Yuri Kuma Arashi - Part III

  • This is my take on Yuri Kuma Arashi by Kunihiko Ikuhara 

    The Exclusion Ceremony on Episode 9:

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    This speech is actually repeated throughout the series. On Episode 3 we have something quite similar as well during the exclusion ceremony:

    “’Friends’ are more important than anything else, agreed? The ‘friends’ here in this classroom right now: that’s us. People who contradict our feelings are a disgrace, agreed? People who stick out of our crowd are just no good, agreed? People who refuse to fit in with us are a nuisance, agreed? People like that who can’t follow social cues… are evil. Sumika Izumino got killed by a bear because of that. It’s only natural, isn’t it? It’s because she was evil. We must decide who the next evil to exclude is. Let’s search evil.”

    And what I found amazing is that 9 episodes later, the EXACT same speech was given.

    But what caught my eye was what followed the above scene on episode 9:

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    Now, let’s dissect this scene:

    We have the only male characters in the entire anime who have relevance (I’m not counting with Lulu’s brother) bluntly stating a social mechanism of exclusion and its’ psychological effects to a community level as he observes two girls making out.

    I think that it comes as no surprise that one of the biggest mechanisms of cohesion to a nation, for example, is a common enemy and that is exactly what is stated here. Society itself is fragile and dependent on invisible structures buried in the human mind which can easily be manipulated; therefore without a “palpable” motif for cohesion, everything would fall apart.

    These girls exclude people in order to keep a sense of unity and purpose within their community. That is why the word “evil” is repeated countless times – it is no longer just a statement or reinforcement of facts; it’s a process of repetition to convince oneself.
    Another side to this is: as long as their enemy is evil, it is not human and it creates a disassociation between the two parts so it becomes easier to call. This is a common psychological process used for warfare - dehumanization of the enemy.
    They are actually confronted with this on the last episode when Kuhera becomes a bear and they are hesitant about killing - they see the true cruelty of their actions. Specially that one girl with the pigtails who ends up helping a bear herself by the end. 

    Another interesting thing about this scene:

    These three characters are the only male ones with actual relevance for the plot (I’m excluding Lulu’s brother here as well); and they are bears.

    I think it was quite clever how Ikuhara put them in a position of power, judging the fate of yuri love – a reference to the patriarchy and male entitlement. In the scene above, we have the ones who judge exploring the ones who are judged. Isn’t that what most men do? Don’t they judge women’s sexuality and sexual orientations and yet, they lust and take advantage of the same things they condemn? And this also applies to society in general: it condemns poverty as bad and the poor as parasites; but it explores them so that the rich can stay rich. Pure hypocrisy.

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    Another brilliant remark from Ikuhara has to be the scenario for the exclusion ceremonies.

    They not only judge at random, but they also do it assuming to be in a superior position. Some people say “only God can judge” and I believe Ikuhara is playing around with that saying: aren’t the people who judge and condemn playing God themselves? And that is a tricky game to play since it can turn on you – we saw that throughout the entire series.

    Critiques aside, I found it a beautiful love story. It explored quite well the subject of obsession, possession and selfishness as unhealthy ways of expressing love and selflessness as a true form of love.

    In sum, I think Ginko expressed the whole point of the show as a social critique and as a love story in Episode 4:

    The taste of love – something no storm or bear or human can destroy.

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    This was a very long review and the most elaborate one I’ve ever done. I wish I had had more time to explore everything I wanted to explore about this amazing anime; unfortunately, college took away all of my free time and this was the best I could do.
    I apologize for possible spelling mistakes and I hope you’ve had fun reading.


    Thank you for reading and let me know what you think :)