Monday 17 September 2012

YuruYuri ♪♪ - Episode 12 (Completed)

As we come to the end of this second season of YuruYuri (did we ever figure out what we were supposed to call it properly?), so the series finishes in a suitable fashion - that being, with lots of goofing around.

In fact, it's the first segment of just such goofing around that's arguably the best bit of this finale - after watching Kyoko trying to get scare out of her amusement club friends by leaving a toy snake in the doorway, it seems that she's procured all sorts of childish yet fun toys to allow said club to live up to its name... although it seems that nothing is as fascinating as Chinatsu's hair.


With that done and dusted, the rest of the episode brings us some good old-fashioned pantomime, with the amusement club and student council combining to create their own unique take on the Snow White story, complete with a silent talking mirror, a hun-toting huntsman and a tomato preferred to an apple.  Oh, and a giant robot of course; what else?  All of this combines to allow plenty of opportunities for each character to show off their own in-jokes in the name of comedy, making for a fitting end to the series if nothing else I suppose.

Ironically, it's this final segment that also demonstrates Yuru Yuri at its weakest - its over-used character tropes have been one of the biggest problems with the franchise as a whole at its lower ebbs, and it's the seeming realisation of this after some frankly dire early episodes that lifted this second season into the realms of respectable comedy.  Once this series breaks out of its constant looping of the same tired old gags in favour of using them more sparingly in the midst of other material, and similarly once its broadens the use of its characters beyond the main staple of the show, it manages to shine as a fun, colourful and entertaining little series that has been more enjoyable to watch than I would otherwise have expected it to be.  That this second series succeeded in doing it more often is worthy of at least some praise - YuruYuri is no comedy classic and never will be, but much of this season was a fun jaunt that made its presence welcome in a summer season line-up that was largely lacking in comedy.

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