Yuru Yuri

After a year in grade school without her childhood friends, first year student Akari Akaza is finally reunited with second years Yui Funami and Kyouko Toshinou at their all-girls' middle school. During the duo's first year, Yui and Kyouko formed the "Amusement Club" which occupies the now nonexistent Tea Club's room. Shortly after Akari joins, one of her fellow classmates, Chinatsu Yoshikawa, pays the trio a visit under the impression that they are the Tea Club; it is only once the three girls explain that the Tea Club has been disbanded that they can convince Chinatsu to join the Amusement Club—a group with no purpose other than to provide entertainment for its members.

Based on the slice-of-life manga by Namori, Yuru Yuri is an eccentric comedy about a group of girls who spend their spare time drinking tea and fawning over each other, all while completely failing to even notice the supposed main character Akari amongst them.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Toshinou, Kyouko Main

Ootsubo, Yuka Japanese

Akaza, Akari Main

Mikami, Shiori Japanese

Funami, Yui Main

Tsuda, Minami Japanese

Yoshikawa, Chinatsu Main

Ookubo, Rumi Japanese

Sugiura, Ayano Supporting

Fujita, Saki Japanese

Oomuro, Sakurako Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Ikeda, Chitose Supporting

Toyosaki, Aki Japanese

Furutani, Himawari Supporting

Mimori, Suzuko Japanese

Matsumoto, Rise Supporting

Gotou, Saori Japanese

Funami, Mari Supporting

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Yoshizawa, Takashi Producer

Oono, Ryousuke Producer

Oota, Masahiko Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Ebina, Yasunori Sound Director

Reviews

Aug 31, 2011

DangoSadge

Recommended

"Why are girls more susceptible to same sex or bi-sexual orientation? Who knows, but it sure does make a good source of comedy material in the anime world"

Yuru Yuri (literal translation Easy-Going or Slow Yuri) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Namori about three schoolgirls... wait am I missing someone? Guess not. They took over the former room of the tea ceremony club (may I add how manly tea is?) to form their own "amusement club" Yea because in Japanese highschools it isn't illegal to just take over another club room for your own amusement. I know I used to make the ... boy's toilet my secret base. (It's ok, guys doesn't even like to use our toilets) Cause seriously which guy hadn't secretly used the girls toilet because he can't stand the odor in the guy's toilet. That is until they see the huge pool of blood and get traumatize for life.

Yuru Yuri is a generic "moe-slice-of-life" anime with those moments of dialogue and acting that could be interpreted as overly homoerotic, but not as much if you know the real context. As funny as it is, the whole "X girls just hanging out and having fun" where X denotes the number of the main cast (which is normally the Four Girl Ensemble), is nothing new to the anime scene. But some people, even myself, enjoy this moment or repetitiveness.

So as the story progresses more girls join the main casts to form the ultimate Lesbian Full Cast in their hilarious mishaps. You can never have enough middle school girls in one story right? I hope I don't sound like a pedo here...
Worry not as eventhough with the introduction of new characters, the 3 main girls are still the stars of the plot. (Seriously, I feel like I'm forgetting someone)

Art wise, on a scale of 1 to 10 on the moe-art-meter, this anime scored an 11. Seriously, if you do not even smile or give a faint grin on your face when you see their big beady, glowing eyes then you sir, HAVE NO SOUL! The character were filled of emotions. Heck, I wish I could understand Japanese so I wouldn't have to read the subs and miss all those visual cues. Overall, the character designs makes you go Uguuuuuu~ even if you're not a pedophile.

As for sound, definitely hands down, my favorite opening and ending theme for this season. No. Possibly for this year so far. It's catchy, it's upbeat, and it never gets old for me for some reason. If you get on a public bus or you're taking the subway train and you see a guy with headphones on bobbing his head, that would probably be me listening to the opening and ending theme song. Eventhough most of the seiyuus are new or haven't been given sufficient roles, they were able to execute their characters personalities quite well.

