(L+CR) Yuri Kuma Arashi

[risingstar3110]

Things seemed to pick up in 2nd episode. It seems Lulu and Ginko could be good bears through

Will continue to follow surely

[itisjustme]

I resent this show's antibear propaganda. They are endangered species!

[VORTIA]

Originally Posted by novalysis

Wait, I thought the Kaichou was shocked, in the ending of the last episode that Lulu and Ginko were engaged in eating humans and were bears? Or was this a red herring, and what she was actually shocked, was that the Court actually approved Lulu and Ginko's passage past the walls of severance, when they couldn't seem to control their urges?

Also, since the Kaichou shot her fellow bear (with a human weapon meant to kill bears ,no less), this has turned from predation, to murder. Is the author trying to make a point that if one has no qualms preying on intelligent beings, arguably, one should have no qualm on murdering another member of your species?

I think you're missing the much bigger reveal here - they're all bears.

Best I can tell, all the girls have both a lily form (their pure, chaste and innocent form) and a bear form (the inherent sexual animal within us all). Humans have tried to wall the bears (our sexuality) off and keep it repressed in our society, but what good is a wall, or a series of walls, when we're all bears on the inside?

Kureha's love for Sumika was platonic. The bear's love is raw and lustful. I think the message by the end of episode 13 will be how we can all learn to live with our own bears, and balance the two aspects of our nature. (see also the lyrics of the ED!).

[The Green One]

Seems like this is getting almost murder mysteryish. Can't take things at face value.

[Kanon]

The ending kuma shocked me. I guess it's safe to assume all the girls with yuri in their names are bears, possibly even all the girls at school. At the very least, all of them might be "latent" bears, as in they'll turn into bears if they give in to their desires.

We got confirmation that Sumika's love was real. It makes me happy for Kureha that her love wasn't unrequited, but also sad because Sumika is gone for good now.

[Benigmatica]

Originally Posted by Kanon

The ending kuma shocked me. I guess it's safe to assume all the girls with yuri in their names are bears, possibly even all the girls at school.

Maybe all of the girls around the world are actually bears, which I can assume that humanity is already extinct or they have a tiny fraction of survivors like Kureha.

Speaking of human extinction, I have to point out that apart from the boys at the Severance Court, there are no males on Yuri Kuma Arashi.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by VORTIA

I think you're missing the much bigger reveal here - they're all bears.

I'm pretty sure only the ones with "yuri" in their last name are bears.

Kureha's love for Sumika was platonic.

Sumika was afraid that her relationship would be found out, and Ginko said Kureha's love was the real deal. So, all in all, I seriously doubt what they had was platonic.

The bear's love is raw and lustful. I think the message by the end of episode 13 will be how we can all learn to live with our own bears, and balance the two aspects of our nature. (see also the lyrics of the ED!).

The point they're highlighting is whether you give up on love or not. Those who give up on love are invisible and taste bad. Those who won't give up on love, on the other hand, taste really good. And note the class rep said that Sumika was delicious.

Ironically, what makes Kureha such a delicious treat for the bears is that her love for Sumika is the real thing.

[Flower]

Ep 02

Well ... this series is not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

I tried.

Dropped.

[The Green One]

I admit this show gave me a bad first impression. REALLY bad. It seemed pretty base and pretty pandering, but after looking past the visuals it hints at a deeper much more complex story that has me interested enough to watch a few more episodes.

[MarkS00N]

Okay, my take on three main symbolism in the show (after few internet exploration):

Spoiler for Wall of Text:

The Bear and The Wall:
They represent social stigma of yuri where the wall separate the ‘Class-S’ yuri (human)(have ‘feel’ but lack ‘lust’ because 'love and lust' is for male-female love in social norm at least Japan's social norm) from the ‘Girl-on-Girl is hot’ yuri (bear)(lack ‘feel’ and only has ‘lust’).
The bear need to eat human because it is their nature to eat human (or to 'corrupt' the 'innocence' of the 'Class-S') because without 'lust', the bear can't survive.
Human then die because in 'Class-S' world, their love supposed to be fake so when they go beyond ‘what is accepted’ (or get 'eaten'), they lost their future in society and losing-future in society is equals death in the eye of society.
So to survive, the human need to kill the bear (they need to actively suppress their 'lust' or people with 'lust', the bear, advance toward them that is why the weapon is gun so the human can't be touched by the bear).
But the bear find Class-S to be a less delicious meat and seek people with ‘true love’, the form of love that isn't represented by human and bear.
These people are delicious because ‘true love’ is the superior form of love due to for a person to have ‘true love’ the person must show she has both ‘feel’ and ‘lust’ which evidenced by that as a human (thus has ‘feel’), Kureha needs to show she has ‘lust’ by willing to sacrifice herself to the bear (though it is possible that the whole 'sacrifice' is a trap).
This indicate that the bear maybe have its own version of 'showing true love'. Maybe by not eating human who make the sacrifice?

The Invisible Storm:
It represent social pressure.
We haven’t seen it in action, but the hints are there: It will gives uncomfortable consequences; It will chase you; And it only happen to people with ‘true love’ or at least that what the racoon girl implied by saying that ‘it will attack Kureha’ and ‘will only attack the president girl because the president girl becomes friend with Kureha’ despite she has a sexy interaction with the president girl.
Thus in a sense, Invisible Storm only attack people that isn't fit the 'Class-S' and 'Girl-on-Girl is Hot' category.
So the reason the president girl can’t wait for invisible storm to happen is because ‘true love’ is at its strongest form when the human able to stand against said storm (against social pressure) which show that her love is stronger than her position/place/future in society.

The Judge Scene:
It represent whether it is ‘acceptable’ for a ‘Girl-on-Girl’ interaction to happen or not.
They are male because a) The society (at least in Japan) is a patriarchy one b) The ‘Class-S’ and ‘Girl-on-Girl is hot’ themselves are terms invented for male audience.
The choices are be ‘invisible’ (represent the option to accept social norm and be ‘normal girl’ by hide their sexual interest) or ‘eat’ (represent the option to ignore said norm).
Thus in a sense, The Judge Scene is the bear's equivalent to the human's Invisible Storm.
And if the human has chance to defy The Invisible Storm, then maybe the bear has its own equivalent of defying The Judge Scene, maybe by inventing a third option?

So maybe the 'endgoal' is for Kureha to survive the Invisible Storm and for Ginko and Lulu to invent a third option in the Judge Scene, assuming it is possible to survive Invisible Storm and it is possible to invent your own option in Judge Scene.

Though regardless what the show try to symbolize it, the I am confidence that the show's 'endgoal' is for the characters to gain 'true love' that has both 'feel' and 'lust'. The feel to make the lust isn't destructive and the lust to develop the feel further and not just a temporary thing.

I still however don't fully grasp what Invisible Storm able to do and what the purpose of the scene after the 'Yuri Approved' verdict, but I think later episodes will gives us (or me in case people already figure it out) answer.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by MarkS00N

Okay, my take on three main symbolism in the show (after few internet exploration):

Spoiler for Wall of Text:

The Bear and The Wall:
They represent social stigma of yuri where the wall separate the ‘Class-S’ yuri (human)(have ‘feel’ but lack ‘lust’ because 'love and lust' is for male-female love in social norm at least Japan's social norm) from the ‘Girl-on-Girl is hot’ yuri (bear)(lack ‘feel’ and only has ‘lust’).
The bear need to eat human because it is their nature to eat human (or to 'corrupt' the 'innocence' of the 'Class-S') because without 'lust', the bear can't survive.
Human then die because in 'Class-S' world, their love supposed to be fake so when they go beyond ‘what is accepted’ (or get 'eaten'), they lost their future in society and losing-future in society is equals death in the eye of society.
So to survive, the human need to kill the bear (they need to actively suppress their 'lust' or people with 'lust', the bear, advance toward them that is why the weapon is gun so the human can't be touched by the bear).
But the bear find Class-S to be a less delicious meat and seek people with ‘true love’, the form of love that isn't represented by human and bear.
These people are delicious because ‘true love’ is the superior form of love due to for a person to have ‘true love’ the person must show she has both ‘feel’ and ‘lust’ which evidenced by that as a human (thus has ‘feel’), Kureha needs to show she has ‘lust’ by willing to sacrifice herself to the bear (though it is possible that the whole 'sacrifice' is a trap).
This indicate that the bear maybe have its own version of 'showing true love'. Maybe by not eating human who make the sacrifice?

