Yuri Kuma Arashi – 02
Let’s shada-da-do this!
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What a KUMA SHOCK! I’m one of the bloggers who will be covering Yurikuma! Every other week you’ll get a wall o’ text from me. Every other week you’ll get to hear the soothing voices of Fosh and skylion discuss the show, Minitalk style. Sound dandy? Let’s talk about some bears. |
It’s easy to get sidetracked by girls licking each other, random transformations, and the boatload of bird/bear/lily symbolism everywhere you look. Like some sort of ADHD newborn kitten, I often don’t even know where to look because so much is going on. So let’s make this simpler (mostly for myself) and just start at the beginning with Sumika’s death. I find it interesting that she actually died from getting eaten by bears, whereas Kureha has a track record of being pushed off a roof twice and licked to oblivion by Lulu and Ginko (twice as well). There must be something really special about the trio of dude bears giving their judgement at court that manages to save Kureha every time from being the next meal of the day.
There’s also something special about Sumika and Kureha, because they are specifically targetted for their “delicious smell.” The bears claim that it’s because the two aren’t invisible, possibly meaning the girls are actually quite open about their relationship instead of hiding it. This also makes them “outsiders” through social norms, and this is also just another spice that adds flavour to them. Perhaps this society isn’t so accepting of homosexuality, or even just the concept of showing affection in general. Either way, these two are doomed from the start because they love each other and simply aren’t willing to back down. Furthermore, they basically erect a giant death flag by planting lilies together. White lilies are notoriously known for being popular funeral flowers, and can represent death. It’s not out of place for the students to be placing white lilies by her photo when she dies. In the language of flowers, white lilies also represent purity. It’s very fitting for a show exploring sexuality so thoroughly.
Tsubaki Kureha’s flower is the tsubaki (red camellia) which represents being in love…and perishing with grace. Uh oh.
To me, it seems that Yurikuma is trying to show healthy and unhealthy types of love. Kureha is the classic romantic who has a pure love for Sumika. She doesn’t want to manipulate her, use her, or keep her as a possession to be tucked away from anyone else’s view. This shouldn’t be all that special since that’s the kind of relationship I think most people would want in real life. So it shouldn’t seem odd. But it does seem odd because there are all these yandere, horny-as-fuck bears to compare Kureha to.
It’s not just about sexual appetite, it’s about their selfish ways of expressing love. Instead of wanting a loving relationship, the bears just want to dominate their object of affection and jealously own their bodies. They will do anything to obtain their object of affection’s love, even if it means killing other people to do so. Needless to say, this is an incredibly unhealthy way to form a relationship with someone. The bears represent an impure love where one lets all of their hedonism through. When you’re ruled by only the most primal urges, it’s no wonder reproduction ranks so highly on their list. But I want to emphasize that I see the sexual hunger as more of a side effect of their selfishness, as it’s very possible to have a relationship that’s healthy and still involves tons of sexy time. It’s not so much about saying “these bears are super slutty, so they’re bad” as much as it says “these bears are bad because they fucking kill people just to get laid.” Hopefully that’s what Ikuhara is saying. It would suck if he tried to say horny=evil.
The north wind doth blow / And we shall have hoes
After seeing so many bears pop up and announce how badly they want to eat some girl they’re in love with, I’m starting to question if they’re actually another species. My wild theory right now is that bears are actually the girls in the school who are struck by the Invisible Storm. Maybe bears aren’t actually breaking through the wall, and they were just here all along. When the girls begin showing jealous forms of love, they face a sexual awakening – and this transforms them into bears. Kureha was in danger of becoming a bear and being struck by the Invisible Storm because she loved Sumika. However, their love was pure enough to withstand this potential transformation, so she remains a human. It’s a common trend so far that the girls who go full yandere mode (buck tooth girl and Yurizono for example) end up as bears.
Also, that wall is, like, pretty tall?
Lulu and Ginko are the only exceptions since they tell us they came from beyond the wall. However, I still feel like there’s something weird about that. How did they get through? Why are they the only ones who get to go to Court? Why does Ginko have the same necklace that Kureha’s mother has? We’re missing a lot of info about these two ladies. They’re messing around for now, but it’s only a matter of time before we learn the truth about them.
