I’ve wanted to make this costume since I was 17, but never got around to it because of how much this anime means to me. I’m not exaggerating when I say that YuriKuma Arashi saved my life when it came out. I had been a in-the-closet lipstick-lesbian ever since I was 11, and like many other queer kids growing up, was very ashamed of it and had accepted to stay in the closet, or in YuriKuma’s case: “stay invisible”, but this series, particularly Kureha’s journey to learn to love and be proud of who she is, never back down on love, and to not join the invisible storm, really resonated with me, and helped me stop hating myself for being a lesbian. I love this series so much and it helped me become a die-hard fan of Kunihiko Ikuhara’s works, and set my expectations high on LGBT anime. Never back down on love! Growl! Growl!