The Invisible Storm:
It represent social pressure.
We haven’t seen it in action, but the hints are there: It will gives uncomfortable consequences; It will chase you; And it only happen to people with ‘true love’ or at least that what the racoon girl implied by saying that ‘it will attack Kureha’ and ‘will only attack the president girl because the president girl becomes friend with Kureha’ despite she has a sexy interaction with the president girl.
Thus in a sense, Invisible Storm only attack people that isn't fit the 'Class-S' and 'Girl-on-Girl is Hot' category.
So the reason the president girl can’t wait for invisible storm to happen is because ‘true love’ is at its strongest form when the human able to stand against said storm (against social pressure) which show that her love is stronger than her position/place/future in society.

The Judge Scene:
It represent whether it is ‘acceptable’ for a ‘Girl-on-Girl’ interaction to happen or not.
They are male because a) The society (at least in Japan) is a patriarchy one b) The ‘Class-S’ and ‘Girl-on-Girl is hot’ themselves are terms invented for male audience.
The choices are be ‘invisible’ (represent the option to accept social norm and be ‘normal girl’ by hide their sexual interest) or ‘eat’ (represent the option to ignore said norm).
Thus in a sense, The Judge Scene is the bear's equivalent to the human's Invisible Storm.
And if the human has chance to defy The Invisible Storm, then maybe the bear has its own equivalent of defying The Judge Scene, maybe by inventing a third option?

So maybe the 'endgoal' is for Kureha to survive the Invisible Storm and for Ginko and Lulu to invent a third option in the Judge Scene, assuming it is possible to survive Invisible Storm and it is possible to invent your own option in Judge Scene.

Though regardless what the show try to symbolize it, the I am confidence that the show's 'endgoal' is for the characters to gain 'true love' that has both 'feel' and 'lust'. The feel to make the lust isn't destructive and the lust to develop the feel further and not just a temporary thing.

The thing is, Kareha and Sumika's love was true love. Ginko said so herself.

All in all, I don't think the show is dealing with a conflict between lust and pure feelings. I don't see it.

The phrase that keeps popping up is "I won't give up on love." That's the key. Class rep said that people who give up on love become invisible and they taste pretty bad. Then being "invisible" is basically a symbolic way to refer to people who don't fight for what they want. People who merely do what society tells them to do.

People who won't give up on love, on the other hand, taste really good. They aren't invisible, because they are willing to fight for their love. These are people who won't let go of those they care about even if society try to force them to.

That's what the show is all about. It's not about "lust vs pure feelings." It's about "gives up on love vs won't give up on love."

Sumika and Kureha decided not to give up on love. They weren't invisible, because their love was the real thing. But if you're not invisible, if your love is real, you may become a prey.

The question is, is love worth the risk?


Btw, here's the official relationship chart.

Images

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

One thing to note. This seems to suggest that Kureha and Sumika were shunned by the rest of the class.

[VORTIA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I'm pretty sure only the ones with "yuri" in their last name are bears.

Well, out and out bears, yes.

Sumika was afraid that her relationship would be found out, and Ginko said Kureha's love was the real deal. So, all in all, I seriously doubt what they had was platonic.

Probably a bad choice of words. Unconsummate, perhaps? Her love was most decidedly true, but it was not a lustful love.

The point they're highlighting is whether you give up on love or not. Those who give up on love are invisible and taste bad. Those who won't give up on love, on the other hand, taste really good. And note the class rep said that Sumika was delicious.