Same necklace? That sad moment when you have the fashion sense of a wild bear
There are a ton of mysteries here and I’m content to wait it out. There’s always so much to take in that I’m gonna sit back and let Yurikuma just happen to me. Afterall, there’s always something wonderful going on even if I have no clue exactly what the hell is happening. I love how we had 2 new bears appear this episode and how genuinely surprising it was to find this out. This makes me suspicious about everyone being a bear! I think what’s great is that there’s no set formula for this kind of show so every week is a surprise. There are only snippets of repetition here and there, and it’s just enough to give you that warm sense of familiarity. I found myself mumbling “gao gao” and “kuma shock!” to myself days after I had watched the episode. It’s catchy! So although each week is so strange and different, we have these little catch phrases to hold onto. And maybe it’s precisely because everything is so weird that I grasp onto them so tightly, recalling them even after I’m done watching. Even though the Court sequence is pretty much the same as last week, I still really enjoyed seeing it happen all over again.
See you next next week. Stay tuned for the dude perspective on lesbian bear storm next week. Gaobye~
V for vagina! I mean…victory!
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, what if the story is trying to say just that? I mean, the main bear duo seems to be stuck, pretty much, in horny mode all the time. The two new bears, pretty much horny all the time.
But then we have that court, weighing the evidence, and yet still coming to the same conclusion. Obey your instincts.
Maybe the definition of horny here is to always obey your base instincts, no matter the outcome. If that is the case, then our main bear due could be trapping themselves…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, all the evil bears are horny and all the “good” people are prude. But it would be a little disappointing, to me, if Ikuhara were to boil down sexuality to a point where it’s labelled as inherently evil. You can have a lot of sex and still be cool! You can do it without killing people! So I hope it’s more of a broad message that following your instincts to the point where you don’t care about hurting others is what makes you evil and not just the sex part.
If even the dude bears and A-OK with calling Ginko and Lulu innocent then this much hedonism must be a bear thing.
Anyways, it’ll be interesting to see them trap themselves and for their lifestyle to bite them in the butt. Or maybe everyone will just become a horny bear in the end? I have no clue
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Noooo!!! My Tsukiko! Anyone would now avenge Tsukiko!
I like the GARcherish Bear Judge. In fact, the show will now be deemed the Yaoi Bears Show. I bet they have hearts on their toushes.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The only way I could love this show more is if it were about yaoi bears
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Yaoi Care Bears H-doujin. :3
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
I have to admit, I still have no idea what is going on. Then again, director Ikuhara Kunihiko is known for this hyperreal genre to his works. In regards to the symbolism, from what I can pick up, it is most likely based upon the Freudian Model of Id, Ego, Superego.
According to the Freudian Model, id is pure instinct, wanting instant gratification of its desire without caring about any moral or social consequences. Its opposite is the superego, which is basically an internalized version of all the social rules and morals. A self that denies the desire of the id sometimes to the point that the self comes to harm. In the middle we have the ego, which mediates between helping the id achieve what it wants but in such a way that it is acceptable under the rules of society.
Look at the Severance Court. The three judges represents the freudian model at work with Life Beauty being the id (all for eating), Life Cool as the superego (against eating), and Life Sexy being the Ego who adjudicates between them (the balance, or equilibrium between the two).
The girls we seen so far all fall under the freudian model. Mistuko, now revealed as a bear, Lulu, and Ginko are great examples of the id in play and Kureha being the ego. This is what I can pick up after two episodes.
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
Ahem…As the OP of the Freudian model explanation on RandomC, I would appreciate if you give acknowledgements thank you very much.
Looking at Ikuhara’s previous works, I have faith that he is probably going for more than horny=evil. For example, Utena and Anthy initial relationship as an ideal prince protecting a damsel in distress was deconstructed to hell and back by the end of the show.
POWUH: iLurker with 7 comments
sorry about that, monogoldish.
