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Yuruyuri: Happy Go Lily Blu-ray Season 1 Limited Premium Edition

Score: 78%
Rating: 13+
Publisher: NIS America
Region: 1
Media: Blu-ray/2
Running Time: 288 Mins.
Genre: Comedy/Anime/TV Series
Audio: LPCM 2.0 (Japanese)
Subtitles: English

Features:

  • Hardcover Art Book
  • Clean Openings and Endings
  • Episode Previews

Last month, NIS America released Daily Lives of High School Boys, a "Slice of Life" series following the misadventures of four high school boys. Rather than follow a large, over-arcing storyline, the show instead focused on small vignettes based around gags. I wasn’t incredibly impressed with the series, but it still had its moments. So, in the name of equality, NIS America has released YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Blu-ray Season 1 Limited Premium Edition, another "Slice of Life" series that follows the misadventures of a group of middle school girls.

The similarities between the two series are uncanny. As with Daily Lives of High School Boys, YuruYuri lacks a larger story to connect the season’s twelve episodes. Instead, each episode boils down to a number of short gags involving one day in the character’s lives. Where YuruYuri differs is in its characters, who show loads more personality than the boys. Connections between the girls and other characters are better developed, so you don’t run into the problem of characters not standing out or disappearing into the background.

The show primarily follows Akari, a not-so-bright girl learning the ropes in her first year of middle school. While at school, she joins the Amusement Club with her two best friends, Kyoko and Yui, and eventually, Chinatsu. Akari does her very best to do well at her new school, but the Amusement Club makes it hard, especially once they show Akari the old Tea Club room, which the girls have taken over and use as a sort of secret hideaway at school.

Keeping with the Amusement Club’s main goal to just have fun, YuruYuri doesn’t take itself seriously. Without a major storyline, the show instead occupies itself by following the main cast’s interactions with other students and their own personal foibles. These primarily manifest in small "crushes" between characters. It seems like everyone is in love with another character at some point or another. Yes, this is a bunch of girls, but the flirtations are usually kept innocent. Some viewers may find it uncomfortable, but I’ve seen worse over the years so I didn’t mind it.

Outside the "relationships," YuruYuri has few constants. Most episodes take place at the school, though a few take them to the beach or home for the holidays. Each episode bounces from location to location without much of a reason other than to show the girls in various situations. Even the school terms seem to fly by within an episode or two.

Perhaps the best place to get an idea of YuruYuri’s nature is the included art book. Keeping with other NIS America releases, the hardcover book is an excellent addition and comes packed with artwork from the series. It also includes short episode recaps narrated by each of the girls. The recaps are just as disjointed and randomly strung together as the episodes they describe. Each has a "point," but you’ll never get to it.

YuruYuri will find an audience with the same group who enjoyed Daily Lives of High School Boys, or anyone who enjoys light-hearted series and doesn’t need a larger story. I personally wasn’t a fan, but the show clearly isn’t for me.



-Starscream, GameVortex Communications
AKA Ricky Tucker

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