Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai

Mahiru Kouzuki, a skilled artist, gives up on her passion after her elementary school classmates ridicule her colorful jellyfish mural. Several years later, upon encountering an unexpected admirer in Kano Yamanouchi—a former idol with a troubled past—Mahiru decides to pursue her childhood dreams once more.

Tasked with designing the mascot for Kano's new music project, JELEE, Mahiru enlists the help of her childhood friend and professional streamer Kiui Watase to make JELEE's first music video. Together with Kim Anouk Mei Takanashi, a pianist and fan of Kano's work as an idol, the girls aim to turn JELEE into a global hit. However, if they want to succeed in this ambitious endeavor, they will first have to free themselves from the shackles of their pasts.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yamanouchi, Kano Main

Takahashi, Rie Japanese

Kouzuki, Mahiru Main

Itou, Miku Japanese

Watase, Kiui Main

Tomita, Miyu Japanese

Takanashi, Kim Anouk Mei Main

Shimabukuro, Miyuri Japanese

Baba, Shizue Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

JELEE-chan Supporting

Koharu Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Honami Supporting

Shiina, Hekiru Japanese

Hayakawa, Mion Supporting

Anzai, Chika Japanese

Setou, Mero Supporting

Okasaki, Miho Japanese

Suzuki, Renta Producer

Saitou, Shingo Producer

Takeshita, Ryouhei Director, Episode Director, Storyboard

Kimura, Eriko Sound Director

Reviews

May 18, 2024

KirbyOfCrime

Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (7/12 eps)

The "cute girls doing cute things" genre has long been saturated with mediocre cash-grabs and uninspired moe bait. But every once in a while, a show comes around that takes everything boring and overplayed about this genre and throws it out the window.

YoruKura is that show.

Instead of a group of lazily designed moe blobs with a few traits that vaguely resemble a personality, YoruKura features a main cast of four girls with multi-faceted personalities and personal struggles that range from entertaining to painfully relatable, and each one serves their respective purpose perfectly.

Character writing:

The protagonist and deuteragonist (or co-protagonists, depending on your perspective) are also the ... two most likeable and interesting characters in the show.
Yamanouchi Kano, creator of the JELEE group and former idol, is an absolute joy every time she's on screen, being the outgoing and over-excitable leader needed to kick her friends in gear and get them to push themselves instead of doubting their abilities. Her personal struggle with feeling aimless and trying to find what she wants in life is also the most grounded and realistic personal story I've seen in anime in a long time.
Her new partner, Kouzuki Mahiru, JELEE's artist who takes the moniker "Yoru" (night), is an equally interesting character in her own right. Her struggle with demotivation and negative feedback is painfully relatable for anyone who has previously undertaken an artistic endeavour, and the show handles it beautifully. Her dynamic with the other characters, especially Kano, acts as the emotional centre of the story, and is incredibly enjoyable to watch.
Watase Kiwi, professional VTuber and animator for JELEE, is another great character who only gets more interesting every episode. A very real and heartfelt look at the consequences of social and anxiety and feeling like an outcast, Kiwi's story is one that resonates well with anyone who has ever wanted to just lock themselves away and hope the world forgets about them.
Takanashi Kim Anouk Mei, idol super fan and JELEE composer, is the only one of the main cast I'm not entirely sold on. Her backstory and inner conflict over feeling disappointed by her former idol is an interesting one, but certain aspects of her behaviour make her the most acquired taste of the group. Regardless, she's still a character with enough depth and likeability that you can't help but root for her.

9/10

Art/Animation:

YoruKura is a treat for the eyes. Doga Kobo proves once again that they can produce some visually beautiful work when taking on a passion project, and every frame of YoruKura looks to be filled with all they love they can give it.
The character designs are fantastic, each character's look reflecting their personality perfectly. Kano in particular has a stellar design, her outfit being exceptional enough to perfectly convey the casual and tomboyish attitude she carries herself with, while not being so out there that it breaks suspension of disbelief.
The show makes great use of it's colour palette, the art feeling striking and visually engaging in pretty much every scene.
The atmosphere is consistently on point, especially with regards to night scenes, having the cool and soothing feeling that every night owl knows and loves. When it wants you to feel calm and relaxed, you feel it. When it wants you to be emotionally invested, you feel it. When it wants you to laugh, you feel it. The art direction consistently matches the tone and vibe of the scene so well that it's a joy to watch.

