have no family or friends, live in a box and have no media access, I suppose.)  The entirety of the second half of the episode is a systematic destruction of the protagonist’s ego. As a *joke*. Because making fun of a friend until they cry is absolutely hilarious, as we all know.

At 8 minutes in, I had a crisis and almost gave up watching altogether. It was so horrible, so tedious, so completely un-fun. My number one criteria for entertainment is that it ought to, you know, entertain me. Watching Yuru Yuri was the anime equivalent of a dentist’s appointment.

There is “Yuri” of course. Of the most excruciating kind. Kyoko likes to look at panties and wants to possess the cute loli. Chinatsu, the loli, crushes on Yui, the moe equivalent of the cool princely character. And let’s not forget the implication of a deep, pathological, stalking sister complex Akari’s sister appears to have for her. That’s always good for a laugh.

The one thing that really wasn’t terrible was Crunchyroll’s subtitling. It’s not perfect, but it was definitely one of the least objectionable jobs I’ve ever seen from them. So that, at least, is something positive to note.

I’m sorry, Namori-sensei. I’m sorry, editors of Comic Yuri Hime. I’m sure that Yuru Yuri will be very successful, but I won’t be watching. As much as I want it to succeed, I actually like the anime less than I do the manga. And I don’t like the manga very much at all. I came into the anime with very, very low expectations and this managed to not meet any of them.

In the end, Kyoko described this series best when she described the protagonist Akari with “A lack of outstanding qualities is your most outstanding quality.”

Ratings:

Art – 5 If you like moe you will probably think it a 6 or 7
Characters – 4 See above
Story – 3 See above
Yuri – There is no real affection, love or desire here. Just gags.
Service – 10

Overall – 4

Pain upon realizing that Comic Yuri Hime‘s first “Yuri” anime ever is everything I have fought to get rid of, in order to be able to tell stories of women in love with one another – 100

Anime Expo continues with more Yuri-friendly news, as YNN Correspondent Bruce McF points out, with Crunchyroll’s announcement that namori’s slice-of-life with some slight Yuri flavoring series, Yuru Yuri,  has been added to their simulcast line-up.

Bruce suggests one and a half Hip, Hip, Hoo…rays. ^_^