Yuruyuri – Review

In the medium of manga and anime, the term Yuri is implemented in material contained a lesbian context. Interestingly social attitudes towards homosexuality in Japan are (to put it politely) frowned upon, considering same-sex marriage/civil partnerships are not permitted under the law. But apparently twelve year old schoolgirls having lesbian fantasies are considered perfectly normal and not at all creepy. Not in the slightest. Go figure.

Typically the depiction of Yuri will tend to differ depending upon which gender the medium is primarily aimed at. Yuri aimed at a male audience will often play up the relationship for gratuitous purposes whereas Yuri aimed at a female audience will perform the opposite, downgrading the relationship to a natural platonic phase. And here is where Yuruyuri seemed to get its wires crossed. On the one hand the premise – four middle school students try to reform the tea ceremony club – has all the hallmarks of a watered down K-ON. The principle cast are bright, bubbly and shojo-ingly moe, complete with all the expected archetypes, Akari is the klutz, Kyoto is the lazy one, Yui is the straight-man and Chinatsu is the super-duper moe one. Did I say archetypes? I meant one-dimensional clichés. Nevertheless this done-to-death gimmick with stereotypical characters Yuruyuri is pedalling does appear relatively harmless. That is until the panty jokes begin.

Much like the recent A-Channel, another school girl, slice-of-life series, Yuruyuri could have been an interesting anime if not a decent one, had it even engaged remotely rather than relying on the lowest form of humour – panties, boobs and nosebleeds. The jokes are bad, repetitive and ultimately go nowhere. For example, one prevailing non-sexual gag is that Akari, the supposed main character leaves no lasting impression on the cast or the audience. Does anything actually become of this? Nope. Talk about wasting the potential of the one genuinely inventive joke. Not forgetting of course, how unsubtle the remaining sex jokes are. This is neither cute nor charming. This is disturbing, very, very disturbing. In the long run it raises the important question of which demographic Yuruyuri is primarily aimed at, young girls or older men? Presumably it’s the latter. This is fanservice, pure and simple.

Go watch K-ON! Or Lucky Star instead.

Rating: 4/10