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
Apologies accepted! Shabadudu
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I actually haven’t seen Utena yet. I need to do that soon! But yeah, after Penguindrum I get the feeling he’s the type to fully explore many different angles of an issue instead of having it be so black and white. He’s all about breaking stuff down and building it up and doing God knows what to it.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I don’t think anyone really knows what’s going on. I sure as hell don’t.
Ahhhhh good old Freud. His overly sexual theories certainly fit in a show like this! I can definitely see the three dude bears as id, ego and superego. Although the girls are more binary in that they’re either super horny or pretty normal instead of being in 3 categories.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I think everyone’s a bear besides Kureha.
And it was really annoying / disappointing that they ran that whole trial thing almost exactly the same as last week. Why did they even have Lulu and Ginko in the trial? It was the other girl who was trying to ‘kill’ Kureha this time. My vote is “lazy”.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
It’s unbearable!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, it’s already getting grizzly.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If that’s true and the small number of humans ever find that out, it’s going to be all out anarchy and panic.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
The “small number” is Kureha. She’s the only non-bear.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Nice… She’s surrounded and doesn’t know it. And they say what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Nonsense!! Not to mention it defeats the purpose for the Wall of Severance.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
She’s literally stuck on a particular island in Alaska…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Maybe the purpose of the wall of severance is to keep Kureha in so they can eat her.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Uh, if so, then it’s working perfectly but seems farfetched because all that for one person is a bit over the top. I mean, those walls are beyond sky high. What do they think they’re they keeping in, a titan?
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
You probably shouldn’t ever say a word like ‘farfetched’ in analysis of a series like this. 🙂
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, this is also a thing that Ikuhara does…is it a real wall, or is it a developing metaphor…?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Anything goes here. Let your imagination run wild!
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
So, if Kureha is the only human, then all other girls that get eaten are also bear?
Why would bear eat other bear?
And if the bear do eat other bear, then why the president girl didn’t eat the racoon girl (the one with leaf on hear head) whose already dead thus would left no trace of her body and choose to eat other girl?
Why the trial is ‘for the sake of humans and bears’ when there is only a human?
And if the trial indeed only for Kureha sake, then why no one try to stop bear to eat this human if up till now this human has been left alone?
Why built the wall?
Why do they panic if a bear tress-pass the wall?
Why Lulu said she and Ginko ‘disguise as human and nobody know that they are bear’? If Kureha the only human thus isn’t it logically mean everyone else are bear thus everyone will know that she and Ginko are bear?
Those questions aside and goes to your question of the trial, I think the reason why the trial is for Ginko and Lulu is because both of them were there (they are several meter from the school in fact) and still want to eat Kureha…
I also question why is it only happen with Ginko and Lulu while there are other bears there and I have three explanation in mind:
1) It is special for Ginko, Lulu, and Kureha due to Ginko claim that her and Kureha’s love is real, implying other characters’ love isn’t real, which might indicate the Yuri Trial is ‘special’ for them…
2) The racoon girl don’t want to eat Kureha the same way Ginko and Lulu eat Kureha, thus no trial…
3) There are trial for her but we never sees it because of plot or metaphor reason…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
Are they actually eating other girls? They mentioned “imaginary humans” or something like that. Maybe they aren’t really eating people, but just acting like it.
Some more things: If you are trying to pass off as something else, then you act like that something else. Ergo, if you are a bear trying to make sure everyone thinks you’re a human, then you act like a human would, panicking when a bear warning comes. I do note the extreme futility of the bear warnings. They enact and rescind them seemingly without any reason. They don’t find the bear, just assume that it’s gone or something. So maybe it’s a case of “That’s the way it’s always been done.”
We can’t really say what’s ‘real’ and what’s not in a surreal mish-mash like this.
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
When did they say imaginary humans though?
