10 Things I love about Yuru Yuri (so far)

One of my greatest regrets was not giving Yuru Yuri a chance when it first aired. I read the initial synopsis and decided to give it a pass.

An incredibly foolish mistake that I hope I do not repeat again. Because Yuru Yuri is possibly the best, or at least the most entertaining anime I’ve watched in a long time.

And now that I’ve watched it, my new greatest regret is that I haven’t been giving it the attention it deserves. I suppose this post is some kind of penance for that. So anyway, in no order whatsoever, here’s my favourite 10 bits of Yuru Yuri as of episode 06.

An awesome OP and a catchy as hell song

That foot tapping on the floor bit gets me every time.

I know it gets kind of grating after a while (I tried looping the full song for an hour and my ears died after 15 minutes) but it’s still an OP I insist on watching through each episode. Dat Yui sempai~~~!

“TOSHINOU KYOUKO”

I need to start doing this to my friends. First name basis and all caps on. In real life. Oh yeah.

And the god-tier puns that come out of Ayano’s mouth. 安心 Angkor Wat ね!

It’s not established whether she’s doing it subconsciously, but if she is, I’m tempted to conduct some downright unethical Pavlovian stuff on my future children so that they too will partake of this glorious affliction.

(No, I’m not serious. These disclaimer things really ruin my fun.)

Akari versus the world

Now, I don’t know if I’m supposed to be rooting for Akari or enjoying her pain. She’s more than deserving of sympathy, but her determinator mindset is just asking for more brutal humiliation.

Should I be asking harsh, probing questions of myself? Such as, ‘how could I have stooped so low as to derive pleasure and amusement from the repeated and relentless abuse of a 13-year old schoolgirl who just wants to stand out more? What reason could I possibly give to justify my watching this?’

Because it feels so good.

Character themes

What’s the term for these things anyway? Commercial break transition sequences?

Even though they’re the same each episode, I still enjoy them every time. Especially Kyouko’s. Hers is especially upbeat.

… although for the life of me I can’t understand why Akari’s sticks in my head. It’s so plain. And yet it’s the easiest to recall.

And although I didn’t screencap it, that bit of Yui hugging her pillow smashes the sternum just right. Which brings us to…

Yui in a dress shirt

If there was an article of clothing that fills me with irrational sexual desire, it would be the dress shirt.

(My sister has begun to wear these. In the exact style that Yui does, with the short shorts. My brain is still struggling to maintain a semblence of morality.)

Also, Yui in a bikini.

Why is it that in anime, it’s always the conservative, modest girls who have the largest busts and wear distinctly unmodest swimwear?

Then again Yui doesn’t have Akiyama Mio levels of neuroticism. Which is win. Yui is Mio without the irrational fears or disproportionate propensity for violence.

I’m starting to think of Mio as the lesser Yui. Except for the left-handed bass thing. So they’re still about even. Suffice to say I could go on for ages about how much I love Yui.

Yuri Vision

How do people do it? I mean, the nosebleed thing? Because I’ve never gotten a nosebleed while fantasizing.

Not that I’m really complaining, since that would turn my fantasy time into messy frantic bloodfest pretty quick, but I wish I could walk past a hot girl and nosebleed on cue.

And of course, the ability to fantasize in high definition would be amazing as well. With optional sparkly backgrounds.

Although I can’t help but wonder what happens if Chitose’s delusions involves nudity. Would all the mosaics and black bars of doujinshi manifest in her delusions?

Screenwipes

Yes, it’s actually rather lazy and not really as fun as Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai’s cancerous moeblobs, but it delivers a kick to the sternum all the same.

Between this and R-15’s ED, I might wake up one day wondering how and why I had 70+ nenderoids arrayed around my room. Judging me with their cute little nenderoid eyes.

Kids

I don’t know what universe Yuru Yuri takes place in, but I want to live there. This is a world where kids (and one mother) are awesome.

“Come on, we mustn’t disrupt her invasion of earth.”

“Please forgive Sakurako-onee-chan. Sakurako-onee-chan is probably just tired. The warped society brought about by our modern education system is to blame.”

And my personal favourite: “Onee-chan, life is sour.”

Mari-chan is god-tier. She should never grow up.

Chinatsu’s voice acting

Ookubo Rumi is amazing. archyver pointed out to me that she sounds remarkably similar to Taketatsu Ayana (whom is probably my favourite seiyuu) but it’s delightful having Rumi-san go through all those mood swings.

One moment she’s a Yamato Nadeshiko, the next she’s a brat, and finally she brings in the Yandere for a trifecta finish.

And all through that she’s mad depraved for Yui. Legendary.

Not to mention her art. I couldn’t draw this badly even if I tried. This is the sort of thing that ought to be enshrined in the Lourve.

Damn near anything Kyouko does

While I wouldn’t say that half the show is spent indulging Kyouko and her random pursuits, it’s certainly true that she’s the driving force behind pretty much everything.

But the best part about Kyouko is that she’s an equal opportunist troll of supreme levels. She trolls Akari, Chinatsu, Yui, Yui’s cousin Mari-chan, and Ayano. I’m expecting the rest of the cast will be targeted in the remaining episodes.

Oh, the ways in which she trolls Ayano. Such high level trolling.

It certainly doesn’t hurt that she looks so good while doing it.

Yuru Yuri is so unpretentious yet pure that I can’t help but love it. I didn’t think I’d find an anime that could fill the void that K-On! left, but Yuru Yuri fills it to the point of overflowing.

I don’t think I’m quiate ready to call it my best anime of 2011, but it’s certainly coming on strong.

I suppose my only complaint revolves around the mysterious character Matsumoto Rise.

She’s actually seen in a few frames in the beach episode, but even for a supporting character, that’s terrible. I know it would screw with the current buddy pairings (Ayano-Chitose, Sakurako-Himawari) but more student council president screentime please.

Wait, there’s only 7 characters, isn’t there? We can add Rise in! Yui-Chinatsu, Kyouko-Ayano, Sakurako-Himawari, Chitose-Rise. It all fits! More student council president screentime please!

Ahaha. I couldn’t resist.