[Cute & Funny Winter 2017] Like Yuru Yuri? Watch This!

7:00 PM March 16, 2017

Anime Recommendations [Article Category]
Comedy Anime, Slice of Life Anime, School Anime, Yuri Anime [Genres]

Demi-chan-wa-Kataritai-dvd-225x350 [Cute & Funny Winter 2017] Like Yuru Yuri? Watch This!

This season has graced us with many viewing options ranging from obscure ideas to tender slice of life anime. You may be wondering what to jump into next, yet lost as to how to choose. After all, you’re not just saying yes to one show, you’re saying no to all the others! (At least temporarily!) With the latest ‘Like This? Watch This’ article, you needn't worry about whether you made the best choice. Instead of asking yourself ‘is this cute enough?’ ask ‘can I handle this much cuteness??’

About Yuru Yuri

Episodes: 12
Aired: July 2011- Sept. 2011

Akari can’t wait to begin her shining new middle school life and rejoin her two dearest friends. Full of excitement, she decides to start the year off with a bang! Putting her all into her class introduction and vowing to become the number one presence at school, she realizes…! Her number one quality is how little she stands out! The supposed main character must try to stand out while her friends Yui and Kyouko busy themselves with nothing in their con of a club, the ‘Amusement Club’.

Liked Yuru Yuri? Watch Demi-chan wa Kataritai (Interviews with Monster Girls)!

Episodes: 12
Aired: Jan. 2017 – March 2017

Takahashi-sensei has always been fascinated with Ajin, something akin to monsters or humans with special powers. While they had been persecuted throughout history, now they can live amicably with normal humans. When he finds out there are Ajin (or Demi, as they prefer to be called) at the school he is teaching at, Takahashi-sensei is eager to sit down with them and learn what life is like for them. Due to his caring and understanding nature, various students open up about the difficulties they face and the fears they harbor. At the heart of it all, these ‘monsters’ are just young girls wanting to fit in and have meaningful relationships.

Three Major Similarities Between Yuru Yuri and Demi-chan wa Kataritai

1. Relationships Between Girls

One of the more obvious pulls of Yuru Yuri was the varied relationships amongst the characters. Whether it be about grades or love interests, jealousy develops between certain girls. Others are brought closer together because of the differences in character that the other admires, or by sharing similar burdens. While there are males that interact with the female Demis, aside from Sensei they aren’t much elaborated upon. The focus is on the relationships between the girls, both human and Demi.

In both shows, we have the three best friends who have a mischievous blond. Hikari from Demi-chan and Kyouko from Yuru Yuri, who forces her friends to go along with her crazy antics and often causes them some kind of embarrassment. Hikari is also similar to Kyouko in that they both like to tease their friends sexually while not seriously hoping to become intimate with them. It may be troubling to their unsuspecting victims, but we can’t say seeing cute girls teasing each other is a bad thing!

2. The Quest to Define Yourself

Many great anime center around the theme of one trying to make their name in the world or to find themselves. Especially in slice of life anime, it's something we can all relate to! Our female viewers will find even more similarities in their own lives and the worlds of Yuru Yuri and Demi-chan wa Kataritai because they show the inner thoughts and struggles of young girls trying to figure out who they are, to themselves and their peers.

Yuru Yuri, of course, uses this as a running gag in Akari’s case, as she can never seem to have any presence despite her valiant efforts. She wants to be noticed and remembered, but as everyone says, her most defining characteristic is that she has none. This notion takes a more serious turn in Demi-chan. While obviously being different in some way than the humans around them, they long to make meaningful relationships and be understood by others.

3. Special After School Activity

Few things can help young girls bond more than spending their time after school together. There are many after school activities to choose from and they will affect your friendships and life experiences. Sometimes, the whole premise of a show is just the after school activity! For Yuru Yuri and Demi-chan, the after school activity is not a pivotal point of the show, but it helps illustrate the personalities of its members.

For Yuru Yuri, all the girls mainly care about is hanging out with their friends. Despite Kyouko’s immense artistic talent, she skips on the obvious art club and spends her days in the ‘Amusement club’, limiting her abilities to doujin that her and her friends enjoy. For the Demi, they have an intense desire to be understood. Thus they spend their time after school in the dark biology room and doing interviews with Takahashi-sensei. More than trying to fit in, they’d like to communicate their differences, so they turn away from more traditional clubs. This shared experience is something that helps bring the friends together and simultaneously causes a sort of separation from others.

Liked Yuru Yuri? Watch Gabriel Dropout!

