It’s very seldom that I look forward to the first thirty seconds of an anime, but Yuru Yuri is just special like that.

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After the emotional turbulence in last week’s episode, we return to the vignette style that I favor so much.  We get to see the girls in isolated groups and actually spend more time with the student council than we do the other girls.  It’s interesting how we have the “main four” girls of Yui, Chinatsu, Akari and Kyouko, but the student council and the other supporting characters get just as much screen time as the characters that the “focus” is on.  Which is great news for me, because it means we get more of Himawari and Sakurako!

The first vignette focused on allergy season and how poor Ayano basically has a runny nose all day because of all the pollen in the air.  I don’t really know how a gas mask is supposed to help someone with allergies, but the Darth Vader noise she made the entire time she had it on was hysterical.  (That and I kept picturing her sneezing inside the thing and although it’s gross, it’s also hilarious.)  The other vignette in the first half focused on the student council and cleaning their classroom, and the hands down best part was seeing Sakurako run around with a chicken on her head.  The maid costume was a nice touch, and I love how Sakurako accepted the chicken in place of a frilly headband with no complaints what-so-ever.  That’s my kind of girl!

Our second set of vignettes opened with the tragic story of how Nishigaki became so good with electronics and the like, and although the story was laughably dramatic yet believable, it turned out to be all made up.  I really enjoy the brief appearances made by Rise (the silent loli she totes under her arm) and Nishigaki, so whenever they show up even for a brief amount of time, I’m happy.  Our second vignette in this half focused on the girls getting trapped at school due to an unexpected rain storm, and Kyouko’s comparison of Akari’s hair buns to teru teru bozu had me beside myself; I’d never thought of them that way, but now that I have, I can’t unsee it!  We got a few jokes on Chinatsu’s behalf, but my favorite part was the end where Akari uses her lack of presence to avoid being soaked by a speeding car.  Although it’s seen as a curse, the invisibility power can really come in handy at times like that.

All in all, this was another short, feel-good episode that left a pleasant taste in my mouth.  This show is exactly what it advertises; cute girls doing girly and arguably gay things together, and it couldn’t be more adorable even if the entire show was taking place in a room filled with kittens.

GO Rating: 4/5