The warning isn’t there without reason though, in first episode, someone is running away from the bears (a girl screaming as she run away) while in second episode the warning issued because the president girl chase the two bear in to district area then in first episode it was rescind because they can’t find the bear (Ginko and Lulu have disguises themselves) while in second episode a bear has been found dead, thus the danger seems to have been handled…
Depend on how crucial it is for the world building, I think we can say some is more ‘real’ compare to the other and with how the story put emphasize on ‘Human vs Bear’, I think it is safe to assume that both human and bear (and their conflict) are ‘real’ (just like how Momoka is real in Penguindrum)…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Ikuhara repeating the same scene with a few changes here and there is going to be a thing.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
I think he considers it a genre convention. He considers the repeated scenes like always going to the roof as something like a henshin sequence that occurs each week with little to no change.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Then…there’s this bear…
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
But what if there’s bears?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I was mentally editing that with yuri-appropriate content….
POWUH: Meta Resident and Werewolf Chaser with 1270 comments
Personally, I’m going with the “the girls with Yuri in her family name is a bear” theory.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
And that they’ve yet to undergo an awakening.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
So I learned every character that has yuri in their name are bears so apparently there are several bears in the school even one of the teachers! So yeah that is kinda crazy.
Bear on bear violence xDD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Survival of the fittest. Who will get the prize first?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
True! Everyone named Yuri-WHATEVER has been a bear thus far. Well, that’s going to make it easy for future bear-spotting.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
So next week, Fosh and I will announce ourselves as Yurilion and Yurizzle?
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
You might as well announce yourselves as Pedobear#1 and Pedobear#2. 😛
Pedobear approves of this show!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Embrace the yuri. Be the yuri.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…OK…so I did that…now there’s all this honey…lots of honey.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Sounds like a meditation technique.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…why is there honey…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Officer: “You’re all under arrest for suspicion of being bears!”
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
After several attempt to think about several different interpretation, I think the most consistent one to explain Human Vs Bear would be to see it as Moe Vs Non-Moe yuri work (or in the word of some creator Yuri Vs Rezu)…
It is a debate that exist in yuri community, especially since the success of Yuru Yuri, where the more mainstream yuri work right now are mostly subtext with moe art instead of work with more ‘serious’ tone…
Human, with a lot of its hand touch, sparkle, and heartwarming conversation represent the subtext version of yuri work (I call it ‘the feel’)…
Bear, with a lot of ecchi scene (in fact the ecchi fanservice in this show only happen when there is at least a bear) and eating human (both could translate as ‘sex’ and ‘violence’ respectively) represent the more ‘serious’ (I am not saying serious work require this but I think I could say that generally people use ‘sex’ and ‘violence’ as instant ticket to have a work be called ‘serious’) yuri work (I call it ‘the lust’)…
This way, we can explain the reaction from other human toward Kureha and Sumika, that is instead of simply against their relationship, they are against the extend of Kureha and Sumika relationship goes (which the bear point out to be ‘your love is true’), signifying that they aren’t just about ‘feel’ but they also has ‘lust’ (because Ginko said ‘my love is also true’ which could mean she also has ‘feel’ and ‘lust’ or simply bear’s love are true because they have ‘lust’) …
The combination of ‘feel’ and ‘lust’ make their meat seems to be more delicious for the bear because people who like the more serious work of yuri think subtext is a coup out, a fake yuri to only appease masses…
The battle also signify how consumer of yuri work view the ‘Yuri Vs Rezu’ thing with the ‘Yuri’ can no longer be yuri if they pass certain limit (such as by having sex), they are now Rezu, they are no longer pure (‘the feel’ corrupted by ‘the lust’), which in the shows it is shown as the human die, eaten by the bear, so for the human to survive (for ‘Yuri’ keep being ‘Yuri’ instead of becoming ‘Rezu’), they need to eliminate this element (keep ‘lust’ out of ‘feel’), so they shoot the bear…
The method of the attack can also be seen as symbolic here where as bear attack closely and messily, the human attack with gun, from distance so they won’t be touch by the bear which keep them clean (or pure)…
I think the end goal of the series is to show that both side of the debate can co-exist, that there is a healthy medium between the two or an alternative beside the two…
The choice of using Morishima Akiko I guess could be seen as a representation of this because her work if you only see some sample would make you think it comes from a SoL manga while in fact she makes a very explicit work with a lot of sex in it…
POWUH: iLurker with 9 comments
Oh, I forget to say that it also means not everyone can be a bear, only bear can be a bear, because they come from different world (different side of debate)…
But, the bear can disguise as a human but in the end they still need to eat human because it symbolize where ‘Rezu’ can trick the reader by having only hand touch and sweet talk in early page, for manga, mimicking a ‘Yuri’ work, a ‘Rezu’ will in the end have sex scene because it is their nature as a ‘Rezu’…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Moe vs non-moe…There’s definitely a split in yuri in terms of content. It’s either fluffy and cute or just full on non-stop rough sex. That’s a really cool way to look at it. I’m not so familiar with yuri manga/doujins etc., but I know yaoi often has the same issue as well.
