kutch.presley - 2016-02-19 22:03:55

Sometimes when I feel lonely at night I find comfort in the fact that another world exists out there in which middle school girls can go wild and embrace their lesbian tendencies.

heidenreich.granville - 2015-11-24 16:51:57

Toshinou is my f**king spirit animal. I STG THIS SHOW IS FUNNY!!!

brown.haylee - 2015-03-06 08:44:30

I love the kawaiis theres so many kawaiis so many omg i see amazing yuri kawaii desu omfg its so kawaii like how do you kawaii so hard the the kawaii tomato pajamas and the kawaii panda like omg yui-senpai y u so kawaii omg i love all the yuri yui x chinatsu yuri is my favorite omg i love it so fucking KAWAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

vcrooks - 2014-09-24 03:11:03

Middle school lesbians? 10/10/10. 

Seriously though,  this shows funny, and the characters are very lovable. 

zbrown - 2014-01-22 14:27:47

Story

The anime is about the girls of the amusement club who lounge around in the tea club’s room after it disbanded. They mostly just lounge around doing random things and talking about random stuff. They often tangle with the student council too because of their unauthorized stay in the tea club’s room. They may fight and annoy each other but these girls are closer than you’d expect. Perhaps, a bit too close than you’d ever expect.

Taking the Pants Off

This anime is another one of those four girls anime in a club doing random things. Its Slice of Life and the story mostly revolve around the girls doing random or funny things when they hang out together. It’s an overused concept in anime so you often need to throw something original into the mix so people will watch it. K-on had music and Natsuiro Kiseki had supernatural to brighten the “four girl concept” up. Yuri Yuri tried to set itself apart by dangling the notion of girl on girl crushing into the fold. Yeah, it had this idea that the girls can kiss at any moment and they’d be doing other things to each other. I think the concept worked because a lot of people raged about this anime. I guess Shoujo Ai (girls love) really get people excited. The idea of two girls kissing and being intimate does sound like fun but did the anime deliver on what it promised? I personally had an expectation the anime didn’t satisfy but then again, deep down, this anime is about four girls in a club doing random things.

Just like any other anime with four girls, it has two main genres: Comedy and Slice of Life. The anime started out pretty normally with the introduction of the characters and some gags here and there. The Slice of Life (SoL) aspect of the anime is a bit toned down because the comedy is more prominent. It also has some Shoujo Ai elements so one has to be pushed aside. The SoL elements basically set up some of the scenes in the anime like the girls talking randomly in their club or the girls doing normal activities like going to the beach. After the scene is set, the jokes commence and the promised Shoujo Ai elements comes through.

The Comedy of the anime is the over the top kind with the characters over reacting to jokes and some scenes involving physical pain. The characters carry the show though so some of the jokes are pretty great. The anime doesn’t overdo the jokes because it has a story to follow per episode. At first the jokes are bit bland but as the anime progress, and you get to know the characters more, then the jokes become more fun to watch. Even if some of the jokes are repeated in the anime, it never gets tiring. There are countless times where one of the characters nosebleed a lot yet it never gets old. The constant jokes about another character having no presence also never gets old. The balance of the stories of the episodes and the comedy was pretty fair so the jokes in the anime are pretty well done. If the characters were bland though then the jokes would be tiresome. Luckily, they’re not and I kind of admire the interaction of the characters in the anime.

The characters are the main piece of the anime. They start out bland at first but the audience slowly relates to the characters so later episodes are pretty fun to watch. The way the characters interact with one another is the biggest draw of the anime. The show really took the time to establish the friendship among the characters and I love how it took advantage of the SoL and Comedy to do that. Some of the relationships in the anime are really pretty cute to watch and knowing how close they characters are is one of the reasons I can’t stop watching the anime. I personally love how some characters often act cold to each other but it’s only because they can’t express their feelings properly. The main characters have a nice chemistry together. They start out like any typical foursome with the loud one, the level headed one, the serious one and the one that gets constantly abused. As the anime progresses though, some characters grow out of their role with some really just gets better in theirs. There is a decent transformation in some of the girls because the anime really made sure the relationship among them is fully explored.

