Bloom Into You
Studio: Troyca
Genre: Yuri, Romance, Slice of Life
Hey Guys. It’s been a long time.
Welcome to another anime review.
And today, I am going to start making something different. I am going to start doing my first Yuri anime Review, and it is, in my opinion, one of the most engaging and beautiful yuri series I have ever seen.
I am taking about…
But before I continue, I must go back to ask you, my friends, the most important question:
Are you guys ok? Staying home and safe? Maintaining social distancing?
If the answer is yes, then I am very happy, because, whatever happens…
DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE CORONAVIRUS!
Wash your hands, use sanitiser or hand wash soap, maintaining social distancing, and listen to the doctors and GPs, those are the ones that are saving our lives and fighting for getting things back to normal.
And yes, I haven’t forgotten my STUDIO TRIGGER reviews. I am working on them, they will be ready when the time comes,
Now. With that said, I bring a Bloom Into You to you people. (Sorry for the bad pun)
PREMISE
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Nio Nakatani, Bloom Into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru, or やがて君になる in Japanese), tells the story of Yui Koito, a first-year high schooler who receives a confession from a fellow male student, which she immediately turns down. As the days pass, she eventually receives another love confession from her senpai, Touko Nanami, after the latter turns down one of her own. At first, Yui does not know how to respond; eventually both become members of the student council, and bond over many things, resulting in a beautiful slice of life story that will eventually help them as individuals, and of course… friends.
As you see, it is a typical high school story, with no fantasy, no big monsters, no magical girl. But, I will get there, because there is still a lot to see.
I will start by clarifying, for those who do not know, that Yuri is translated as Lily in Japanese, but in the context of manga, it means Girls’ Love. And yes, it is about romance between gi… Lesbian Romance. The most beautiful part is that Yuri genre, it is been there since the 1970s. and one of its most famous franchises is:
The Rose of Versailles (Riyoko Ikeda)
And we also got a fantastic wholesale of examples including;
- Maria-sama ga Miteru (Marimite)
- Strawberry Panic
- Citrus
- YuruYuri
- Sweet Blue Fowers
- Asteroid in Love
- Yurikuma Arashi
- NTR: Netsuzou Trap (Almost)
- Riddle Story of Devil
And there are more. I wish I could put more examples, but I will go off our main topic. But, before I continue with Bloom Into You, I need to clarify as well that the Boys’ Love (BL) counterpart is called.
YAOI!!!
And I enjoy it as much as Yuri.
QUE BELLO ES EL AMOR!! (LOVE IS SO BEAUTIFUL!!)
Anyway…
STORY
I got to admit. Bloom Into You has a very beautiful story, at least in my own opinion. Part of the charm of the romance genre is that, in my viewpoint, every story is unique, and not just because of the character design, case in point, Kimi no Todoke, or Given. And in both yaoi and yuri romance, there are so many experiences from their characters, so many backgrounds, and so many ways to approach love, reason of why Sweet Blue Flowers, Asteroid in Love, and yes… Both Citrus and NTR: Netsuzou Trap, which are as controversial as they sound, have their own strength. But again, in the case of Bloom Into You, it always takes its time to explore what the characters feel, what they want, and their dialogues are so simple, yet so convincing, it really hooks up the reader and the viewer. In terms of character development, it has that sensibility that helps making the characters so unique. Of course, this can be disadvantage for those who might want to see some… let’s say.
But for me, it makes the story better. Because, as I mentioned before, Bloom Into You is a slice-of-life, and it has an amazing attention to detail in this regard, that you identify with what our protagonists are going through. I will not spoil anything, because I think it is better if you see the story yourself, but Koito-san admits that she has a very unrealistic vision of love, and that happens (In fact, I also have that problem too.); furthermore, there is a «deep» conflict on the conscience of Touko-senpai, and this plot, along with the romance story, makes her story more interesting.
Yes. The pacing is very slow, and that is an obstacle for the overall story… if you let it be.
Another cool element is that the Tohmi Higashi High school (their school, of course), is not just an all-girl school, but one where males and females attend, and that gives more variety to the story; it’s just a minor thing, but I believe it reminds many fans that, for the yuri element, it is more than two girls doing… SNU-SNU.
Case in point.
KUZU NO HONKAI (SCUM’S WISH)
Finally, it is important to mention that Nio Nakatani, the mangaka, is very well-experienced regarding Girl’s Love stories, so it makes sense that she applies the same sensibility and patience for Bloom Into You.
And the choices are there. In other words, if you want to get some feel-good experience, different from the pseudo-explicit content that you usually see in anime like Citrus or NTR: Netsuzou Trap. Or if you simply are a fan of Sweet Blue Flowers or Marimite, then Bloom Into You is the bloom for you. (Again… terrible pun).
CHARACTERS
And of course we got our beloved characters. This time, I only included three, for they are the most visible faces of Bloom Into You. Each one with their own identity and issues. We got Yuu, the introverted first year who is trying to understand love, we got Touko Nanami, our beloved senpai looking for her place in this world, and finally, we have Sayaka Saeki, Touko’s best friend, who is trying to overcome the humiliation from a previous relationship.
All of them are distinguishable, especially Sayaka. Personally, she is my favourite, not just because she is beautiful, also because she is one of the nicest best friends you can see in an anime, perhaps that is the reason of why Sayaka Saeki is so popular, to the point of having her own light novel spin-off series, called…
Bloon Into you: Regarding Sayaka Saeki
BTW, if you love Sayaka Saeki as much as I do, you will find this image heartwarming.
Overall, many characters are in roster, and you can always choose your favourite, another plus for both yaoi and yuri anime.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, Bloom Into you is definitely one Girls’ Love anime you do not want to miss, perhaps I does not inspire you like Yuri on Ice!!, but you will never stop enjoying it as much as Citrus, Sweet Blue Flowers or NTR: Netsuzou Trap, and I won’t be surprised if fans already consider it a yuri classic.
Personally, I am happy that all of these series exist, because they show the legacy and complexity of the yuri genre.
So, release your Inner Yuri Fan, go to HiDIVE, and enjoy how a certain bloom awakes inside you.
But remember…
Jainituos Presents 