To me, my 2021 (and life in general) can be likened to sailing in a brig through a highly tempestuous ocean to in order to reach and resupply at the next port, one which you may not even know if it stands anymore.

The weather seems to work against you. Your supplies are limited, and disease stalks around the corner. You carry various baggage, and may lose some in the occasional whirlpool. But once in a while, the air is warm, pleasant and blows to your port’s direction. You may have quite some opportunities to catch fish, and the lost baggage makes your boat lighter.

And in the end of the journey, there it is. The port. But it is far from the pristine shipyard city you would envision. There is a whole new set of challenges to navigate, such as dealing with totally different people and the local market’s workings. At this stage, one bears their own biases, emotions and morals and has to learn to deal with a new whole set of biases, emotions and morals, plus any overarching set of rules.

Why bother writing this odd parallel? Because I want to point out that some challenges during the journey of life stem from objective circumstances, yet others from intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict. There are many totally subjective barriers dividing mankind, such as language, religion, culture, etc.

But the greatest barrier might be the ego. Many people claim to be tolerant of differences, but in practice just want their feelings validated and themselves reflected in the outer world. When somebody truly different shows up, they often react with fear and aversion, even if in a more implicit, passive-aggressive matter. And quite often, it is exactly because they see themselves reflected in the “Other” that they react as such. You frequently are what you hate.

How does this review fit with these? It happens that Yuri Kuma explores exactly that: the barriers of the heart and the barriers imposed by society. It is time to elaborate.

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[1. First with an introduction…]

Yuri Kuma could be summarized as a demented fairy tale with a few sci-fi elements, and an allegorical commentary on the inconsistent attitudes of Japan towards homosexuality.

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[2. Followed by details on its approach…] Yuri Kuma thrives on visual storytelling, with images as a narrative tool on their own right. The work is highly symbolical, the whole tale serving as an allegory. One needs to focus more on the subtext rather than the context, as if taken too literally the story is going to prove very frustrating.

And even then, the story can prove to be disturbing for all its apparent cuteness. Either way, one will bear (pun not intended) witness to a narrative interweaving stigma, repression, lust, segregation and hypocrisy.

Nonetheless, allegory is not meant to be an excuse for certain writing issues I am going to note. First of all, the cast is often mistreated and there is much wasted potential. For one, almost all characters are mouthpieces, reduced to mere pawns in order for the allegory to work out, as the story gets too focused on a certain relationship, something especially apparent in later episodes.

Many characters are unceremoniously tossed to the garbage bin, certain intriguing dynamics are never fleshed out (thus undermining any further thematic exploration on e.g. abusive relationships) and some characters turn into total extensions or satellites of others.

Also, the story can occasionally be riddled with so much fanservice that it can bring into question where the allegory ends and where the pandering starts. And on pandering in general, sometimes it can become questionable for no reason, e.g. with a character essentially shipping their child relative with another child. And there is frequent silly and misplaced comedy, e.g. in scene climaxes, that often ruin tension and drama in a most awkward fashion.

Any qualifications or drawbacks aside, there are also symbolisms not connected to homosexuality, such as a superego/ego/id one, and there might be a few references to literature, as a character is a reference to Winnie the Pooh.

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[3. Closing with notes on aesthetics…] There is not much need to elaborate on visuals. Quite alright, quite some cinematic shots, and given how a fair deal of imagery are symbols, expect lilies and the occasional surreal scenery. There are also some nice fairy tale-inspired flashbacks. On sound: I don’t particularly mind most seiyuu picks, but some could sound too squeaky and whiny to appreciate. Take my complain with a grain of salt, as I usually prefer deeper voices.

Yuri Kuma’s music is excellent, starting with its stunning OP, which is a hypnotizing and bittersweet electropop track, sang sultrily by Bonjour Suzuki. However, the rest of the music deserves credit as well, including some highly dramatic inserts, a catchy disco ED and perhaps one of the most otherworldly/alien insert songs in existence: Wall of Severance.

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All in all, Yuri Kuma is an unusual piece of work, with creativity, originality and thought placed behind its production, but also with flaws acting as barriers that prevent it from reaching its full potential. Likewise, us humans as well are barricaded by our own barriers that keep us away from evolving to our highest selves.

Happy New Year everybody!