I hope the moe love prevails!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’ll say this is a shock. My mind is taking in a lot to process because I never knew you to blog yuri shows, OC. Definitely a new development. 😀
Maybe it’s just me but the second episode felt way more sexually charged than the first. Surely you’d think it would be something impossible yet it happened anyway. How do these bears keep their libido in check? They act like a short fuse away from exploding. So the bears love their targets so much they want to kill them. Twisted… I thought it cause for concern when we’re introduced to the story with just two bears breaching the wall and now we get there’s an unknown number of them hiding in plain sight. Man, are the human girls screwed.
I don’t know if you saw it in the comment I made for the “Assassination Classroom” First Impression but I recommended a manga, Seraph of the End (Owari no Serafu), I really think you should check out. The premise is interesting and the story gets better as it progresses. Give the first five chapters a shot. I’m curious to hear what you think of what you read.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, I never go out of my way to watch yuri. But this is mixed with other things so I quite like it. A rare occurrence for me!
It was pretty sexual. All the girls were kneeing each other and licking each other without reservation. There really are a ton of bears in this school. That wall really sucks…
Ah yes, I saw your comment! Thanks! I read the first chapter and it looks pretty cool. Interesting to see vampires in total control instead of being stuck in the shadows trying not to get caught. I think I’ll keep reading~
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ah, so this caught you off guard and you had to check it out.
For the wall to fail this badly, it’s considered useless now. And they’ve got insiders to worry about. Let the bear hunt begin.
I had a feeling the manga would catch your eye. I recommended it to you, Karakuri and Kyokai because among all the writers, you three have the most bloodlust, especially in your choices of anime. There’s that, no one would pass up a good story (Believe me when I say it’s good) and there are bishounen in it. I know there’s no way you’d ignore that. Highway did say once that I’m trying to create more kyuuketsuki fans. 😀
Since you seem to have a good amount of interest in it, I’ll let you in on a little secret if the news hasn’t already reached your area. “Seraph of the End (Owari no Seraph)” is getting a split cour adaptation with the first half beginning in Spring 2015. It will be handled by Wit Studio with music provided by Hiroyuki Sawano, the same collaboration behind Attack on Titan.
For the seiyuus, Michaela will be voiced by Kensho Ono a.k.a Aldnoah.Zero’s Slaine Troyard, the guy in the black uniform at the end of the first chapter Glen/Guren Ichinose by Yuuichi Nakamura and Felid, the vampire who slaughtered the orphans by Takahiro Sakurai. So you’ll be hearing Makishima’s voice out of his mouth.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
@Overcooled: Here’s something to tease you a little bit: The streamed opening for the Psycho-Pass movie featuring Ling Tosite Sigure’s theme song “Who What Who What.”
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Oooo looking good! I saw Makishima and Kougami for a second there…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Apparently some time has passed. Ginoza’s hair has grown out and he has a pony tail.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Oh, and Sean over at the G+ Anime Talk community has similar ideas
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Cool! It’s really fun seeing the whole aniblog community/commenters try and figure out what the hell this show means together. Gotta combine all our evidence together and make out what we can…as a team!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
For
Science!Yuri!POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Come on, Spammy!! Now is not the time to be screwing around!!
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
spammy is a bear. gao gao.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Okay, where’s the rifle?