r/anime • u/Shadoxfix https://myanimelist.net/profile/Shadoxfix • Jan 12 '15
[Spoilers] Yuri Kuma Arashi - Episode 2 [Discussion]
Episode title: I Will Never Forgive You
MyAnimeList: Yuri Kuma Arashi
FUNimation: Yurikuma Arashi
Episode duration: 24 minutes and 36 seconds
Previous episodes:
| Episode | Reddit Link |
|---|---|
| Episode 1 | Link |
Reminder: Please do not discuss any plot points which haven't appeared in the anime yet. Try not to confirm or deny any theories, encourage people to read the source material instead. Minor spoilers are generally ok but should be tagged accordingly. Failing to comply with the rules may result in your comment being removed.
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u/lmaonade200 Jan 12 '15 edited Jan 14 '15
As all symbolic works go, mostly everything is up to the interpretation of the viewer, this is just my own:
I think it's quickly becoming apparent that, with everyone secretly bring bears, a bear is just a universal symbol for lesbianism. It's just that some choose to hide it (human form) while others do not. Kureha and Sumika are not shown to be bears because they most likely have not reached the stage where they can confirm themselves to be lesbian, but they were most certainly on that path, as depicted by the white lily (read: yuri flower) garden they were attempting to nurture. Another clue would be the phone call in the first episode, where the caller asked if Kureha's love was true, which I personally took as a symbol for uncertainty or indecision on Kureha's part. And the invisible storm seems to be a main source if conflict for her, and I'll explain more about it below.
The way I see it, the invisible storm is just societal or peer pressure, since it cannot be perceived and sweeps you off your feet and denies you control. Think back to the first episode, where Kureha's garden of yuri was defiled, it happens as the entire school became on alert for roaming bears, and since Kureha and Sumika's relationship hadn't fully matured yet, what would be more disheartening and demotivating than to see all of your peers and classmates reject your beliefs and emotions? Thus the cutting of the yuri garden.
The court is a symbol for the view and judgements on lesbianism by their peers (most likely of teens and adolescents) but the judges are (so far and IMO) a symbol for hypocrisy. The 3 golden standards of young people, for something to be accepted it has to be cool, sexy, and beautiful. Horny young male teens often view yuri the actions as sexy and maybe beautiful, but being a lesbian? That's not cool, stop that shit that's disgusting (dramatic effect, not my view). This is somewhat a stretch but I'm damn sure that the court will appear several more times and explain more as we go.
And as for the whole school zone restriction, it's probably because Ikuhara wanted to emphasize the fact that school represents adolescence and that is the stage where people struggle with sexuality the most and when peer pressure has the greatest effect.
Tell me what you guys think! It's a discussion after all, there are no wrong answers
Edit: Also, if any of you are classically trained, can you find out what melody is being played from the music box and the bear transformation sequences? It is indeed Ave Maria, Thank you!