What They Say:
Yuzuko, Yui, and Yukari, three girls who just started high school in spring, are always together. After school, the three of them attend their own “Data Processing Club” with two computers and a whiteboard between them, searching for random words on Google and then discussing the results. Their day to day life is mostly uneventful, mainly only consisting of girls flirting, but for some reason it’s difficult to tear one’s eyes away from this new generation of high school girls’ communication.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Yuyushiki has had a pretty steady season overall with only a few dips and rises along the way depending on particular circumstances that came up. I still draw out the opening to episode ten for people with the whole mouth popping thing as just a great little tension breaker and something nonsensical and fun to watch, especially with the Japanese word used to describe the instance. That said, as the show hits its last episode, I once again find myself glad to bring things to a close for this particular group of girls. While it’s been fun, ending at this phase is certainly better than dragging it out and I still have this nagging feeling that the show as a whole would have worked much better as short form show that could have run for a number of seasons.
Yuyushiki does have a good bit of fun along the way overall here as the girls go through their routines as the warm weather hits and they manage to get things set up for some good vacation events. Of course, a good part of it is going to be focused on just hanging out together, which we’ve seen before on previous vacations, but there’s cuteness abound, especially with the simplistic routine about watermelon and sharing that just goes overboard with the girls reactions to what Yui says about it all. They’re such watermelon fiends and bringing that and ice cream into the mix pushes the other two over the edge. It also reveals a few quirks along the way as well when it comes to certain types o speech.
Like past episodes, it naturally bounces around a bit and just has fun with the trio as they spend time together. Often it comes at the expense if Yui’s sanity a s she watches how Yukari and Yuzuko act together, but there’s fun as they decide what to do over the summer and the two of them come up with wacky suggestions while doing all sorts of wild eyed expressions. It’s simple but adorable as they do their exploring, spending time together and doing something that teenagers are able to do during vacations that adults never seem to remember to be able to do. While it does keep it simple, you have to appreciate that they give in to the fanservice side a little with an extended beach visit, complete with swimsuits, while not going overboard with it. It’s that kind of restrained nature that has certainly both helped and hindered the show.
In Summary:
Yuyushiki is one of those series that hits its quirks just right as they never go over the top or just out of bounds of reality. That keeps it grounded, which in some ways can keep it from really breaking out, but it’s more welcome to see a show that operates in this manner and gives us a generally realistic portrayal of friends as they deal with the varied issues of daily lives without getting serious about anything. It can be a little frustrating as sometimes you want something a little meatier to deal with, but the end results are pretty good here and Yuyushiki filled a good role of a clean, simple and fun show with nice characters just being good kids. There’s nothing wrong with that here and there at least.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
