Yuyushiki is a bit strange and I found it difficult to judge. The "cute girls doing cute things" area is well mined nowadays, but I did not see one like it before. Initial episodes of Lucky Star were somewhat vapid and boring. K-ON offered us the hated "retard moe". Hidamari Sketch had the wide faces and thematic concerns. And so on. Some failed in a subtler ways, like Sketchbook.

So, when I opened Yuyushiki, I felt a certain trepidation, and for a bit it seemed to confirm my fears. The teacher abuse — how pedestrian. I even jotted down about AIURA: "hope it's not as bad as Yuyushiki, but 3min?". I apparently I wasn't the only one. I only stuck with Yuyushiki because Yui punished the bitches.

The magic started happening around ep.3 and the sleepover, when I suddenly realized that it was as good as Azumanga. Yes, really, and no, I can't explain. The sensation was fleeting, but it happened.

Another goodness of Yuyushiki would probably swoosh right over my head, if not for the Internet. As it turned out, where AUIRA unloads the visual extravagance in primary color, Yuyushiki is extremely sneaky and takes a keen eye to appreciate. But once I saw it, I could not unsee it anymore. It's amazing! Perhaps I'm especially amazed because the creators tricked me. It was easy to tell when KyotoAni went artsy in Nichijou e.g. during the hallway chase, but this is different. It seems natural and it is pervasive.

Finally, it should now be obvious that Yui (Ichii) carries the show for me. Considering it point by point, she should be even with another excellent straight woman stereotype, Namiko of GA. But GA had a full cast of stellar characters, and here we basically have just Yui, so she has to shine brighter.