Bloom Into You is one of those anime that I actually kept seeing people talk about during its run, and even afterward. I saw advertisements for it on websites like MAL or Anime News Network, I saw a bunch of people both in and outside my circle talk about it, and saw recommendations for it when I saw similar stories while internet surfing. But I missed out on it when it first came out because I was hit really hard with anime burnout and couldn't bring myself to watch much. Thankfully, now that I've clawed myself out of it, I decided to finally give it a shot, especially since I now have a HIDIVE subscription and was able to watch it legally. What's my verdict, especially as someone who normally isn't a huge fan of the romance genre? Well, it's...alright. I mean, I like it, but I feel like its missing something that prevents it from reaching any heights.

Ever since she was a little girl, Yuu Koito has always wanted to experience the thrill of falling in love. Having read lots of shoujo manga and listened to love songs all her life, she wants to experience the feeling of having her heart be sent aflutter. But when a boy asks her out, Yuu feels...nothing. She realizes that she is incapable of experiencing the feeling of romantic love and is unsure of how to respond. But upon entering high school, she comes across an older girl, Touko Nanami, maturely turning down a suitor of her own, stunning Yuu with the grace of her rejection. Yuu approaches her for advice, and the two become better acquainted...but she's thrown for a loop when Touko confesses to her. Bewildered by this surprise revelation, Yuu finds herself on the path to find the emotion that has long eluded her.

I don't know...something about Bloom Into You never really clicked with me. I don't hate it or anything, as there is a lot to like about it. For one, the romance between the two leads is actually allowed to progress, and they actually talk through their issues instead of simply acting dramatic for the sake of plot convenience or stubbornly refusing to clear things up. Plus, I actually really liked how the show actively showed the members of the student council actually doing things, like organizing events, helping other students, and being involved in extracurricular activities instead of just using the fact that the characters are in a student council as a means to show how uber-authoritative they are, especially when it's only used as fodder an antagonistic character uses to throw their weight around. Plus the animation, while nothing to really write home about, is nice and pleasant to look at, especially with the flower imagery, and the sound track is pretty nice as well, even if the ending theme is a little too saccharine for my tastes.

And it's not even like the characters aren't fleshed out, either. The series does try, and most of the characters have good stories behind them. I liked Yuu and Touko's arcs and how they help each other deal with their insecurities, and I found Sayaka to be a very refreshing take on the jealous love interest, as she's never portrayed as being malicious, and any antagonism on her part is much more subdued and civil compared to other characters of the same archetype. Plus, I liked Yuu's friends Koyomi and Akari and wanted to see more of them. But other ones remain pretty static throughout the entire show, like Maki and Doujima, though this may be because the anime adapts the early portion of the manga and not the later, meatier parts. Plus, I don't mind slow pacing and having everything play out in a more subdued manner, as sometimes going all bombastic and over-the-top isn't needed. But I think Bloom Into You played things a little too safe and had no interest in taking any risks, which resulted in the series coming off as rather dull to me.

Bottom line, it just feels too standard, and it doesn't help that a lot of what the anime was building up to doesn't even get realized, with the show ending before it even has the chance to do anything with all its build-up, in a very clear "Read the manga!" ending that comes very abruptly. I mean, I can see that Bloom Into You is trying. It does flesh out most of its cast and its romance better than others I've seen, and it does have a few charms of its own. But there's just as many things out there that did everything else better, and that's the main problem: It just doesn't stand out, and the few things it has going for it aren't enough for me to really recommend it. Bloom Into You is a nice series to watch on a rainy day or if you're bored, and if you like it, more power to you. But it didn't really resonate with me. I wonder if I'll have better luck with the manga? Who knows? But it does say a lot that I was able to watch this and actually complete it instead of, say, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War.