The Observation Deck: Bloom Into You
Welcome, weebs, to Animated Observations
Storytime: my first ever experience with a queer couple in anime was a little series called Strawberry Panic, an anime that, even while writing this, I could recall scant few details about beyond the fact that there is a woman x woman relationship. Most of that is because, well, 12-year-old Vivian got bored pretty quickly. Yeah…unregulated access to the internet was a mistake. Not because of the queer relationship, mind you, just in general.
Apart from being one of the first anime I watched ever, it was also pretty much the only Yuri anime I watched until much later. Though that does not in and of itself speak to the volume of representation, it also feels worth mentioning that the younger me was the type of anime fan who watched basically anything and everything put in front of me.
On top of that, there is definitely a pretty big range in the quality of all-female romance in the medium. On one end of the spectrum, there are shows like Revolutionary Girl Utena, which is not only a great romance series but would ultimately serve as one of the blueprints for a lot of series in the magical girl genre, as well as a few Western animated series like Steven Universe.
Towards the middle there is stuff like Sakura Trick, not exactly super compelling but cute and unassuming enough to be watchable and reasonably enjoyed. At the unwatchable garbage end of the spectrum stuff like Citrus pops up. It is a series that attempts a Yuri version of step-sibling porn with enough grace and elegance to actively make you uncomfortable while watching. (Sorry Jenn, feel free to enjoy as you please I just can’t ride with this one).
All that long-winded attempt at an intro leads us to Bloom in You, a high school romance focusing on freshman student Yuu. Apart from being unsure of what club to join, she also struggles to understand romance in any serious way. Even after her long-time middle school friend confesses, she doesn’t feel anything. Still, after having a serious talk with the student council president Touko, Yuu believes she might have seriously found someone who understands her. That is, until Touko herself gets swept up in the moment, and now it looks like Yuu has a new potential lover.
Coming to Terms with Queerness
One of the most telling aspects of any show that focuses on queer characters is how it both does and does not focus on those characters’ identities. That is, how does the series address the fact that its primary characters are some flavor of gay with it feeling like that’s the only thing that matters. Representation is obviously important, but if approached in too much of a glib way it can come across as disrespectful or trying way too hard.
Though the specifics change from culture to culture, even most developed countries tend to have problems with the alphabet mafia. Japan is no exception, really, though maybe for different reasons than someone in America or Europe (i.e. less religious bigotry and more cultural bigotry since they tend to be big on family dynamics).
Bloom Into You does a great job of striking that balance. Those elements of bigotry are definitely more implicit, but they do crop up. A good example is when Yuu is having dinner with her family, at which point her older sister brings up Touko and the student council election. Despite them having no actual reason to believe Yuu and Touko are a thing, her dad still says “that my heart couldn’t take it” in response to their potential relationship.
Another comes from the flashback scene with Sayaka and her middle school girlfriend. Despite developing real feelings for her, Sayaka is ultimately cut off when said girlfriend talks about “getting serious” and their relationship being “just a phase,” sentiments that often crop up in discussions of LGBTQ+ identity in Western societies as well. Though, for as terrible as this scene feels in the moment, it is nice to watch Sayaka get a small bit of revenge by using Touko later on.
The idea that queer relationships are enjoyed only by adolescence is juxtaposed later on by the revelation that their homeroom teacher is also in a same-sex relationship. Riko and Miyako serve as a parallel to the budding relationship of Yuu and Touko, that even in adulthood these feelings are valid. All of this is done without having to spell anything out (Not including the soliloquies that pop up every so often, but would it really be a good dramatic romance without ‘em).
Oh, the Melodrama
Concepts like “melodrama” and “romance” stirred in the same pot for a long time in my head. However, not every romance series is going to lean into melodrama in the same amounts or even the same ways. A good point of contrast for me while thinking about this post has actually been this season’s Whisper Me a Love Song, another Yuri series focusing on a quiet and unassuming upperclassman and a cute, unaware freshman. Funny how that works out.
Whisper Me a Love Song, at least so far, is very much a character-focused romance where bigger questions are left to the wayside. In that way, it’s much more like a heterosexually focused anime rom-com. This is not a bad thing, mind you, as it is nice to have queer leads so unassumingly. However, since it is so character-centric, said bigger questions probably will not get answered (hard to say anything definitively this early on since I know nothing about the manga, but that’s my impression anyway).
Yuu and Touko’s relationship, despite being just as centrally focused, doesn’t necessarily lead to the same level of characterization. Whereas Whisper Me a Love Song has opted for lingering moments on individuals, Bloom Into You more often than not seems to favor big shifts in camera angles and extended visual metaphors such as Yuu drowning in a dark ocean whenever questions of romantic love or her feelings toward Touko come up.
Again, neither approach is necessarily better or worse, but it does mean that their characterization comes almost exclusively as a result of their interactions rather than individual contributions to the story. This is even true of Sayaka, whose development as a character is tied almost exclusively to her hidden feelings for Touko rather than anything in and of itself.
Where Does it All Go?
The question left at the end of all that is whether or not any of it makes the series compelling? Short answer: yes, long answer: yes (with more words). Bloom into You largely succeeds at telling a queer story in a way that addresses its focus on identity without it coming across as forced or stereotypical, good job there.
The ending was another area that surprisingly felt appropriate for the series. As the two wrap up their date at the aquarium, Yuu suggests practicing/ad-libbing their script, all while she conveniently leaves out that she and Koyomi were working on a new version of the ending. Yuu attempts to convince Touko through her character in the play that there is no need to try and be her sister, and that once the play is over, there will be a lingering feeling of emptiness.
Despite not getting to see everything adapted from the manga, choosing to end right before the cultural festival leaves a lot of tension, tension that ultimately points towards a bit of ambiguity in Yuu and Touko’s relationship. Yuu’s repeated insistence that she doesn’t understand romantic feelings is juxtaposed heavily with her deep commitment to Touko’s feelings, as well as increased looks of unassuredness every time they interact. Sure, it’s no lesbian fairytale, but it’s a lot more honest when it comes to the feelings of these characters.
Still, that is not to say there are no hesitations when it comes to evaluating the show’s quality. I was planning on writing a section going into more detail about Yuu’s coded aromanticism and how the whole relationship could be seen as a bit exploitative on Touko’s part. Problematic? sure, but more importantly in this case, just not explored particularly well.
On top of that, as much as the show relies on big melodramatic moments, not much of the soundtrack outside of a song or two stuck out as being memorable. This hurts the overall impact of those big scenes and makes the lack of character development stand out by comparison.
Conclusion
Listen, it’s a good show, alright. The whole Crunchyroll originals thing may have turned out to be a mixed bag, but Bloom Into You is one of the highlights. It has flaws, and if we’re being honest, the series could have benefitted from a sequel film or some other way to adapt the rest of the manga. For what the anime does provide, however, there is a lot to appreciate.
84/100
How do you all feel about Bloom Into You? Let me know in the comments.
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As always, special thanks to Jenn and Travis for the support, it is greatly appreciated.
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Originally published at http://animatedobservations.com on April 30, 2024.
