Yurikuma Arashi

Episode 7

WARNING: This review contains minor spoilers for Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum.

After last week's heated climax, it's time for a little relaxation and character work with our main three.

This episode of Yurikuma elaborates on Ginko's backstory. She was an abandoned bear cub, found and raised by an orphanage. She spent her childhood bullied and unloved, and grew up convinced that mutual predation is the law of the land. On the Day of Severance, all of the bear orphans were recruited into the army to fight humanity, and Ginko was sent to the trenches. She fought hard under the impression that doing so would earn her love from Lady Kumalia, the bears' benign goddess. This was just a ploy by the bear establishment to motivate soldiers as it turns out, and Ginko was left to die on the battlefield. All seemed lost until a young Kureha arrived and sang her “song of love,” which rejuvenated the little bear. Ginko ended up staying with Reia and Kureha, where she was taken care of for the first time. Kureha in particular became her special friend. At some point, however, they parted, and Kureha forgot about the “girl she loved.”

Back in the present, Kureha has accepted Ginko and Lulu's presence in her home. Ginko is still in a critical state after her stunt at the birthday party, and the other two take turns nursing her back to health. Kureha is preoccupied by something though – strange memories keep coming back to her about a great friend, long forgotten, who bears a striking resemblance to the bear-girl camping out in her attic. Most of the episode consists of her regaining and coming to terms with these memories, until she finally confronts Ginko about their past. This was also the first episode not to feature the Life Trio (in any capacity besides shaved-ice maker at least,) so I wonder what they're up to? Last week, the courtroom was stripped down from their three pedestals to the Wall of Severance's exterior. I wonder if this means that they're going to take some sort of action?

Questions raised: what cut off Ginko's stay with the Tsubakis? What makes her a criminal bear? Was it abandoning the war, loving a human, hurting another bear, or something else? If the Court of Severance's aim is the separation of the species rather than the internal unity of bearkind or humankind, (the bears were pretty nasty to each other in the flashback,) then the connection Ginko formed with Kureha would constitute their highest crime: a connection between the two worlds.

Meanwhile, it looks like we've seen the last of Kaoru. Hypocrisy gets the best of the inquisitor when her lover turns out to be not just a woman but a bear, who gobbles her up post-coitus. Thanks to this show's condensed runtime, Kaoru is given only one line of motivation, but it's enough to paint a clear picture of how she fits into this world. “Now I'm someone important who won't be excluded.” Kaoru persecutes others out of fear of being persecuted herself, and just when she thinks she's safe, the system consumes her. It's the psychology of zealotry – exclude others to create a greater sense of belonging within the group. Like Konomi Yurikawa, she is another tragic villain: a victim turned victimizer turned victim again. It's impressive how much Ikuhara can draw out of characters with such fleeting screentime, but then again he's had a lot of practice.

I'm curious to see where Lulu will ultimately fit into this story. Things seem pretty tight between Ginko and Kureha, and Lulu's dedicated episode was the most self-contained of them all. At some point, we're going to get an equitable relationship between the three girls – the opening depicts a triad of girls and not a dyad, after all – but the relationship between Kureha and Lulu is still a mystery. Lulu takes care of Kureha for Ginko's sake, while Kureha lets Lulu stick around because she comes packaged with Ginko. Eventually, Lulu will have to grow out of her role as their relationship's facilitator, for their sake if not for her own. Healthy relationships don't need a nursemaid, so a happy ending for Kureha and Ginko leaves Lulu out of a job. I wonder if she'll begin to struggle next episode, now that Ginko seems to have obtained her love object. Episode four was so powerful that Lulu is still the most sympathetic character, despite all of the attention that's been paid to Kureha and Ginko since the beginning of the series, and I'd hate to see her forgotten. YOU DESERVE KISSES, LULU!

Once again, Yuriika harps on Reia's necklace, particularly that it was lost when Kureha's mother was killed via bear attack. We know that she passed the necklace willingly on to Ginko, so Yuriika seems to not know about her best friend's dealings with bears (or is lying about it). For the Yuriika Is Sketchy counter, Kaoru's illicit trysts seem to have taken place in the teacher's office, judging by the windows. I know the manga has done some things differently, but if Yuriika doesn't turn out to be our big bad, I will upend my school's flower garden and eat them all, starting with the roots.

This episode also brought the visual motif of “stars” into the forefront. This imagery has been in Ikuhara's work since the beginning, so it follows a consistent pattern of meaning. Revolutionary Girl Utena's Akio creates false happiness, as indicated by his control over a planetarium – he seduces Utena with a false image rather than the true night sky. Many of Mawaru Pengruindrum's happiest moments take place in a shower of stars, including its triumphant climax. (This imagery is rooted in Night on the Galactic Railroad, a 1985 anime film, and a major influence on Ikuhara. It's required viewing for anyone trying to decipher Mawaru Penguindrum. But that's a tangent.) It's no coincidence that Yurikuma's Day of Severance – the moment that brought everyone misery – is characterized as a meteor shower. At the end of Reia's storybook, the Moon Girl and Forest Girl restore the heavens through their union. Like Utena and Penguindrum, it looks like the villain's defeat will be inextricably tied to our main characters coming together.

That sequence at the end where Lulu reads from the storybook, while Ginko and Kureha retake their roles from it, was another series highlight. Through its use of POV shots, it represents the culmination of Ginko's journey, and also a new beginning for her. I wonder how she'll take to the realization that her childhood love might not be all she's made her out to be?

Grade: A

Yuri Kuma Arashi is currently streaming on Funimation.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.