Ikuhara is quite the director. Theres no one in the industry that can weave such vivid social commentary into such visually vibrant unique and confounding narratives as the creator of Utena and Penguindrum can. This time the master artist has lesbians bears and storms in his sights. So is Yurikuma Arashi as brilliant as Ikuharas previous works? Eh A couple hundred years back a bunch of meteorites hit earth. Since then bears and humans have been locked in combat cos yknow bears eat people and people shoot bears. The Wall of Severance was built to separate the human world from the bears. One girl Kureha Tsubaki has a particularly strong hatred of bears after one ate her mother. She also has a borderlineromantic friendship with another girl Sumika Izumino. Problem is there are reports a bear has infiltrated their school and is now masquerading as a human. Yurikuma Arashi is a visual masterpiece. With a predominantly pink colour palate and imagery inspired by cinematic classics such as The Shining Suspiria and Psycho the series forges a unique and highly memorable visual identity of its own. https://sakugabooru.com/data/9d6269acbe01d38f76061248930adacd.mp4 This is exceedingly important given that first and fore mostly Yurikuma Arashi is a visual tale an allegory that makes use of visceral motifs and symbolism to create a poignant criticism of a persecutory bigoted Japanese although definitely not exclusively society. The series is very much Ikuharas soapbox his mouthpiece in this regard. All of his metaphors and stylistic flair well most of it at least all the walls bears lilies birds and invisible storms help construct his overall message. Which incidentally isnt as complex as its made out to be. To put it simply hes bashing on a Japanese society which excludes and alienates those in transgressive relationships homosexuals or more broadly those that dont follow social norms. In fact this is pretty much explicitly stated in the show. Indeed despite its chaotic and ostensibly cryptic exterior Yurikuma Arashi is actually a very simple series with a very simple but no less pertinent message. For the seasoned viewer all the visual metaphors wont take too long to decipher and with them Ikuharas purpose and contention. As it stands Ikuharas obsession with allegory and symbolism is also the shows greatest failing. What made Utena and Penguindrum so great wasnt just the quirky visuals and deeper social commentary. Rather it was a blend of these factors with an impactful moving and emotive story complete with fleshedout nuanced and compelling characters. This is what Yurikuma Arashi lacks. It appears that Ikuhara was so caught up in producing a rich piece of art that spews out profound social commentary in a colourful display of sexual innuendos hilarious catchphrases and kawaii bears that he forgot the basics of his craft. Its unfortunate that to create his deepnmeaningful social commentary Ikuhara chose to create a cast of bland uninspired and uncharacteristically shallow characters. https://sakugabooru.com/data/6b74d618008f78bab45abb6388b8de37.mp4 If youve read DaLadyBugMans review its probably apparent that I nearly fully share his consensus. There is one point Id like to disagree with him on and thats Yurikumas plot. Whilst the actual narrative is certainly nothing new and indeed is somewhat clich in a variety of departments I dont necessarily think its the shows primary weakness. When we get down to it Yurikumas plot is much like many of Masaaki Yuasas works a simple love story. However just as with many of Yuasas series it manages to distinguish itself due to its inherent individual charm. Also I personally found the ending hella satisfying. Rather Yurikuma Arashi for the most part Id be lying if I said I didnt get just a little sentimental at times irrespective of how cheap the tactics mayve been lacks emotional weight. This is largely because of how bland and indeed boring the main cast are. Although it may be seem reductive to dismiss most if not all of the shows characters as so onedimensional such that their single ubiquitous defining trait is their unbreakable love for another character nauseating I know well thats what they essentially are. That said some of the cast have their slight nuances and despite or perhaps because of their apparent simplicity they can be endearing in their own way. Still its almost irritating how uniform and discreet virtually everyone is doubly so for a series that blatantly advocates defying social norms. Even their backstories are remarkably similar. For all intents and purposes it was as if these characters werent characters as much as they were allegorical puppets. They were Ikuharas metaphorical mouthpieces and were utterly lacking in any distinctive qualities and any empathetic hooks of their own. Its pretty damn hard to feel sympathy for a puppet. As such the show wasnt nearly as engaging and moving as it probably could and shouldve been. Maybe it the episode count was too restrictive that said I doubt the plot couldve carried for that much longer. Yurikuma reminded me of Zankyou no Terror in a lot of ways. Resonances compelling message about a postwar obsession with material gain that led to a voiceless and resentful generation of youths was ultimately squandered by crappy plot points and uninteresting characters much like Ikuharas commentary in Yurikuma. I cant help but feel that just like Watanabe probably didnt invest as much care into crafting Nine or Eleven as he did Spike or Mugen Ikuhara probably didnt devote as much care into the creation of Kureha or Ginko as he did Utena or Kanba. 420https://thegarbagemanreviews.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/horriblesubsyurikumaarashi01720pmkvsnapshot192320150109200104.png There is a dubbed version although from what Ive seen of it I still prefer the subbed. Its unfortunate really. Despite how visceral visually and audibly striking and deeply gratifying Yurikuma Arashi is it is plagued by underdeveloped wallflower characters. This is without a doubt Ikuharas weakest work. Would I still recommend it? Definitely especially for you more artsy folk. That said dont be surprised if youre ultimately disappointed.