The Redemption Arc

Bloom into You (Yagate Kimi ni Naru / やがて君になる) is a yuri manga about two high school girls who fall in love. This is also my second time reviewing the series. 15 months ago, in March of 2021, I reviewed the Bloom into You anime.

Now, I’ll be honest, my review of the anime wasn’t received well by certain members of the community. If you want to see what I said about the anime, the review is still there for you to read. I’m not going to change my opinion on a series because some people don’t agree with it.

But, even when I wrote my review of the anime, I conceded that the manga was likely better. So, what better time to give Bloom into You a second chance by reading the manga than during Pride Month?

Before I get into the review itself, there are a few more things I need to make clear. First, I read the manga from chapter 1 — I didn’t pick it up where the anime left off. Not only has it been 15 months since I watched the anime, but I wanted to experience the manga as a whole.

Second, I’m going to do something different and say right here at the start that I gave the manga a 10/10. Usually, I leave my ratings for the conclusion of the review. But, I think it’s important to get that out of the way at the start this time around.

Most of this review is going to be comparing the anime to the manga. So I want it to be clear upfront how significant the difference between the anime and manga is. It’s a 4/10 compared to a 10/10. I knew the manga would be better. But I didn’t expect this.

A Complete Story

The Bloom into You anime has a glaring problem. This problem is such a big deal that even the most diehard fans of the series have to admit it. And those who don’t admit it are lying to themselves.

Of course, I’m talking about the fact it only covers half of the manga.

Bloom into You is 50 chapters long (45 chapters and 5 “bonus” chapters spread throughout). The anime concludes at the end of chapter 24. And it doesn’t have an original ending, either. It ends in the middle of the story.

This is something I pointed out in my review of the anime. As I said back then, the anime actually ends before any of the major character development occurs. And, in fact, the anime ends in the middle of an arc — before the climax of the arc.

The school festival/play arc is the point at which the character development begins. This is arguably the most important part of the series. But, the anime misses out on that. It builds up the play and then ends before we get to see it. Because of that, the manga is superior by default.

That’s not all the manga completes, though. Even after the play arc, there’s plenty of content left. Yuu’s and Touko’s story doesn’t end with the play. With the manga, we get their complete story. They graduate from high school, go to college, and end up living together.

At the very end of the manga, it’s even implied that the two of them got married (or engaged). There’s a panel of them walking home together and it focuses on a ring on Yuu’s finger. Compared to the complete package that is the manga, the anime is trash.

Manga vs. Anime

Now, it’s time to get into some of the more subjective ways the manga is better than the anime. And first up is the art. The panel screenshots I’ve included in this review don’t do the manga justice. There are some amazing panels with amazing art. And the rest looks good too.

I wouldn’t say that the anime looks bad. But it’s also not great. And, while not something I usually compliment, the Bloom into You manga has some nice paneling. I haven’t read many manga — 6 manga compared to my 530 completed anime. But, I can still recognize nice paneling when I see it.

Moving away from the art, there’s something else the manga did better than the anime, but I can’t quite explain why. One of my complaints about the anime was that it made Touko’s character come off as a groomer. And I got plenty of backlash for saying that.

This is another reason why I wanted to read the manga from chapter 1. I wanted to see the depiction of Touko’s initial relationship with Yuu in this medium. And what I found was that their early relationship is the same.

But, reading the manga, I never got the impression that Touko was being too assertive with Yuu. There was still an awkward moment between Miyako and Sayaka. But, Touko’s and Yuu’s relationship was good. I liked the depiction. And I don’t have a solid answer for why I think that now.

So, let’s guess. It could be that the direction of the anime portrayed their relationship in a more toxic way. It could be that the manga gave a better insight into Yuu’s feelings through the art. Or, it could be the voice acting in the anime. Who knows?

Yuu and Touko Get Frisky

Is it weird to say that one of my favorite parts of the Bloom into You manga is when Yuu and Touko have sex? Okay, yes, it’s hot. But, there’s more to why I liked this part of the manga than that.

For one, I usually watch anime rather than read manga. And in anime, we generally don’t get sex scenes. So, this is an important part of romantic relationships that I don’t get to see depicted often. Romance in anime might get to a kiss scene if you’re lucky.

And, it’s very common for the main characters not to even be in a relationship by the end of the anime. The ending might imply they end up together. But that’s not very satisfying. Seeing Yuu and Touko go all the way is a lot more important than I think many people realize.

Look, sex is a normal part of romantic relationships. Does every romantic relationship need it? No. But for the majority, it will eventually come with the territory. Depicting that is a good thing. There’s nothing wrong with it. Yuu describes herself as “naughty” when she fantasizes about Touko, but that’s not bad.

Also, let’s not forget that this is a yuri and shoujo ai manga. There’s going to be plenty of LGBTQ+ youth reading this. And seeing Yuu and Touko at this point of their relationship could be very validating. This isn’t a watered-down depiction of a girl-girl relationship that’s left ambiguous.

Oh, and I have to say that the situation in which they have sex for the first time is perfect. The scenario of it happening when Touko’s parents are out is realistic. And the feelings of anticipation and nervousness that both Touko and Yuu have are spot-on.

Conclusion

As I said toward the start of this review, I gave the Bloom into You manga a 10/10. I tried to think of any reason I could come up with to give it a lower score. And in the end, there was nothing. It deserves this rating.

If you’ve read this review for some reason without having seen the anime or read the manga, pick the manga. I know there are people who like the anime. And some people will say to watch the anime and pick the manga up where it leaves off. I’m telling you to skip the anime entirely.

The manga is so much better — and I’m not a manga person.

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