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EP. REVIEW: Bloom Into You

I'm kind of disappointed no one's mentioned the music of the anime so far. The story has been adapted in a pretty straightforward way so far, but the music (and the richness of the colours, too) has been superb at setting the atmosphere so far. Michiru Oshima is a terrific composer.

The fact that there’s this much to discuss about the series and the variety of interpretations it allows for is a testament to its quality.

The consent stuff hits the nadir in the third volume of the manga, in an awkward but knowingly awkward scene, but conversely that volume actually has the first moment where I really felt that Yuu’s coming into her own feelings and figuring out what she wants and there’s some romantic vibes going on. Nanami’s pushiness is almost certainly a character flaw borne of the circumstances she’s in and she has a reason (not an excuse) for wanting this so hard.

Yuu herself takes more and more agency as the series goes on. By volume 5 she is clearly on a whole other level than where she started from in terms of herself and the relationship, slow as it may be moving. She’s really one of my favorite manga characters.

So if you come in with the expectation that this will be a straightforward and pure adolescent yuri love story you might not get it here... Think of it more as a coming of age experience where two people help each other navigate their restrictive perceptions about love and identity.

What it suggests to me is that Yuu is demi-romantic. For those who aren't aware of the term, demi, when used as a prefix for either "romantic" or "sexual", is a term for someone who does not develop romantic or sexual attraction for someone until they have a strong bond with them. So a demi-sexual person would not find someone sexually attractive until they get to know them well, frequently until they form a romantic bond, but not always. A demi-romantic would not EVER experience that rush of "love at first sight" attraction that Yuu seems to think is so important. She would need to get to know the person, become friends with them, etc... and gradually, like a flower blooming from a bud to a full blossom, those feelings could grow into romantic feelings. (Of course, she had that opportunity with her friend in middle school as well, but there was one key aspect missing there... she seems to prefer women...)

^ What's wrong with that? Part of the fun in enjoying literature be it manga or anime is discussing the underlying meaning behind the story (particularly it's structure and theme(s)) and and characters with their motivations. At least that is what I like about it and why I want to participate in these discussions. Besides from what I have been reading on this thread as well as some of the reviews beforehand were some good, well thought out opinions. I can see that there is going to be some good conversations about this story to come throughout this season.

zensunni wrote:

What it suggests to me is that Yuu is demi-romantic. For those who aren't aware of the term, demi, when used as a prefix for either "romantic" or "sexual", is a term for someone who does not develop romantic or sexual attraction for someone until they have a strong bond with them. So a demi-sexual person would not find someone sexually attractive until they get to know them well, frequently until they form a romantic bond, but not always. A demi-romantic would not EVER experience that rush of "love at first sight" attraction that Yuu seems to think is so important. She would need to get to know the person, become friends with them, etc... and gradually, like a flower blooming from a bud to a full blossom, those feelings could grow into romantic feelings. (Of course, she had that opportunity with her friend in middle school as well, but there was one key aspect missing there... she seems to prefer women...)

That is so fascinating! I have never heard of this term, and I like what it's about. After all it's consider best for potential couples to not rush relationship and instead to take the time to get to know each other moving forward. For this reason I can see this working towards one favor.

People were thinking too much with big words.
Yuu just didn't fell in love at first sight (as usually happens), just that.

What's wrong with that? Part of the fun in enjoying literature be it manga or anime is discussing the underlying meaning behind the story (particularly it's structure and theme(s)) and and characters with their motivations.

Panino Manino wrote:

People were thinking too much with big words. Yuu just didn't fell in love at first sight (as usually happens), just that.

I think that's the more reasonable interpretation (with Touko being just a case of love at first sight), the problem is that's clearly not what the story is trying to do with the long Yuu monologue where she lyrically wax about love story and yadayadya.

I think it would be far more interesting if the show went in that direction, with maybe an interesting story being Yuu progressively falling in love with Touko as she find out she like her personality while Touko progressively falling out of love with Yuu has she realized her infatuation was purely physical and she just doesn't like Yuu on a personal level that much.

meiam wrote:

Panino Manino wrote: People were thinking too much with big words. Yuu just didn't fell in love at first sight (as usually happens), just that. I think that's the more reasonable interpretation (with Touko being just a case of love at first sight), the problem is that's clearly not what the story is trying to do with the long Yuu monologue where she lyrically wax about love story and yadayadya.

How so?
She doesn't love Touko.
She likes Touko.
With time and more contact she starts to love Touko.
A simple love story, nothing so extraordinary.
For the more that all this high talk may be interesting personally I think people are seeing too much here (Bloom Into You being good being partly to blame).

I mean if it's not, then what's the point of the really long Yuu monologue, cause there taking a lot of time and there not interesting by themselves...

Contrary to the reviewer I think Yuu has plenty of personality already. She's just not a caricature with a few in-your-face traits like most main characters.