Series Review – Yuruyuri

Yuruyuri (ゆるゆり) –

Yuruyuri literally means something along the lines of “easy-going yuri”. Now let me just clarify and say that I am not really a fan of yuri shows, but the yuri vibes in this series were rather light in nature. Not to mention, the yuri stuff was almost always part of some sort of gag or joke, which made it so that I didn’t take the yuri notions very seriously.

As of now I have some mixed feelings about Yuruyuri. It has had it’s brilliant moments with some great gags, but these were somewhat uncommon and far in between in the series. The vast majority of the gags in this series were recycled versions of stuff we’ve seen earlier on in Yuruyuri, especially certain jokes like the nosebleed jokes and such. Those gags get old extremely quickly, which is why it’s a shame the creators felt compelled to reuse them in practically every single episode.

The main cast was fairly energetic and fun to watch for the most part, but outside of two or three characters, there’s nobody that I would consider particularly memorable. Not to mention, the side characters all had one or two jokes associated with them, and those jokes would once again simply be reused over and over again. Creativity was definitely an issue here. Production values weren’t really anything to boast about either. While the animation and music weren’t mindnumbingly bad, they weren’t really great either. I guess “normal” or “mediocre” would be the best terms to describe the production quality.

That being said, this wasn’t really a bad show by any means. It was a simple comedy that didn’t do anything exceptionally well, but it didn’t completely flat out fall on it’s face either. Mindless entertainment (and I mean this in a good way) would be a great way to describe this series. Yuruyuri certainly won’t get recorded in the anime hall of fame or anything of the sort, but it was still a decent way to pass time.

Animation/Art: 7.0/10

Music: 7.0/10

Setting: 6.0/10

Characters: 7.0/10

Story: 6.5/10

Overall Enjoyment: 6.7/10

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 12 (Final)

Episode 12 Final –

Haha, this was a definitely one of the better episodes to this series, which is rather fitting for the finale. The jokes were definitely more out there (or at least, put a different spin on things), and it actually made the gags quite a bit funnier than I had thought they would be. Chitose’s nosebleed jokes are still being abused to no end, but at least this episode went more creative with them, leading up to some unexpected jokes out of no where. The sudden nosebleed jokes worked out pretty darn well, and for once it wasn’t solely Kyouko providing the outrageous entertainment here.

On a different note, who knew that chocolate could get people drunk? Those chocolates definitely had to be laced or something in order for to make Chitose steal french kisses from everybody in the entire room, lol. Chinatsu and Akari will be scarred for life ( 😛 ).  One thing I almost didn’t notice is how every single character introduced in this series played a role in the jokes this episode, which is probably why the jokes seemed kind of all over the place at times. They were still quite fun though, that’s for sure.

It seems that Dogakobo saved some of their better gags for this final episode to the series, and it worked out fairly well. The gags were more unique, and the added characters made for some interesting new types of gags. Some were good, and some weren’t. In the end, Yuruyuri was an entertaining, mindless comedy. Shame that all the episodes couldn’t be like this one though. At least we know Akari will still forever remain somewhat invisible, lol.

Quick Impressions: 3.5/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 11

Episode 11 –

Hah, this episode certainly tried out some new stuff. There was a bit too much drama by the end of the episode, but luckily it was rather brief. This episode actually tried to avoid the pure slapstick nature of previous episodes, with a more solemn and uneasy tone permeating throughout the episode. The gags worked out pretty well though, which was nice to see. I actually found the lack-of-presence jokes with Akari quite good. However, there was an excessive amount of flashbacks this episode. Personally I thought the flashbacks were quite entertaining, but I’ll still admit that excessive usage of flashbacks is not the best idea. In other news, who knew Kyoko was such a scaredy cat back in the day? lol.

Not to mention, Chinatsu was quite the aggressive bully back in her childhood. I guess that dark secret will go with Akari to the grave, though I guess nobody would really notice if she revealed it anyways :P. On the other hand, the bits of drama with Kyoko, Yui, and Ayano in the second half of the episode were kind of out of place, but I guess it was necessary in context with what happened to Kyoko. As for that final joke with Akari getting a brief moment in the spotlight with her new yet shortlived bump on her head… Lol.

