Love Bullet: Yurikuma Arash (Yuri/Lily Bear Storm)

[Solid Snake]

I've only watched the first episode, actually. I need to watch the other(s).

[Kim]

Now that I'm caught up we should totally watch the next two together. I'll make sure the subtitles are decent this time.

As for synk, Ikuhara has worked on Sailor Moon and he created Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum. His stories deal a lot with adolescence, but in a deeper way than just, "Well they're in high school." So far, Yurikuma seems to be about not just romance but sexual awakening, as well as stuff like being ostracized from social circles. It's got some great character designs, stellar music, and despite being about some heavy themes it seems to always make sure that it's just plain fun to watch as well. If that sounds like your cup of tea, give it a look.

Last but not least, here is someone's summing up of an interview with Ikuhara and Morishima Akiko.

Some of my favorite bits

+ Ikuhara notes that by working in the yuri genre, there are lots of things that he can only pretend to understand. To a point he considers that unavoidable with this subject matter, but he thought early on that the project needed someone with credentials people could have undying faith in: “Someone that would make people say, ‘With such a godlike person working on this, I have no choice but to follow along with it!’” He thinks some things may inevitably be a “little off” with him handling it, but believes Morishima’s involvement should keep the soul of the work intact.

+ Ikuhara decided after Penguindrum that his next work would be a “love story,” but he finds heterosexual romances to be played-out in general. Once you decide, “Okay, this is a love story between a girl and a boy,” it’s a struggle to find an angle that hasn’t been done before and doesn’t wander into the realm of cliche.

+ Ikuhara likes to start his shows by having the mangaka he works with inspire him, rather than the other way around. He gave Morishima an explanation for the show concept that was just a single page long, and asked her to build designs from there. She would press him for more details about the characters, and he would just reply, “Who knows?” to her questions. She started making little gag comics in the margins of her design sheets to try to get a better feel for the characters, which inspired Ikuhara as he began solidifying the characters’ identities.

+ They mention the bears were chosen as the motif because they are deadly (Ikuhara: “If we just wanted something cute, it might as well have been dogs.”). Bears introduce a life-or-death element to the narrative and that builds into the sexual angle. Ikuhara vaguely alludes to the idea of the sexual being directly connected to death.

+ notables from the other staff: the production meetings on this show run unbelievably long (and this is coming from ppl who worked on Penguindrum). The show can be unclear to even the staff, so it’s incredibly difficult for the people at the top to explain what’s required on a production level, and meetings stretch on forever as a result.

Comments about the high ratio of women on staff again. “Just like on Penguindrum, the staff acts like mothers and older sisters to Ikuhara.”

[Kim]

yurikuma got added to hulu so that's a convenient legal way for us to watch it together

[Solid Snake]

Let me know if you want to watch a couple episodes tonight.

[Kim]

Caught up on gay bears so I can watch with you whenevs Snake.