Crunchyroll's teen anime series "Urahara" introduced stylish and powerful teens, a far cry from typical women characters from the genre.
"Urahara" is based on Mugi Tanaka's manga, "Park Harajuku: Crisis Team!" The story will revolve around Rito, Mari, and Katoko, who must save Harajuku City, the fashion locale, against aliens called Scoopers that want to eat cultural landmarks all over the world. The three so love the neighborhood, wherein they enjoy walks and dropping by crepe store, that they had created an enormous bubble to protect it.
In an interview with Teen Vogue, "Urahara" director Amica Kubo revealed that the teen girls were a depiction of those who were finding it hard to fit in the society and added that this was one of the major aspects in illustrating the characters.
The characters were also seen as a change in the typical representation of teen girls in anime, which could be attributed to the show's mostly women team. "Urahara" also tackled some of the issues typical teenagers go through like being awkward, as experienced by the three main cast.
Friendship will also be highlighted in this show, as Rito, Mari, and Katoko's connection was built from their common interest in fashion. Crunchyroll's editorial programming coordinator Cayla Coats also said that the show was largely attributed to the closeness of Tanaka, Kubo, and the lead writer of the show, Natsuko Takahashi, who were behind "Urahara."
The Verge noted that the anime "is dreamy, but it's also outright ridiculous to watch." It also added that the show's magic came from the characters who were always lucky, as seen during the time the aliens had become food, which became an answer to the girls' hunger.
Meanwhile, distinct in "Urahara" was the colorful aesthetic of the characters and the fashion neighborhood as well. "Urahara" airs every Wednesday, at 7 p.m. EDT on Crunchyroll.