Even the side characters had a decent introduction. The screen time of some of the side were pretty equal to some of the main ones. In fact, some of the side characters eventually get more screen time than some of the main characters. It’s not really that bad because, once again, the relationships of the characters are fully explored. I love how some of the members of the student council are fond of the amusement club members and the anime often focused on the two club’s relationship.

Of course, the reason why the relationship of the girls is highlighted is because of the Shoujo Ai elements. The idea of the girls being romantically linked does cross my mind multiple times when watching other show like this one. They spend so much time together that it’s not really a shock if one of the girls decide to pursue another. This anime did that. Well, there’s nothing hardcore in the anime though. I’ll tell you right now that the Shoujo Ai elements are pretty tame. The best the anime have is two characters kissing in a very light hearted or comedic way. The rest of the Shoujo Ai often involves this unspoken love between two characters. The anime spent a lot of time showing how these two friends are close to each other that they eventually feel more than friendship between them. They often argue or annoy each but they also appreciate each other. There are also some relationships where one character secretly like each other. Either way though, the girls love aspect of the anime is very puppy dog love or elementary crush. I didn’t really mind that as long as the anime had some Shoujo Ai scenes with some awesome girl on girl action.

The girl on girl action in the anime is pretty subtle. Like I said, the best it had was some characters kissing but no relationship moving forward. It was a bit of a bummer for me because I really wanted some good girl on girl friction. Often times, one character just imagine some of the girls doing each other. It was pretty satisfying but also a bit disappointing. The major reason why the Shoujo Ai elements weren’t as prominent is because the anime isn’t really a Shoujo Ai anime. It’s a Comedy/SoL anime with only a sprinkling of Shoujo Ai to make it stand out. The balance of the elements were pretty good so I really complain that much even though I personally wanted more Shoujo Ai action.

This is a pretty solid anime that was able to make the four girls concept pretty fun to watch. Some of these shows are pretty boring because of its SoL nature and some gets redundant because of the weak comedy constantly being recycled. This show was able to overcome those hurdles and I think it’s in part to its Shoujo Ai elements. It wasn’t that strong but the audience’s ability to ship some characters and imagine them do things the anime wasn’t able to show is enough to make people happy. I do hope the second season had more girl on girl action though.

Sight and Sound

The character design is moe. These are the typical cute girls with big heads and bug eyes with slim bodies. The cuteness of the characters does come out tremendously without the characters becoming moeblobs. Their bright colored hair and their slender bodies in their uniforms really bring out the characters appeal. The eyes were a bit hard to appreciate at first because they look like dead fish eyes but you’ll eventually get used to it. It complements the characters cuteness even more so it’s pretty decent. I really love the uniforms of the girls. It looks pretty decent but it has a very short skirt that often exposes the sexy curves and the smooth legs of the characters. They are cute but they are also subtly sexy because of the uniform. The characters looked a bit alike at first because they all had the same height and face shape but thankfully the personalities was able to make some girls stand out.

The anime had some Shoujo Ai fan service when some of the girl’s imagine the characters being intimate. They look cute but there is an air of sexiness in the scenes that I really appreciate. Seeing these cute girls in mature situations was pretty fun to watch even though it wasn’t really that much. The way the characters cling on to each other and do some fan service also made me wish the anime had more girl on girl action. Hey, I don’t see a lot of that kind of anime so I was kind of hoping this anime would deliver.

The animation is pretty great. The facial expressions of the characters were nicely animated especially when they overreact to some of the jokes. The movements are also pretty smooth and it was pretty precise. A lot of scenes have some girls fidget all over the place and the animation was really smooth to capture the hyper active movements of the girls. I do notice some episodes had some low quality animation like when some of the girls were feeding each other. The scene was pretty irritating because the way the feed each other is pretty awkward. Majority of the animation is pretty great though and I love how the cuteness of the characters comes through in the animation.

