[Anime Review]/Yuru Yuri - Insanity Qubedx2

Alright, I have to say that after watching both seasons...our minds are a bit warped. As in, they'll likely not be the same as they were before watching this show. Not that that's a bad thing, nor were our minds not strange to begin with, we actually love shows like this because of the way they are. In the same vain of past classics as Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star and the current Yuyu Shiki, Yuru Yuri takes slice of life and goes mental with it.

When we started watching it, it was a the recommendation by a friend and while it did take us some time to get through (26 episodes after all) amongst a lot of other shows, I have to say that I'm quite happy we did. One might ask, "But what about all the ecchi and fan service in it?" I'd reply to that question with "Well, it's in there...but it's entirely expected".

So yeah, while I did compare it just above to some other classic SoL series, this one does go a bit further than they did with a lot of things. Maybe it's just the times or maybe it's just because they wanted to. Either way, save for a few moments that are like "WTF?!", it's really not all that bad and the show revels in highlighting the "less than savory" bits. I have to give 'em credit for that...

• Genre: Comedy/Slice of Life
• Length: 26ep (two seasons)
• Rating: 7.5/10
• Recommendation: Great way to blow a weekend with something familiar, but different enough to warrant the watch. Just overlook the insanely overt yuri/ecchi stuff and you'll be fine...or don't. We won't judge ya ~.^

As per your typical SoL comedy out there, everything revolves around a few characters during their time at school. Yeah, we're not going to be deviating from that at all here and why should we? The show mostly follows the members of The Amusement club (don't ask, even they don't know what the hell it's about either), Akari, Kyoko, Yui and Chinatsu.There's a ton more, but we'll get to that in a bit here. Otherwise this would be just a paragraph full of names that have you no idea about...amusing, but probably not the best way to go about things either.

Anyways, to get back on track...

Of course, not a single one of them is sane (did you really expect them to be?) and despite the fact that Akari is seen as the show's protagonist, her unassuming and plain demeanor has often pushed to the background. So much so that the even the show itself is aware of it and constant gags come out of it in the show's opening as well as several bits throughout the run.

So, while we have Akari being non-existent to the rest of the cast, it would seem that it's quite possible Kyoko and Yui are the next in line for being the next best thing to a protagonist pair that you can hope for. (Much to the chagrin of student council member, Chitose) Yui does her best to keep the over the top and chaotic Kyoko in check, but usually it fails or winds up in some kind of comical mix.

What about Chinatsu you ask? Initially she doesn't even want to be there, she was hoping that the Amusement Club was actually the Tea Ceremony Club. It's easy to sympathize with her though, they did just kind of squat in the space as the defunct club and rope her into joining them so they have enough members (not like we haven't seen that before). They do make up for it though, usually by having Chitose make them tea randomly, at least it gives her a break from the constant fawning (read: obsession) that Kyoko has with her but she's more interested in Yui. 

Yes, if you've not noticed (and I'm not sure how) the yuri fantasies are strong in this one. Don't worry though, they don't go too far with things and it doesn't turn into anything that horrible and it won't hurt you (at least I don't think it will). 

Chart? Nope...but here's a picture. You figure out! ~.^

Confused yet? No? Good! 

So, as you can tell there's a lot of "relationship" stuff going on here and if you're not keeping track...you'll get thrown off the scent in about two seconds and it'll take the better part of a life time to piece it all together. Normally, I'd be all spiffy here and say "Look at this nifty chart!", but I'm not gonna do that, it would make things too easy and seeing all of them play out as they happen is far more entertaining I think. So, you'll just have to watch to find out.

Right about now I'd go on about something plot related, but seeing that this is an SoL...there isn't much of one to be had. The only plot that's there is the two year journey that we take the main members of the Amusement Club and all those who get sucked into their madness, primarily the Student Council. You have your school trips, cultural festivals, trips to places like comiket, etc that you see in other shows of the genre and as always, they provide some extremely amusing moments. I should also point out that there's actually is some pretty good character development going on in this and you really do start to like the characters as a whole too. (Not surprising, but it's worthy of mention.) Sure a couple of them fall into various trope traps, but the main characters are fleshed out rather nicely amongst the chaos.

Production wise, I can't really see much to nitpick here. The style of the animation, voice and writing lend itself well to the material. Sure, it's nothing to write home about in many ways but it's right where it should be. Nothing over done, just right and deep down there's nothing wrong with that at all. Especially when it manages to just go with the flow and nothing is forced or takes itself too seriously. I mean, look at what we're dealing with here. Too serious would be bad...in any aspect.

Overall, I say give it a go. Carrie and I had a blast marathoning our way through things and while I have been light on the details in this review, there's really just too much to get through and not end up doing a huge recap. So, if you're really curious and looking for a good 12 hours of hilarity? Go on, go watch it...by the time you're done we'll have another show for ya to watch! (We can hope at least...)