But why would anyone struggle to not give up on their love? The reason one struggles to hold onto their love is because it is forbidden by society, the invisible storm that targets them (see discussion of lily garden in Ep.1). You'll note, Ginko has said she won't give up on her love either. Simply because Ginko is a lustful bear doesn't mean her love isn't true.

[VORTIA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

All in all, I don't think the show is dealing with a conflict between lust and feelings. I don't see it......

The phrase that keeps popping up is "I won't give up on love." That's the key.......That's what the show is all about. It's not about "lust vs feelings." It's about "gives up on love vs won't give up on love."

Why can't it be both? It's not like a program can't have multiple themes, and they both seem like things Ikuhara would tackle. To me, both seem to be major aspects of the story.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by VORTIA

Probably a bad choice of words. Unconsummate, perhaps? Her love was most decidedly true, but it was not a lustful love.

You're jumping to conclusions. For all we know Kureha and Sumika were doing it like rabbits.

But why would anyone struggle to not give up on their love? The reason one struggles to hold onto their love is because it is forbidden by society, the invisible storm that targets them (see discussion of lily garden in Ep.1).

That's what I'm talking about. The series presented Kureha and Sumika as lovers against a society that forbids it. That's the point it has been highlighting all the time. It doesn't question how much sexual experience they had.

Originally Posted by VORTIA

Why can't it be both? It's not like a program can't have multiple themes, and they both seem like things Ikuhara would tackle. To me, both seem to be major aspects of the story.

It can. I just said I don't see it. Ginko herself pretty much equated her own love with Kureha's. Kureha's love is as true and real as Ginko's. That's what she said. The fact that Ginko is kind of oversexed while Kureha may or may not be virgin is not mentioned at all. So I don't really see this "lust vs. pure feelings" thing that some people are talking about. What I'm getting is that what makes your love real is whether you're willing to risk yourself to protect it, regardless of how much sex you have.

[Nicaea]

EVERYONE IS A BEAR!

But really, what's the point of that court system when everything gets approved? I mean, if you conflate lust with hunger then yeah, you can accept all kinds of offences.


I also wonder what that Invisible storm is. Will the invisible people disappear or turn into delicious people? Will it become a Walpurgisnacht where all bears will be able to consume their love openly?


For some reason I don't really want the bears to have their way with everything. Do you guys think that there will be a point where Kureha won't be led on by the flow of the events?

[VORTIA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

You're jumping to conclusions. For all we know Kureha and Sumika were doing it like rabbits.

We can only draw conclusions based on what has been portrayed on screen. Kureha and Sumika thus far have held hands, looked longingly at each other, confessed their love and leaned on one another. Nothing seems to indicate they had a sexual relationship. Their activities were certainly in stark contrast with the behavior of every bear in the series. I can't imagine that Ikuhara wouldn't have a reason to make the couples so thematically different, especially when the story seems to heavily revolve around the relationship and dichotomy between Kureha and Ginko.

It can. I just said I don't see it. Ginko herself pretty much equated her own love with Kureha's. Kureha's love is as true and real as Ginko's. That's what she said. The fact that Ginko is kind of oversexed while Kureha may or may not be virgin is not mentioned at all. So I don't really see this "lust vs. pure feelings" thing that some people are talking about.

All the bears are lustful. All the lilies are restrained. Bears that are masquerading as lilies pretend to be restrained, but eventually reveal their lustful nature. You don't see that as very blatant symbolism?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by VORTIA

We can only draw conclusions based on what has been portrayed on screen. Kureha and Sumika thus far have held hands, looked longingly at each other, confessed their love and leaned on one another. Nothing seems to indicate they had a sexual relationship. Their activities were certainly in stark contrast with the behavior of every bear in the series. I can't imagine that Ikuhara wouldn't have a reason to make the couples so thematically different, especially when the story seems to heavily revolve around the relationship and dichotomy between Kureha and Ginko.

I'm not saying this won't have any significance (though it could be just misdirection). I just don't think it's what you think it is, since that contradicts other things that are even more clear.