Characters! Because the whole selling point of Yuru Yuri is their characters!

TOSHINO KYOUKO!
It's a universal rule that if you want to mention her name you must shout her name in a harsh tone. This lovable girl is the center of all the comedy that is happening in Yuru Yuri. Smart, talented, manipulative and downright annoying but in an amusing way. Her sexual orientation is still questionable though. She's supposedly the main character but I keep forgetting there was someone there in the spotlight before her.

Funami Yui
She plays the older sister role within the whole cast. Indepent, reliable, you know the type that end up being the "Yuri Target" by the female cast. She's very vulnerable to jokes involving word play. On a plus point she's a bit like a kuudere with her monotonous voice and attitude over her friends.

Yoshikawa, Chinatsu
Cute at first sight but holds a deeper alter ego who is actually very intolerant. She's in the centre for the love triangle between Yui and TOSHINO KYOUKO!
Well I wouldn't put it as a triangle because it's more like a straight line.
TOSHINO KYOUKO! ---> Chinatsu --->Yui
Her sexual orientation, though, is confirmed to be lenient towards yuri.

Other casts includes
Sugiura Ayano who is the student council president and fierce rival of TOSHINO KYOUKO! eventhough the latter doesn't really acknowledge it.
Though, she herself might be falling in love with TOSHINO KYOUKO!

Ikeda Chitose
This woman single handedly taught me the power that bestowed upon people with low vision. The ability to fantasize in real time using your other senses as your vision sense is low, your other senses such as hearing is magnified. Her fantasies and nose bleed had become a running gag in the series involving Ayano and TOSHINO KYOUKO!

Himawari Furutani and Sakurako Ohmuro
Guess what's more annoying than a tsundere girl? Two tsundere girls! Seriously, this two childhood friends forms the tsundere couple which is funny but a sight for sore eyes as well. Oh and both of them revolves around the whole "Boob Gag" which is the whole Big breast vs Flat Chest.

Overall, from what I first expected from the season preview, this anime beats beyond my expectation. I'm no fan of yuri, I've never even watched any yuri anime before this. So it' safe to say that even if you're homophobic, you would still enjoy this anime to the fullest. The comedy aspect is great as it covers a huge range of variety from Comedic Sociopathy to breaking the fourth wall with the audience. Not to mention the entertaining 10 seconds running cycle between every intermission is somewhat entertaining. As the title suggest it, Slow Yuri because on a yuri scale of 1 to 10, this anime would probably score a 4 as the yuri theme is only as suggestive as the audience would imply it to be.

Haremu Kingu,
Signing out...

Seriously, I still have a feeling I left someone out. Can someone please tell me who it is?

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Oct 21, 2015

daky-kun

Mixed Feelings

1) This show has "Yuri" in its title, it's comedy, and it's slice of life
2) I like yuri, I like comedy and I like slice of life
3) Well, the third step is obvious, isn't it? I just had to give this a shot.
4) .......

Okay, maybe some things don't mix after all. Yuri and slice of life don't make a fusion as good as I hoped it would.

First of all, I found this show boring. Nothing really happens in it. Okay, some of my favorite anime don't have much going on (it is slice of life after all), but when an anime doesn't have much going ... on, it doesn't automatically mean it'll be boring. Sadly, that is the case with Yuru Yuri.

Then it's the characters. They're all just bland and uninteresting. Sure, they look pretty, but their personalities didn't appeal to me. Except Kyouko, who is a bit interesting as a character (a bit), the others were boring, or just plain annoying.

Yes, I like yuri and that haven't changed after watching this. But this show taught me that there is a time and a place for yuri, and that it doesn't fit just everywhere. Yes, while watching Yuru Yuri, I was actually bothered by the yuri element.