Quick Impressions: 3.3/5

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 10

Episode 10 –

You could place every single joke in this episode into two categories: Kyouko-Ayano jokes, and Chitose-nosebleed jokes. Because every single joke were one of those two, “uniqueness” definitely wasn’t a strong point to the gags here. On the plus side, the creators do make very good use of the new setting to get some pretty fun jokes. And the bit at the beginning where Akari introduces herself continues to be one of the continuous gags of the series, though it is getting a bit too predictable.

But man, was Kyoko really energetic this episode. Seriously, she was practically bouncing off the walls this episode, and could’ve easily qualified as the most annoying character here if it weren’t for the fact that she was constantly cracking some jokes. Stuff like the dark room, bokuto souvenirs, and the crazy pillowfight were all lots of fun to watch. The nosebleed-Chitose gags have been far too overabused at this point in the series, but there were some surprises with relation to that, where the one I found most funny were the dark room antics.

This episode simply had a high level of sheer energy, which did keep it engaging. Aside from that though, this was mostly your standard onsen/school trip episode. Shame Akari, Chinatsu, and the rest of the cast couldn’t come along; I bet the episode would’ve been a lot more fun if they were around so that they could be teased.

Quick Impressions: 3.3/5

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 09

Episode 09-

I never really did quite understand why there is always an association with Summertime and scary stories in Japan, nor do these scary stories really appeal to me. As a result, the jokes this episode weren’t really quite funny in my opinion. I guess the introduction of the student council president added some flair to this otherwise very normal episode, but a lot more of the jokes for this series is being reused.

But this show really is random isn’t it? It somehow goes from summer heat to scary stories to super powers to tying back hair to mad scientists causing explosions. Talk about all over the place (o_o).

On the plus side, this series has been leveraging it’s more recent developments to create more pretty amusing scenes. I find it kind of funny every time that Chinatsu relies on Yui, especially after all the fangirlish delusions Chinatsu has had. The one joke that never gets old for me is the constant poking fun at Akari’s “lack of presence”, which made the ghost joke about her at the end pretty funny. I haven’t been getting any gut-wrenching humor out of this series, but it’s a solid way to get a few chuckles here and there.

Quick Impressions: 3.2/5

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 08

Episode 08 –

Maybe I have some sort of grudge against Chitose or something, but at least half of her jokes really don’t get me laughing. This episode was the exception though, with Chitose’s troll levels really high with her “lie” game. And Ayano plays her role impeccably as well, with her irritating obnoxiousness keeping things pretty energetic and fun.

The introduction of the twin was a surprise, but it did change up the pacing quite a bit. It’s nice to see a new character, but Chizuru isn’t very exciting as of now. Akari and Chinatsu are definitely the better side characters, so seeing them pulled out of this episode was a shame. Crazy fangirl Chinatsu is definitely one of the more entertaining characters out of this series. The lack of Akari in this episode (though I guess it makes sense, lol) was pretty disappointing too, so I do hope they come back next week. Ayano and Chitose episodes always tend to bore me more somehow, though maybe it’s just me.

Quick Impressions: 2.9/5

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 07

Episode 07 –

This episode certainly didn’t feel like it was part of a comedy series. It was a lot more quiet and actually quite normal this week. Maybe it’s because all of the crazy characters were separated from each other, but the atmosphere felt unusually calm (which is generally not a good thing for a comedy series).

The first half of the episode was okay I guess, where Kyouko was trying to suck up to Chinatsu (and was partially successful). The rest of the “dates” were all pretty normal, and quite frankly, boring. I mean, it’s great to see people just sitting there on a bench or eating away at food… (/sarcasm) =_=

The second half was better, where Chinatsu’s imagination goes into overdrive and manages to completley beat out the delusional Chitose in terms of crazy lesbian daydreams. Aside from that, nothing else worth noting. Slow episode is slow, and there was a lack of energy in the atmosphere.