9/10

Story:

The overarching story is about our ragtag group of talented misfit girls putting their talents to the test to perfect their passion project, the music & animation group JELEE. Each girl has their own individual reason to want JELEE to be the best it can be, and their personal motivations and struggles are tackled one at a time as they slowly learn to navigate their online presence. This is interspersed with side-stories about the girls lives and the people around them, each of which is both fun to watch and important to the characterisation of our main girls and their acquaintances. It's not groundbreaking or nobel literature prize winning, but it's a fresh and enjoyable take on a formula that's long since been exhausted by less talented writers.
The slowly developing relationships between the girls is also a delight to watch, the four of them growing from a haphazard mix of eccentrics to a close knit group of friends in a way that feels both natural and entertaining.

8/10

Overall rating: 8/10. As only 7 episodes have been released so far, we've yet to truly see everything this show has to offer, so a 9/10 would feel premature. But as it stands, it's well on it's way to being one of the best titles the CGDCT genre has seen

TLDR: The characters are great, the art is great, the story is great, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in slice of life.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Apr 30, 2024

Neo_Randomz

Recommended

Preliminary (4/12 eps)

Cute girls, killer music, and the behind-the-scenes story of modern Japanese entertainment, along with subtle fanservice and beautiful animation—prepare yourself for a treat with Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai.

This anime is special in almost every aspect. The animation is breathtaking; you can tell they put their heart and soul into the first episode. The way the characters move, the vibrant colors, and the stunning jellyfish drawings—it's evident a lot of thought went into the animation.

The music is without a doubt one of the best anime OSTs this season. In fact, the music is so good that I think they created the music first and then ... decided, 'You know what, let's make an anime out of this album.' It's one of the few anime openings I don't skip this season.

All the characters are distinctive, from their appearance to their personality. None of them are just 'side characters'; everyone contributes to the story. Each character has their own upbringing and flaws, their own internal conflicts that can hit too close to home. But each also has their own talent, so it's balanced.

The story is wonderful. This anime teaches us a lot about moving on with your life, friendship, and, most importantly, respecting yourself and your talent.

Overall, I highly recommend this anime to those who love CGDCT anime with a stronger story and noticeable conflict.

It's safe to say that for the next few years, every time I see a jellyfish, it will remind me of this anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 21, 2024

denkisoda

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (3/12 eps)

YoruKura is a harmless, cute, and easily digestible anime. I liked the theme and vibe for sure, but was disappointed by the screenplay of first three episodes.

YoruKura chose a topic that belongs to this era: the dual identity in virtual and real world. The main characters, who were not happy with their mundane life, acquired new identities through the internet as creators. "If I become someone different, will I get a chance to shine?" This is a topic with so much to explore, yet the first three episodes told the stories of four characters at a surprisingly fast pace that merely scratch the surface. As ... a viewer, I barely had enough time to get to know the characters yet, but was forced to experience their roller-coaster emotion journey: discontent for unremarkable life - emotional for intensified conflict - upbeat for friendship and bright future; and all of these happened within 20 minutes.

Admittedly, it is an energetic and chic “cute girls doing cute things" anime, much like Shibuya at night. Perhaps it’s a representation this era - everything is light and airy, from interpersonal relationships to conflicts. Audiences wouldn’t mind.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - May 18	121 replies	by Rakiko »» 4 hours ago
	Kiui's Cup Size? Dragevard - May 30	30 replies	by FutoiOtaku »» 12 hours ago
	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Stark700 - May 25	59 replies	by Tacsk0 »» Yesterday, 12:30 PM
	Poll: Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - May 11	122 replies	by BonBonToro »» May 29, 11:05 AM
	Fanservice In Ep 1 Comet1 - May 21	25 replies	by saikyozero »» May 27, 1:51 PM