The anime’s OP is “Yuriyurarararayuruyuri Daijiken” by Nanamori Chu☆Goraku Bu. The voice actors sang the song. It’s a very hyper and cute song. The song is really catchy and I often myself shaking my head to the beat of the song. The characters all had their line in the song and it was pretty decent. The voice actors were able to capture the cuteness of the characters with their lines. The song pretty much resembles the anime with lines about the normal lives of the girls and their crushes to each other. The OP sequence is pretty normal. It features the girls and their cuteness in various scenes where they do normal activities. It pretty much captures the content of the anime.

The anime’s ED is “My Pace de Ikimashou” by Nanamori Chu☆Goraku Bu. Again, it’s sung by the four girls of the anime. It has the same energy and catchy beat as the opening song. I love the way the characters just ramble on the lines of the song because of its fast pacing. The characters all had a line in the song and they were, one again, able to bring out the cuteness of their voices. The ED sequence is the same as OP. It features the girls acting all cute and doing things together.

Overall Score

8/10 “A solid comedy/Slice of Life anime with some sprinklings of Shoujo Ai wrapped in a bubble of cuteness.”

This is a very fun show. The comedy was effective and the fan service, even though it’s a bit subtle, was pretty fun to watch. If you like shows about four girls in a slice of life setting but has the promise of girl on girl action then you’ll like this anime. I recommend it.

warren.mante - 2013-12-02 18:13:04

NOTICE: This is a 100% bias review. Which does not contain any fact or criticism. It's my pure enjoyment for the show. In actuality, it's not nearly as good as I said it is.

"YuruYuri.. Hajimaru yo! "- Akarin

Yuruyuri is an AMAZING anime. It was aired in 2011 and animated by Dogakobo. I really love this show as it brings so much happiness to me. It never fail to make me laugh and I always feel so happy seeing the character doing pointless things.

The story of Yuruyuri is pretty simple. Our four main characters just recently started middle school and they formed an amusement club so they can have fun. That's it. Yeah that's the whole summary of the show. What I love about it is that everything they did is so fun to watch. I love seeing them going to school trip, drawing random stuff, visiting each other house and playing games. Everything is so funny for me as this is the kind of humour I love. This is genuinely one of the funniest show I've seen. The story is also near flawless. There is literally nothing wrong with the story at all, there are no plot holes, characters act like how they should be and the pacing is near perfect.

+ The positive:

1. Damn funny

2. No plot holes

3. Well organised

4. Great pacing

5. Very enjoyable

6. Simple and easy

- The negative:

1. Too short

The animation is simply amazing. The movements are smooth and fluid. Characters are detailed and the backgrounds are colourful. Though the lighting could be better. The special effects are also really well done such as when the characters have funny imagination with explosive and stuff.

+ The positive:

1. Smooth

2. Fluid

3. Great special effects

4. Colorful

- The negative:

1. Lighting

Sparkles!

DAT OPENING! The opening is just... no word can describe how awesome it is. Just watch it for yourself. The background music is quite typical but it adds additional impact to the story. Voice acting is also great, I can distinguish every character's voice with my eyes close. Shout out to Yuka Ōtsubo for being the most awesome voice in the show

+ The positive:

1. Amazing opening

2. Unique voice for each character

3. Yuka Otsubo

4. DAT OPENING again

- The negative:

1. Bland background music

2. Typical ending song

DAT OPENING

One of the OST

The characters are definitely the best thing about the show. Every characters are so fun and have their own unique personality. This made each and everyone stands out and different from each other. The characters interaction is also really good as each characters treat every everyone differently. This reveal their personality more and their relationship. A special mention to Toshinou Kyouko, as the best character in the whole series. She is the most AWESOME character in all of slice of life anime. She's even in my top 10 female characters. I love her for being the one pulling the strings and being the pillar of the show.

+ The positive:

1. Toshinou Kyouko

2. Fun and enjoyable

3. Characters interaction is amazing

4. Toshinou Kyouko

- The Negative:

1. There is Toshinou Kyouko, therefore there are no negative points

Sleep over time!