[MarkS00N]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

The thing is, Kareha and Sumika's love was true love. Ginko said so herself.

Which what I said?
It just that it appears Kureha (and I think Sumika) needs to prove it by giving herself to the bear which as I note could be a trap set (especially if Sumika is killed when she did what Kureha did) by the Judge so the bear will eat her, though so far she is safe so maybe she already pass?
Or maybe the true test is actually from The Invisible Storm so that's why she 'seeks something in The Invisible Storm'?

I am not saying their love isn't 'true love' but it is clear that something need to happen before president girl 'can' or 'will' eat Kureha and I call that something that happen afterward as 'true love' strongest form.

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

All in all, I don't think the show is dealing with a conflict between lust and feelings. I don't see it.

The phrase that keeps popping up is "I won't give up on love." That's the key. Class rep said that people who give up on love become invisible and they taste pretty bad. Then being "invisible" is basically a symbolic way to refer to people who don't fight for what they want. People who merely do what society tells them to do.

People who won't give up on love, on the other hand, taste really good. They aren't invisible, because they are willing to fight for their love. These are people who won't let go of those they care about even if society try to force them to.

That's what the show is all about. It's not about "lust vs feelings." It's about "gives up on love vs won't give up on love."

Sumika and Kureha decided not to give up on love. They weren't invisible, because their love was the real thing. But if you're not invisible, if your love is real, you may become a prey.

The question is, is love worth the risk?

'The Feel Vs The Lust' is the main issue in Japan though if some blogger and discussion I see in internet is to go by, specifically as I said the 'Class-S vs Rezu', which I think Ikuhara being a yuri fan himself going to have comment on it (also when he bring Morishima Ako to not only illustrate but also as 'advisor' it could indicate that he wish to touch upon this issue)...

Though I guess the difference is just on how we perceive the central conflict (that is love) being address here...

I see it in the glance of the conflict that yuri as a genre has right now where moe genre kinda dominate the medium on one side (and depict clearly by Kureha and Sumika interaction - touching hand, talk sweet, and all) while the other side are people who think moe ruins yuri because people can't see the 'true yuri' that focus on more 'serious' issue (this one depict by the bear 'eating' and 'being lustful' which in other anime will translate to 'gory' and 'sex', the 'adult/serious stuff', note that I am not saying it is but if people say 'adult/serious thing', many times I see them point out on stuffs with 'gory' and 'sex')...

The 'true love' bit is the fine medium between the two side where it doesn't need to be that serious or angsty but still not too vague...

While I think you see it in the way of more literal and perhaps neutral way so 'standing up for your love' is more apparent which also true in my opinion because again the reason 'The Feel Vs The Lust' thing that I see is kinda second layer to the problem with 'Social Acceptance of Lesbian Relationship' as its first layer...

About the last point, being invisible doesn't mean you won't be a prey because the president girl comment indicates she eats/ate an invisible girl...
It just 'true love' or 'standing up for your love' is more delicious than stay in the closet...

[VORTIA]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

I'm not saying this won't have any significance (though it could be just misdirection). I just don't think it's what you think it is, since that contradicts other things that are even more clear.

How do you feel about the lyrics of the ED, and their discussion of a girl's dual lily/bear nature?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by MarkS00N

'The Feel Vs The Lust' is the main issue in Japan though if some blogger and discussion I see in internet is to go by, specifically as I said the 'Class-S vs Rezu'...

Yeah but I'm not seeing that conflict. The bears are definitely more sexual than the girls but no one really questions that and it could mean a lot of things, considering this Ikuhara we're talking about. On the other hand, the difference between protecting your love or giving it up is throughly explored, along with the social implications. Like I said before, what I'm getting is that what makes your love real is whether you're willing to risk yourself to protect it, regardless of how much sex you have.

About the last point, being invisible doesn't mean you won't be a prey because the president girl comment indicates she eats/ate an invisible girl...
It just 'true love' or 'standing up for your love' is more delicious than stay in the closet...

If you're more "delicious," there more chances you'll be targeted . It's more risky. That's what I meant.