Why, you ask? Well, I was annoyed by the fact that all girls here were lesbians, bisexual, or at least curious. Not only it doesn't work that way in real life (yes, I'm a realist when it comes to this type of stuff; I may be wrong but that how I work), it's just unnecessary. I really don't mind lesbian characters, on the contrary, but not when everyone is hinted to be a lesbian, and nothing is actually revealed (their sexualities or... some actual "action" except harmless kissing). Oh, and I also felt uncomfortable at some forced kissing scenes, especially since the girls are underage.

Also, there was this running gag with the chick who takes off her glasses and fantasizes about yuri moments while watching her friends, then gets nosebleeds. And everyone else seems to be cool with it. Okay, it was funny the first time, the second, the third... but after the tenth time, it became annoying. Not only that, but she also has a twin, and we even had some slight incest hints. Some fat perverted otaku will probably find it cool and hot, but I just found it repulsive. I don't mind that stuff either when I'm watching hentai, but here, it just seemed wrong.

To be honest, I didn't really hate this show; if I did, I would've rated it lower. It has some funny moments and situations, some episodes were slightly better than the others, and I just can't hate the yuri element, even if I'm annoyed with it, which was the case here.

At the end, I must say this: just because I wasn't thrilled with it doesn't mean it's bad, or that it isn't for you. I'm very well aware that Yuru Yuri is fairly popular, and that many people like it, and I respect that. This was just my personal opinion of it (and I have a very, very specific taste), so I can't say I wouldn't recommend it to you. If you like yuri, comedy and slice of life and if you think that they can mix (unlike me), try watching it. Chances are, you'll like it more than I did.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Nov 18, 2017

SuspiciousScout

Not Recommended

Yuru Yuri is one of those shows I was curious about, wondering why it was so popular. I decided to give it a go, and I can't really understand why so many people like it so much.

My biggest issue is two things: The characters are incredibly bland and annoying, and it's not very funny... At least to me.



Honestly, it was difficult finding any of the characters likeable. The only two I enjoyed throughout the whole run were Kyoko and Akarin. Everyone else is basically a walking stereotype like Ayano, Yui, or Chitose. Ayano is your textbook tsundere and really loves Kyoko for no real good ... reason. Sakurakou and Himawari are just there for the breast jokes. Chitose only exists to impliment some yuri fanservice... Do you see what I'm getting at here? Everyone feels like they're simply pawns to make an unfunny and predictable joke. It was so one-note and by the book that I had a hard time laughing at anything.

I really disliked Chinatsu in particular because she ended up being so unlikeable. A very stuck-up and pretentious girl who's only defining trait is hating Kyoko and being madly in love with Yui. I'm not exaggerating when I say that's what happens when the show tries focusing on her, one of those two things happen. Or maybe both. There also was a part in episode 11 that made me dislike her even more, but I won't spoil it. Nothing about her is a good character to me, and the show would have been much better if she wasn't part of the main cast.




Now for the jokes, which unfortunately don't land well most of the time. Like I said earlier, a lot of the comedy stems from the characters which are all very stereotypical so you can see what's coming a mile away. What's worse is that they like to really hammer in the same jokes over and over across the entire season. Was Chitose getting a nosebeleed and fantasizing about Ayano and Kyoko being together not funny the first time? Well too bad, because it's going to happen many, many other times! You can really tell what's going to come up just because it all is painfully predictable. There were a few times were they threw curveballs and made me laugh, but it was very few and far between. There's one joke in particular which just felt way too mean spirited, which is Akarin barely having any screen time despite being the supposed protagonist. It's a cute funny joke at first, but overtime it just ends up being kinda hard to watch because it feels like the world is against her and nothing goes her way. There are even times where she doesn't appear for an entire episode just because of a short gag in the beginning. Maybe I'm looking too deep into it, but I really didn't find that funny and just became grating after a while.


So overall, I really wanted to like Yuru Yuri, but just ended up really bored and wanting it to be over near the end. The characters did absolutely no favors as they made the show very bland and predictable, and hardly any of the jokes landed for me.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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