I watched the new Yuru Yuri OVA yesterday. It was a real treat. I expected it to be the length of a normal episode, but the OVA was an hour long which made things extra sweet. I'm not sure if I said this before, but Yuru Yuri is probably one of the best SoL released in the past five years. There's no other show that's quite like Yuru Yuri in combining comedy, slice-of-life and a hint of lesbianism into such an amazing, watch-able package. Shows like Kiniro Mosaic and Non Non Biyori just fall short of ticking the relaxation box, while stuff like Sakura Trick is just plain awful. But somehow, Yuru Yuri puts everything together, and makes it cute, funny, and generally enjoyable.

So like most episodes of Yuru Yuri, nothing really happens in the OVA. Well, the girls went camping, and did most things normal people would do on a camping trip. But the OVA made all those mundane things extra special. The dialogue was amazing. The conversations between the girls is exactly the conversation you'd have with your best friends. The conversation in the convenience store, when Kyouko argued with Chinatsu about whether they should buy snacks, was particularly on-point. I remembered having the  same sort of conversations myself - it's pointless, but it makes your heart feel warm in a way because you're hanging out with the people you truly care about. And as ironic as it is, Yuru Yuri did a good job making those interpersonal dynamics feel realistic.

The art was also unbelievably beautiful. I'm pretty sure that the OVA is set in a real-life, beautiful little mountain town, because the background art was really stunning. The quality of the art overall was very good, partly because they probably had a lot more time to work on the OVA, compared to the TV series. It really reminded me of when I went to Japan in secondary school. Japan (at least the most beautiful parts of it) looks exactly like how the OVA portrayed it. In particular, I thought they did a beautiful job portraying the summer-ness of Japan - high, towering clouds, specks of light shining through the leaves, a train travelling through the countryside, the really beautiful stuff. 

The OVA didn't reinvent the wheel. In fact, what makes the OVA good is that it stayed well-within SoL conventions and delivered what people like me looked for: one hour of watching cute girls drink tea and eat food and have fun. I would be very sad if this was the last Yuru Yuri anime we'd get. Fortunately, it's getting a third season, and I hope they stick to the same formula, with the same jokes, the same nosebleeds, the same puns. Most slice-of-life shows nowadays aren't worth watching. Yuru Yuri is so good, however, I think it's right up there with the likes of Keion and Azumanga Daioh.

So yea, if you like a good SoL with a hint of sweet yuri here and there (and let's face it, who doesn't?) give Yuru Yuri a try. Since it's so episodic, it probably doesn't matter which episode you start on. In fact, you can probably start on this OVA and not miss any of the jokes. I think the only sub group for the OVA is Lazy Lily. I don't really understand Japanese, so I can't comment too much on the sub quality. Their translations of Ayano's puns did bring me a chuckle, though, so that's a plus.