Episodes: 12
Aired: Jan. 2017 – March 2017

Gabriel can't wait to start bringing healing to the poor humans down on Earth. She's excited to carry out her assignment to leave Heaven in order to help fight mankind's suffering. As soon as she gets to Earth, however, she finds herself in front of an MMO and sees humans all over the screen begging to be healed! She quickly answers the call and… fast-forward to present day and she’s lost all her former holy convictions and would rather play video games all day than lift a finger to help anyone. Her demon best friend, Vigne, constantly tries in vain to keep her on the right path, but there’s only so much she can do! When even more angels and demons show up, mankind better watch out. They don’t really care much about people, but they sure like causing problems for each other.

Three Major Similarities Between Yuru Yuri and Gabriel Dropout

1. All Female Main Characters

Without any pesky boys vying for screen time, we get to concentrate on what truly matters… super cute girls! The more the merrier, and both shows have no end to cute characters with various designs to appeal to whatever your type might be. Due to a lack of male presence, our little lovelies don’t face the same restraint or sense of embarrassment, We get a more honest and intimate view of the girls without their guards up!

Another pro of a female-based cast for the guys is that there’s no competition! No need to get angry at the boring, useless protagonist as a romantic rival if she herself is a cute girl. Gabriel Dropout, much like Yuru Yuri, is similar to a harem anime but instead of trying to figure out which girl will end up with the guy, you can easily pair off one of the cuties with another cutie! In this way, both shows shower you with only good feelings!

2. Lack of Fulfilling Roles

If you enjoyed the surprising disappointments and shortcomings of the girls in Yuru Yuri, you’ll find a similar entertainment in those of the angels and demons in Gabriel Dropout! Our main character, the one supposed to lead the charge and write a new chapter in history, falls short just as Akari did. If it weren’t for the supporting cast, we wouldn’t have a show! Gabriel would just be sitting at home all day every day playing her favorite MMO. The difference here is that at least people note her presence, usually because of how unabashedly rude she is.

Pretty much all the characters are different than how it seems they should be. Gabriel, the top angel of heaven, is the worst angel ever. There is nothing kind or merciful about her. The other angel, Raphael, is no better and chooses to terrorize Satania, not because she is a demon and should be vanquished, but because she’s so easy to manipulate and upset. Satania, to her credit, does TRY to be demon-like and takes her role seriously, but she’s just so inept, it all amounts for naught. Vigne is the most competent of the bunch, and even though she’s a demon she only uses her powers to punish Gabriel.

3. My Best Friend is My Worst Enemy

Let’s pretend Akari doesn't exist, and frankly, that shouldn't be hard for any of you. Our two main girls are Kyouko and Yui, a long-haired blond and a short-haired brunette. They are very close, but are often at odds with each other. In Gabriel Dropout, we have dang near the same pair. A long-haired blonde, Gabriel; and a short-haired brunette, Vigne, who maintain a close friendship while still constantly causing the other one suffering. Sticking close to Yui’s role, Vigne tries to make Gabriel at least keep up appearances and control her outbursts. As the Kyouko of Gabriel Dropout, Gabriel often sees Vigne as someone keeping her from happiness, and often that happiness is at someone else’s expense! Even though Satania is the (self-proclaimed) rival of Gabriel, she’s barely on Gabriel’s radar. Much as with Ayano making up the rivalry between her and Kyouko, who couldn’t care less, Gabriel has no motivation to bother with Satania.

This is not to say they’re exact replicas. Gabriel lacks Kyouko’s strong desire for intimacy and teasing her friends. Instead, she has a much stronger disinterest in the things around her and is way more likely to be flat out rude and destructive. Vigne is not as accepting of her role as the ‘older sister’ type, though she carries it out for the sake of peace. She is prone to short violent outburst in order to keep Gabriel from stirring up trouble. She’s very outgoing and doesn’t mind being the leader, while Yui is mostly a follower. While both best friends share a similar dynamic, which allows for a sense of familiarity, their characters are different enough to keep you interested.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, now you have the utmost confidence going forward that you will find the best anime this season for you! While the themes this season are a little different, opting for a more supernatural approach to slice of life, the core values are the same. Beautiful and pure female relationships, hilarity in the impure hijinks that threaten their peace, and the journey of young girls to find their place in the world. Prepare to laugh and squeal at the unending moe, and make sure to leave us a comment telling us what you think!

Writer

Author: May

Hey friends! I reside in Georgia and use my degree in Japanese primarily to (barely) read doujinshi that hasn’t been translated. Beyond deciding who is best girl in whatever I happen to be watching, I really enjoy ballroom dancing, reading, crying over dating sims, karaoke, and being surrounded by beautiful things~ (You know, scenery, décor, boys, stuff like that). I also love talking about passions with others!

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