Quick Impressions: 3.2/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 06

Episode 06 –

Haha, you’ve got to love how this series manages to stay consistent with it’s Akari jokes, always sidelining her in some way shape and form. This episode had some better jokes than before (a huge improvement from all the Chitose nosebleed jokes), with the central focus around Chinatsu proving to be a good direction for the moment. Chinatsu’s obsessive yuri motives prove to create some pretty fun jokes, though the jokes about her wouldn’t be as funny without Kyoko providing some snide bits of commentary.

I got a good chuckle out of the beginning segment where Kyoko steals away Akari’s limelight, and the “tease Akari” moments just kept piling on in the episode. The jokes themselves were light in tone, and were enjoyable for the most part. The more outrageous character here is definitely Chinatsu, who proves that she’ll let almost nothing get in her way of forming an intimate relationship with Yui. Gotta love how she managed to get Yui to hug her, especially because Chinatsu didn’t do it on purpose lol. Rabid yuri girls sure are dangerous… o_o;; And poor little Yui’s relative; Chinatsu, the magical girl that breaks the hearts of little kids.

Quick Impressions: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Quick Impressions – Yuruyuri – 05

Episode 05 –

Hahaha, definitely one of the funnier episodes to this series. The jokes were certainly more creative than usual, and while they might’ve had the occasional repeat joke, they mostly worked out quite well. And you’ve got to love just how obsessed Chinatsu has become. Since when was Chinatsu such an aggressive yuri-girl? Seeing her goofy assault on Akari was both disturbing yet hilarious. Of course, while I did predict that Kyouko and Yui would walk in on the two while they were smooching, it was still a priceless moment >.<

Kyouko’s hot blooded comiket comuket antics were pretty funny too, but what takes the cake would be the gag where Akari shoots off her dango hairbuns, only to be turned invisible by evil mahou shoujo Chinatsu. The random gag with the kidnapped little sister was fun too, where the “blackmail by threatening the sister” antic backfired pretty hardcore.

Overall, this episode was a significant improvement with a lot less repetitive gags, and much less random delusions by the Vice president. Diversifying on the type of jokes is pretty important for a comedy series, and this episode did that quite well.

Quick Impressions: 3.6/5

P.S. From now on I’ll probably make quick impressions posts for this series, mainly because it’s much more fitting for a comedy anime like this. I’m not sure if I’ll keep the screenshot galleries or not for Yuruyuri though.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Yuruyuri – 04

Episode 04 –

Wah, what’s up with the sudden 500% increase in yuri jokes? The jokes certainly weren’t the epitome of creativity here, with the delusional Chitose getting far too much screentime in this episode. On the other hand, it was fun seeing Ayano being all tsundere towards Kyouko, as well as seeing Chinatsu’s little girl crush on Yui. The most fun of the jokes are probably the ones around Akari, where this series keeps finding new ways of keeping her as a hidden background character, much to her dismay. Aside from those jokes though, it’s probably not a good idea to have Chitose have a delusion every few minutes, because the joke gets old fast.

The first half of this episode was about some Tanabata wishes of the main cast, and the episode pretty much proceeds in fufilling some of those wishes. They range from the embarassing “Chinatsu wants a kiss from Yui”, to stuff as simple as Akari’s “I want to be noticed”, lol. Poor Kyouko never gets any love from Chinatsu, which is why she gets so jealous of Yui.

That being said, the vice president and Chitose also get heavily involved in this episode, although more so in the second half. Chitose seems to have this problem where she has delusions about Ayano and Kyouko being all yuri together, and while I found it funny the first time or so, by the 6th-8th time this joke was reused this episode, I got tired of it. At least the cameraman realized this was a problem, and broke the 4th wall to provide some obligatory tissues to change up the jokes a little.

On the other hand, Ayano’s repeatedly tsundere antics towards befriending Kyouko was quite funny, and the icing on the cake was how Akari still went unnoticed by the end of the episode. All in all, while this series is consistent with it’s jokes, they also get very repetitive very fast. All of the Yuri delusion jokes are completely overused, and it’s really the rest of the cast that keeps this episode fun. In other words, yes Chitose, you need to disappear from this anime 😛

Overall Enjoyment: 3.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.