Yuri Kuma Arashi – 05

….ain’t nothin’ like moving in buddies!

Keep your friends close and your yuri closer.

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I Want to Have You All to Myself

Before the Wall

Well, I don’t think Ikuhara is done plummeting down the rabbit hole, and I for one am perfectly fine with that. We knew that Ginko had some past dealings with Kureha. I had initially thought they were much more in their recent past rather than the 11 years that History was able to give us the briefest of glimpses on.

We are starting to see some images of the past, and some connections that we didn’t think of previously.  Ginko had passed over into “human” culture, we knew this, and had met with Kureha. But how does this connect to both Reia and to Yuri-ka-sensei as far as the pendent is concerned. There is an awful lot of past left in the past at this juncture, and given Ginko’s passive confession of a crime, I wouldn’t think I’m alone in thinking something suspicious.  If we take the relationships at their confessed value, and if I take yuri to be the chaste form of romantic friendship, then I’m guessing that something hasn’t passed on from mother to daughter. And that value is one shared by Sensei. Why else would she be encouraging Kureha to let go of that very tense grip of the past? It is healthy to move on, but at this junction, “death” has another meaning.

Would you like dinner first, or a bath, or….

But just as we have some double dealing when it comes do “death” we are also walking the same path with “eating”. I don’t think it a very hard proposition to acknowledge that Kureha’s favorite foods comes from the past she shared with Ginko, but it is rather hard to swallow why Kureha doesn’t remember her. I’m getting a feeling that “invisible” is also taking some great strides in meaning as well. Did Kureha turn her back on Ginko’s past love? Does this tie into the crime that Ginko spoke of?

“I won’t give up on my love……For the Yuri Stores Prices!”

I’m going way out on a limb here, for me that’s a par for the course with this show. But the shopping scene, what with the very obvious signage, felt like a branded identity. It feels like the story is trying to tell us that the concept of yuri is just like any other commodity, and it’s in easy reach. Perhaps the flood of manga on the shelves, and in turn the flood of anime on the airwaves is part of this phenom, perhaps not. But “don’t eat the meat…you’ll turn into a bear” certainly didn’t leave these initial feelings of mine very complete. Is this store just a cigar? Is the meat? What sort of relationship is being shopped for here, and does Ginko have a wandering stomach?

Well, that’s the meal part taken care of….next is…

…a bath…

At this point, both Ginko and Kureha share a mental state, one of obsession. This might have a great deal to do with the Promised Kiss, and that would put the burden on Ginko to overcome, much like Lulu’s brother, as there is parallel there to be explored. Neither can forget a past love, and both are missing out on something else. For Ginko, it might be Lulu, and for Kureha, it could be the chance to move forward.

The Invisible Storm, in Stealth Mode

Is this HydraLily? Take off one head and more grow in it’s place?

Wow. Mean Girls. In a Human Shock turn of events, Kaoru stages just the longest, probably most unnecessary prank. Well, that would seem so, at it’s face, but Kureha wasn’t the real target was she? The building of the new lily patch, the birthday presents (making Kureha both recall and then forget Sumika’s letter?), and the general friendly atmosphere after being shunned for so long was just the honey….I don’t know why, but I’m liking Kaoru as a character, that was mighty shrewd on her part.

~SHO-OOOOOOOCK~ KUMA…..

….nope…

Final Thoughts

I feel that I’m getting some sort of grip on the nuances of the show. This episode, at least to my mind, played with and at times luxuriated in some rank hypocrisy. Barring that, it did illustrate the double meanings of some of the Arc Word. We’ve seen them play around with “dead” and “eating”, and now “invisible” is up for the taking. Only invisible until we want to see you, and when we see you….But at the end of the day, I feel that despite the flood of symbolism and possible word play, the character’s motivations are what carries the story. I’ve felt that Ginko has stepped out of that silent role she used to occupy rather well, at least in her own mind. She’s daring. I hope she doesn’t pay to steep a price for it…

Well, I guess Homura is free now….