OP Sequence

OP: 「Chochocho! Yuru Yuri☆Capriccio!!!」 (ちょちょちょ!ゆるゆり☆かぷりっちょ!!!) by Nanamori Chu☆Goraku Bu (七森中☆ごらく部)

“It is The Beginning of Amusement”


「それは、すなわち、娯楽の始まり」 (Sore wa, Sunawachi, Goraku no Hajimaji)

Yuru Yuri is Back!:

After a few TV specials throughout the year, Yuru Yuri is back in full for its third season, and it’s almost like it never left. Perhaps it’s easier for me to say that since I only caught up with the second season and the TV specials last week. However, I did watch the first season back when it aired in 2011, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wasn’t sure if I would still get the same kick out of it after jumping back in four years later, but the episodes whizzed by and before I knew it I was all caught up again. I can only sympathise with long-time fans of the series who had to go through a 3 year drought before getting to this point. At least it’s here now, eh?

If you watched the TV specials you may have noticed the new style that Yuru Yuri has going for it – if you haven’t seen the specials, you might have felt it this episode. There’s a very good reason for that, as Dogakobo are no longer producing the show. Instead, we’ve got TYO Animations and a brand new staff working on it. After catching up with the bright, vibrant, cartoonish second season (much like the first) I was surprised by the sudden shift of style and gag delivery that TYO Animations is going for. The colours are more muted, there’s less quick cuts and in-your-face jokes, and the pacing has mellowed out. I thought the hour-long special in particular was a step down compared to what came before it (though the general art/animation/realistic backgrounds have improved), but thankfully these weekly episodes seem to be heading back in the direction of the original. Still, if you go back and compare this episode to an episode from the first or second season, there is definitely a noticeable difference.

Stars of the Episode – Chinatsu & Akari:

While I’m sure everyone has their favourites (most likely TOSHINO KYOUKO!), there were two stars of this episodes, and lucky for me they are my two favourite characters: Yoshikawa Chinatsu (Ookubo Rumi) and Akazi Akari (Mikami Shiori). I couldn’t ask for any more, because both of the longest gags this week heavily featured them. The first (and best) was the ‘King Game’, when each player drew a chopstick with an assigned number – one of the them the ‘King’ who has the ability to demand a random number do anything they wish. This results in a handful of cute/funny moments that put a smile on my face. I very rarely laugh out loud with Yuru Yuri, but I don’t think it’s that kind of show in the first place, so I don’t mean that as a complaint. However, Akari and Kyouko spinning around a hundred times and then fainting was hilarious, as were Chinatsu’s many reaction faces as she attempted to draw the King chopstick in order to command Yui to marry her. Of course, love never comes easy to the girls of Yuru Yuri, so it didn’t work in her favour. Still, her many attempts and her dedication was enough to make her the highlight of the episode.

Akari’s scene with Sakurako’s younger sister was another amusing moment, mainly because it reminds us all how pathetic Akari is. And I say that as a positive, honestly! I love our pitiful protagonist for her normalcy and her inability to stand out. Seeing her trip over and scrape her knee, spill her cider, and make a dozen or so worried expressions after feeling inadequate in comparison to a younger girl – all those moments are why I love her so much. We can never have enough Akari! Also, the recurring black coffee gag always gets me. She never has luck with that particular beverage, does she?

Overview – First Impressions:

I wouldn’t consider myself a massive Yuru Yuri fan, but it’s a pleasant show that’s incredibly easy to watch, and having it back is a nice addition to any season. I’m still unsure on how I feel about the change in studio and staff: on one hand it looks better, the animation is smoother, and the realistic environments adds a new dimension; but on the other hand it just doesn’t feel like the Yuru Yuri we all enjoyed in the first two seasons. It’s not bad by any stretch, perhaps it will just takes some time to get used to it. Ah well, I’ve got a full cour to adjust, and I’m sure by the end I’ll be satisfied with whatever Yuru Yuri San☆Hai! delivers.

Note: There are currently no plans to blog Yuru Yuri San☆Hai! on a weekly basis.

In other news: I posted an Anime Summer 2015 Review on my personal blog. Feel free to check it out and see what I thought of the past season – I even ranked all 24 shows I watched in order from worst to best.

ED Sequence

ED: 「Acchu~ma Seishun!」 (あっちゅ~ま青春!) by Nanamori Chu☆Goraku Bu (七森中☆ごらく部)

19 Comments

  1. I was surprised they didn’t start this episode with the usual Akkarin and then messing with Akari’s introduction. I don’t mind though since Akari is also my favorite. Yuru Yuri is back!

    Zhinvu
  2. Oh how I’ve longed for YY’s return. One of the few “cute girls doing cute things” shows that just works. Never takes itself seriously, always offers something hilarious, and features one of the softest and warming colour palettes I’ve seen in the genre.

    I will consider this season a failure however if there are not copious references to Akari’s lack of presence, Chinatsu’s ever ravenous hair, and Chitose’s low blood pressure 😛

    Pancakes
  3. I can handle 99% of the art changes… but the hair color changes for Yui/Sakurako just throw me off every time.

    I know for Yui her hair color is now actually closer to what it originally was in the manga, it wasn’t until the first anime that she got the more purple tinted hair… but after two seasons you just get used to something.

    qwert
  4. OH MY GOD!!! MAN have I missed this show! I frickin’ love Yuru Yuri and I’m so glad we got a continuation! If I’m not mistaken, the last one was like what, three years ago!? Damn, that’s soooo long…

    Ahem, in any case, Yuru Yuri just happens to be one of the few moe shows that are actually good and pleasant to watch. The jokes are over-the-top and hilarious and that’s what gives it its charm.

    What’s great this time is the bump in animation quality, which is cool. I think there was like, a slight frame rate drop in the OP sequence but apart from that, the movements were pretty fluid I’d say.

    Also, #ToshinoKyoukoBestGirl

    P.S. Did anybody notice the A&W parody during the vending machine segment? That was pretty neat.

    Nishizawa Mihashi
    1. And oh yeah! I forgot to mention that there seemed to be like a dip in the quality of the audio-recording for the voices. I mean, the VAs did a great job as usual but somehow the audio-quality sounded kinda lossy and a little lo-fi… I dunno, did anybody else noticed that?

      Nishizawa Mihashi
  5. Thank Crom there’s one good comedy this season.

    What makes YY so good IMO is the timing and the reactions, and those are two of the most important (and difficult) things in comedy. And Chinatsu’s hair. And her sometimes borderline reactions.

    The characters are all great. I don’t need any development. Just be funny for me.

    (If you didn’t laugh out loud during season 2’s “Art, Arter, Artist,” then there’s something wrong with you.)

    Honestly, this is one of the 2-3 shows that’s making it on to the “I can’t wait for next week!” list so far this season. Just about all of the rest feel like I’m watching another season of “Kuusen Madoushi whatever” that was so dull last season.

    s_w
  6. I do like the additional details the new studio put into the backgrounds. However, I felt that the lighting inside the clubhouse was way too gloomy in the first act, and the colour not being bright and bold felt strange. I actually thought it was my screen brightness setting at first. I’ll reserve judgement on how it will work with the tone of the series for a few more episodes though. Might be one of those cases where I go back to the old series and realize just how big an improvement this was.

    Still – not having Akari doing the introduction was kind of disappointing. I fell bad for her character during it, but nonetheless it was a staple of the series.

    This is definitely the year of long-awaited sequels with Working and, to an extent, Non Non Biyori as well.

    Taiakun

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