YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1

YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1 has quietly become one of the more dependable comedies currently available on and . A single, tightly-focused season means there is plenty to get through without ever feeling padded. An 8/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it for Shiori Mikami — stay for everyone else around them. Start it whenever you need something guaranteed to land.

YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1 is not trying to be everything to everyone, and that focus is exactly what makes it work. YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1 gets the fundamentals right first, then finds room to get weird with it. After a year in grade school without her childhood friends, first year student Akari Akaza is finally reunited with second years Yui Funami and Kyouko Toshinou at their all-girls' middle school. During the duo's first year, Yui and Kyouko formed the "Amusement Club" which occupies the now nonexistent Tea Club's room. Shortly after Akari joins, one of her fellow classmates, Chinatsu Yoshikawa, pays the trio a visit under the impression that they are the Tea Club; it is only once the three girls explain that the Tea Club has been disbanded that they can convince Chinatsu to join the Amusement Club—a group with no purpose other than to provide entertainment for its members. Shiori Mikami and Yuka Otsubo lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was aired in 2011. YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1 earns its laughs from character rather than situation, which is why it does not wear thin the way pure farce tends to. It rarely drops the ball, and when it does, it recovers fast.

Comedy fans looking for a reliably funny watch will find it in YuruYuri: Happy Go Lily Season 1. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch if your schedule allows. Shiori Mikami is funny in a way that holds up on rewatch. Put it on when you need something guaranteed to land.