More Toshinou Kyouko because it's never enough

All of that stuff written above can count as my enjoyment towards the show. I enjoyed it from the very first second to the last. Though it didn't make me have the void or cried or anything like it. I just enjoyed it being fun and funny.

I love Yuruyuri so much. Not many anime can make me feel like this.

Like Yuruyuri? Watch Ika Musume

Don't like Yuruyuri? Watch Great Teacher Onizuka

Want some Yuri? Watch Strawberry Panic. Not hardcore enough? Watch Sono Hanabira

Don't like my bias review? Read my completely objective review: Guilty Crown

Want a normal genuine review? Here's Madoka Magica and Kara no Kyoukai and Death Note

My bias score for Yuruyuri

If I have to look at it normally

"People say I'm amazing when I strip" - Toshinou Kyouko

ghowe - 2013-11-08 21:22:51

k so this anime is an instruction guide to teach girls how to be homosexual

;D ;D ;D

IM STILL GIVING IT 9/10

odouglas - 2013-11-08 01:48:37

As always, my reviews are spoiler free.

This review focuses on the first season of Yuru Yuri, but also deals with the second. They are too similar to warrant separate reviews.

Come on over, reader. Take a seat for a minute, and let’s have a heart to heart. You like cute girls don’t you? You like to watch them have fun together and seeing the mundane things they are up to in their day to day lives? I thought so. Most anime fans do.

You like romance too, don’t you? Even if it’s not the focus, you can’t help but feel a tingle of warmth in your heart when you see the embrace of two individuals who have been pining for each other for ages. You know what’s even better? When they’re both girls. I know you like yuri, whether you are going to admit it or not. I know things. And so did Studio Dogakobo when they pumped out Yuru Yuri.

There’s way too much drama and subtext in normal yuri and shojou ai series, and a busy person like you doesn’t have time to deal with that. Hold the drawn out romance and build-up, you’ve got stuff to do. Dogakubo’s goal was to deliver, at your convenience, all the fun of a regular CGDCT/SOL (Cute Girls Doing Cute Things/Slice of Life) topped off with that tingly sensation you feel in your pants when two cute girls lock lips.

They succeeded. They went above and beyond expectations.

It’s not even so much that this series is especially good, but just like when Kyoto Animation struck gold with Haruhi or someone first put peanut butter and jelly together, they found a formula that just worked. This is immediately evident because ever since the airing of Yuru Yuri almost every single CGDCT/SOL has had romantic undertones between female members. Yuru Yuri was obviously not the inventor of the yuri or shojou ai genres, or even lesbians (or undertones thereof) in the CGDCT/SOL genre, but it was the one who really started milking the idea. The Model T wasn’t the first car. The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone. But, they were ones that mattered, the ones who made the idea mainstream for one reason or another. Yuru Yuri did this with internally “shipping” their own characters, putting them in provocative situations with one another. Most of the genre has followed suit ever since (ex. Yuyushiki, Kiniro Mosaic, and the currently-airing-as-of-this-review Non Non Biyori).

Is it imitation, coincidence, or something more sinister? Let’s take a look at Genesis and find out.

Story - 6/10

If you’ve ever managed to sit through one of my reviews on a CGDCT/SOL, you’ll know I begin with a sermon about one cannot rate a series of this genre by its story; after all, they are all by definition about the daily lives of the characters. However, one can rate its “feel.” No, not >tfw. I mean the type of thing that separates Nichijou and K-ON! The kind of thing that separates Black Lagoon and Psycho Pass. They are the same genre but focus on different things.

Gay is Yuru Yuri’s feel. Aside from being about the lives of several girls and their antics, it is the standard reactionary/situational comedy that you’ve seen again and again, but the characters admit to having feelings for each other, or very obviously do. Does this change the dynamic of the series, or add anything to it? Not in the slightest. It is one more outlet for jokes, and nothing ever comes of it.

