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pokoko on 25 January 2015
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vivster said:
pokoko said:

On topic, Yuri Kuma might be the cutest anime of the season but it might also be the most complex, mysterious, and (possibly) the most cold-blooded.  There seems to be a lot of layers that are slowly being revealed to the audience.  It feels very intricate, with a lot of gears and springs.  And, obviously, a ton of symbolism.  I literally have no idea where this is headed.

DuraX2 likewise has a LOT going on but it's more like several tales woven together than it is a multi-layered story.  The new twins are looking to be a major focus, and probably the serial killer, as well.  Does that mean more romance?  Celty is the lovely glue that holds things together.

It seems to be one of those Ikuhara animes that everyone's so wild about. You should read the review on ANN of this. That cleared a lot up for me.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/yurikuma-arashi/episode-1-3/.83467

 I really like reading the new anime reviews on ANN. And the fact that they started making reviews for each episode now makes it even better.

The review of the first episodes of Junketsu no Maria is also great.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/maria-the-virgin-witch/episodes-1-2/.83432

It's thankfully written by a woman who knows the difference between sexual humor and sexualization.

Those reviews look better than the multi-person review format they had the last time I clicked a review link on ANN.

Mawaru-Penguindrum was really good, though it was a lot different from this.  It started off relatively normal, then the metaphors toward the end came crashing down hard.

There is a chance the yuri-ness of Yuri Kuma might get a little tiresome after awhile, and perhaps a bit preachy, but I really liked the relevations about the Quiet Storm and Ceremony of Exclusion in episode 3.  They made that part crystal clear, surprisingly, though perhaps that's because of how important a point it is to the story.  Anyone different is Evil and Evil should be excluded from society.  Bears obviously come in many different shades, just like people (we know this now), so I look forward to more character development for Gao and GaoGao.

The only part that kind of bothers me is that it's completely black-and-white thus far.  Everyone in the class who isn't Evil is in Quiet Storm, it seems, which I don't think is an accurate reflection of society--though perhaps it's different in Japan, which can be extremely judgemental.  Also, it seems you can be a Bear/Eat People or be Human/Invisible.  I'm interested to see if it breaks out of that dichotomy.  

I'm also eager to learn what eaten and killed are metaphors for and if they're also going to carry a literal meaning.  That's been nagging at me since the "eating" scene by the flower beds.  Are we going to see characters return as bears?  The rifle as a phallus was very clear in episode three, so how will that play into a bear being shot?  

I get the impression that "society" in Yuri Kuma is in fact an exclusive school for girls and the everything outside the wall is the real world.