Yurikuma Arashi


Yurikuma Arashi is a Japanese yuri anime television series produced by Silver Link and directed by Kunihiko Ikuhara. The series was first announced via a website in August 2012, where it was referred to as the "Kunihiko Ikuhara/Penguinbear Project." The series first aired in Japan between January 5, 2015 and March 30, 2015 and is licensed in North America by Funimation. A manga adaptation illustrated by Akiko Morishima was serialized in Gentosha's Comic Birz magazine between February 2014 and April 2016 and has been licensed in English by Tokyopop under the title Yuri Bear Storm. The name appears to be a reference to Akira Yoshimura's novelization of the Sankebetsu [brown bear incident], The Bear Storm, though any more concrete link besides the presence of human-attacking bears is only speculated.

Plot

The manga and anime versions have significantly different plotlines.
In the manga version, the shy Kureha meets the transfer student Ginko, who appears in her dreams as a bear princess. As Kureha becomes friends with Ginko and gets to know her, she learns that Ginko is wrapped up in her own world in which she believes everything is made up of bears.
In the anime version, humans have created a Wall of Severance to separate themselves from the bears, who grew violent and attacked humans after a far-off planet known as Kumaria exploded, turning into a meteor shower that fell upon earth. Two bears, Ginko Yurishiro and Lulu Yurigasaki, sneak through the Wall of Severance and disguise themselves as humans, enrolling in the prestigious Arashigaoka Academy and taking an interest in Kureha Tsubaki, a human girl who despises bears after her mother was killed and eaten by one.

Characters

;Mitsuko Yurizono
;Konomi Yurikawa
;Katyusha Akae
;Eriko Oniyama
;Kaoru Harishima
;Choko Oki
;Uchiko Ai
;Reia Tsubaki
;Milne
;Kumaria
;Kale Yurishiro

Media

Printed media

The manga adaptation illustrated by Akiko Morishima began serialization in Gentosha's Comic Birz magazine on February 28, 2014, featuring a completely different plot to the anime series, and ended on April 30, 2016. The series was compiled into three tankōbon volumes released between November 21, 2014 and May 24, 2016. Tokyopop will release the manga adaptation in North America from January 22, 2019.
A novelization of the series, written by Ikuhara, Takayo Ikami, and Kei Takahashi and illustrated by Morishima, has been published by Gentosha Comics. The first novel was released on January 19, 2015 while the second novel was released on March 31, 2015.

Volumes

Anime

Yurikuma Arashi, also referred to as the "Penguinbear Project", was first revealed by Kunihiko Ikuhara at an event held on March 23, 2013, in which brief footage was shown behind closed doors. On August 24, 2014, the official website revealed the anime would be produced by Silver Link, with character designs adapted by Etsuko Sumimoto from Akiko Morishima's originals. The series aired in Japan between January 5, 2015 and March 30, 2015. The series was licensed in North America and the United Kingdom by Funimation, who simulcast the subtitled version as it aired and streamed a broadcast dub version from March 16, 2015. The opening theme is "Ano Mori de Matteru" by Bonjour Suzuki, and the ending theme is "Territory" by Miho Arakawa, Yoshiko Ikuta, and Nozomi Yamane. The anime soundtrack was released on April 24, 2015.

Episodes

All episodes were co-written by Kunihiko Ikuhara and Takayo Ikami, who had previously collaborated on Penguindrum.

Reception

The series has been praised as tackling the "prejudice facing gay people in Japan" while simultaneously being a "moving tale of prejudice and fear and love" which focuses on cultural treatment of all women, especially those who are lesbians, criticizes the "idealization of female innocence and purity," and serves as a study of bigotry. Further reviews praised as a well-written drama which is "densely packed with social commentary, multivalent symbolism, and references to historical events, literature," is LGBT-friendly, and is "all about lesbians."