While a good portion of the jokes do involve the lesbian undertones, such as one girl getting a bloody nose imagining couples together, it is still mostly just average tsukkomi/boke (straight man/funny man) humor combined with running gags (one of which is quite enjoyable). It is enjoyable if you are fan of this type of thing, don’t get me wrong, but it pales massively in comparison to comedy-focused series such as Nichijou.

Animation - 6/10

The art and animation straddle the line between average and slightly above, at least for their times. It uses an indistinct “moe” art style, but exhibits notable facial expressions which can enhance the comedy in the moment. Its pallet is sadly a bit dull and dark, which is not something I expected. Usually pastels are more popular in this area. Backgrounds are disappointingly plain.

Animation is smooth and there are few, if any, notable mistakes made in movement or backgrounds, but it is not an exceptional feat with the amount of detail present.

Sound - 7/10

Yuru Yuri’s soundtrack is notable for the catchy opening, and little else. Neither season has a good soundtrack, be it OPs (aside from the previously mentioned exception), EDs, insert songs, or backing tracks. It is as bland as the art.

On the bright side, the large cast of characters is very well voiced, so well in fact that it is able to save the sound section from a below average score.

Characters - 6/10

Yuru Yuri has a large cast of characters, but is primarily about the lives Yui, Kyouko, and Chinatsu, all middle school girls who are very clearly craving some action. Yui is the straight man, always trying to keep Kyouko in line. She is a carbon copy of Yui from Yuyushiki, name, personality, and seiyuu. Kyouko is outwardly perfect, getting great grades and excelling at everything she tries, but is hyperactive and always getting the others into trouble with her ideas. Chinatsu is rather mean-spirited, spending most of her time plotting ways to find her way between Yui’s legs.

The secondary cast Himawari and Sakurako, the tsundere pair of childhood friends who want to play house for real, Ayano, who wants to hate-fuck Kyouko into dust, and Chizuru, whose nose erupts like a volcano whenever she imagines something gay (which is quite often in this series). Aside from them, there are a number of other characters appearing for short periods of time.

They really are a pretty bland bunch, and aside from them being tangled in some sort of love spiderweb, there is little of note about them. Because the cast is so large, few have time to develop any sort of backstory or features, leading the same jokes to be repeated ad nauseam.

Enjoyment - 5/10

I love yuri, wherever I can find it. I swear on Strawberry Panic, get into fist fights about the MioxRitsu pairing, and squeal like a fangirl when two girls kiss. Sadly, that is not enough to make Yuru Yuri stand out on its own merit. As I have mentioned above, it seldom strays away from average in anything it does.

However, for reasons which I cannot explain, it started a trend in the CGDCT/SOL genre that continues to this day, and that is something worthy of some recognition. Even without, it has a decent blend of characters and comedy that could entertain some more than me, plenty of lady love going on, and a few gags that are simply unforgettable.

edythe35 - 2013-09-09 07:48:33

One of the more recent attempts to jump on the 'cute girls doing cute things' bandwagon is a comedy series that tries to mix things up by adding lesbianism into the mix. Sure these types of shows have hints at relationships between the same sex, but to my knowledge Yuru Yuri is the first of these kind of shows to come right out and say it. It's a bold move but can the show stick out with boldness alone? No. No it can't.

The show's formula is somewhere between Lucky Star and K-On. The structure is mostly a bunch of loosely connected gags like Lucky Star but less random and more coherent like K-On. Unfortunately, its not nearly as good as either. It feels empty even compared to the boring parts in Lucky Star. Being the sort of show it is the story is non existent but it's not funny enough to excuse the lack of cohesiveness. It has the interesting (If a little creepy (I'm not homophobic by the way)) angle of the characters actually being lesbians but where do they go from there? Fucking nowhere. It's just lame gag after lame gag.

As for the animation, it's basically just there to make the boring pictures come to boring life. Just like the rest of the show, it does what it needs to do and does nothing more.The art is basic but serves its purpose of showing incredibly bland lesbians doing incredibly bland stuff. It's basically exactly what you expect from this type of show. The colours are vibrant and it's easy on the eyes but calling it distinctive would be a bit of a stretch.

The opening and closing are catchy but still very bland sounding almost exactly the same as the opener to about 10 other shows in the same genre. Background music is incredibly forgettable so there's not much to talk about on that front. Pretty much the 'throw together a bunch of forgettable crap and hope you remember something' tactic the rest of the show uses.

Still on the subject of music, I did really like the music in the eye catchers. In fact I just really love them. It's up their with some of my favourite shows for eye catchers like Cowboy Bebop and Gurren Lagann. It's the best part about the show by far. If only the rest of it was that good. The cast has a few recognisable names such as Emiri Kato, Aki Toyosaki Aoi Yuuki, and Ayana Taketatsu. Although like a lot of things in the show,  the performances aren't very memorable.

Unless you haven't already put one and two together, you could probably guess how the characters are. Yep that's right. Bland and generic with no defining traits. It's all based on character types. There's Energetic Spice, Quiet Spice, Frequently Ignored Spice and Stalker Spice. God the Spice Girls are awful. Where was I going again? Oh yeah! The characters in this show suck. But if the main cast is bland, perhaps the background characters could be interesting. No dice. There's the pervert, the tsundere, Hell Girl, the tsundere, the tsundere and the tsundere. Oh yeah, and they're all lesbians

Overall, this show is just another show. It has nothing to differentiate itself as its own show. Its style of comedy is 'borrowed' heavily from much better shows like Azumanga Daioh. I know I've been repeating myself for most of the review but my point still remains valid. This show is incredibly unoriginal. It has ideas on how to do it differently, some nice running gags and an atmosphere that's ripe with opportunities for comedy but all that potential is just wasted. If you don't like these types of shows, avoid it at all costs. If you do, you're still better off watching something else

demario.towne - 2013-05-17 09:23:23

"Ah, nothing better than the smell of yuri in the morning...."

I'm kidding of course, but if you are a fan of yuri elements, well then I have just the anime for you!  Yuru Yuri, as the name implies, is a slice of life comedy that incorporates yuri elements.  However, for a show that has the word yuri in its name, most of the yuri is left up to the viewer to determine, and there isn't as much outright yuri as one would expect.  That being said, if you do not enjoy slice of life anime, you will most likely not enjoy Yuru Yuri.  The show follows 3 middle school girls as they hang out after school in the Amusement Club.  The setting is, quite honestly, nothing original or striking, but it is not obtrusively cliche.  As time goes on, more and more characters are introduced, all of which are cute girls, and we see our heroines interact with each other.

There is little in the way of plot or character development in the show, which is about what you should expect.  However, with such a large cast, watching the characters interplay with each other doesn't grow old, and is in fact, quite enjoyable.  The main characters are always fun to watch, and you may find yourself shipping some together, if you are one so inclined to do so.  The point I'm trying to make is that, yes, Yuri Yuri is, at its core, 3 girls doing cute things, but it is still fun to watch, and that is mainly due to its characters.  

First off, we have the main character, Toshinou Kyouko.  Hardheaded and hyperactive, she has arguably the most presence of all the characters.  Kyouko is probably not the most dynamic character, but she functions as the source of the fun in the group.  Of course, no goofy main character would be complete without her straight man, and that is where Funami Yui comes in.  The straight laced Yui is used as a contrast to Kyouko, although she does have her own cute moments.  Rounding out the main cast is Yoshikawa Chinatsu, a girl one year their junior.  She's a bit harder to bear than the other two, but is as cute as ever.   There might be another main character, but I just can't seem to recall right now....

As for the art style, it is indeed Moe to the Max.  With huge eyes and cute smiles, you'll have to have a heart of stone not to love these designs (or an irrational hatred of all things moe, or a difference of opinion).  The character designs from Namori's original manga have been faithfully transferred to the anime, so any fans of the manga will not be disappointed.  

In summary, Yuru Yuri isn't anything new/ innovative, but it is an extremely good time.  The characters are fun, the art is nice, the opening theme will get stuck in your head for hours, and it is a series that I highly recommend.