If I Could Reach You, though not being my first yuri manga, has stuck with me since my early days of reading Girl's Love in a way few other titles have. Since I first read this, I have indulged in hundreds of other yuri manga and discovered that it is unfortunately not the unbelievable, nearly divine, inscrutable work of fiction that I had remembered it being. However, this story still manages to stand apart to me with themes and a story that I adore and am intrigued by even still.
Unrequited love is the name of the game, and remains as a theme the whole length of this sublime work. It's a simple and thoroughly-explored topic in yuri, but what makes If I Could Reach You different is Uta's knowledge that it is not only unrequited, but also that it is impossible. Throughout the story it is stated often that she doesn't seek reciprocation, instead, she wants to get over this crush - and the sorrow of a hopeless first love. Beyond Uta, we discover through the series that many other characters struggle with their desires not being mutual.
Though unrequited love is no stranger in GL stories, another twist that helps this series explore it better is the differences of love, also a topic common in yuri. Uta's and Kaoru's love are similar yet do not see eye-to-eye, deepening the tragedy of the not-quite-mutual bond. As a foil, the kinds of love of Kuroe, Konatsu, and Risako show presents the wide variety of ways love may or may not form. It presents the case that love is not a sectioned-sorted feeling but that it is a whole spectrum, and that the exhibition of love varies from person-to-person. This aspect of the story is somewhat lacking in my opinion, as the side characters used to delve into this either pick up the trappings of a semi-normal relationship or end by petering-out into a footnote, and this aspect is left to Uta and Kaoru as their relationship regains the main focus of the story.
Another aspect regarding predominantly Uta and Kaoru's relationship, with other relations building on this in later chapters, was one that had gone fairly unnoticed when I first read this. This manga examines the desire to force your world onto another - and not just the typical way such as making someone conform to your worldview - but additionally in a way that the desperate act of this push will change oneself. By trying to be rejected and move on, Uta deepens the cracks in the three's relationships. This exploration of destroying a peaceful existence by breaking ignorance and jealously striving to have what one wants is now what sticks out to me the most about this series, and presents a fascinating question: is it selfish to love?
Even after years of becoming thoroughly invested in yuri, the fact that this series still manages to keep me enthralled with these questions of love shows how truly fantastic this story is. And though it may have been brought down with comparison to other great works, rereading If I Could Reach You has been a truly enlightening experience, one that has reunited me with the same laughter and tears as it had given me when I first read it. More than a trip down memory lane, This series holds subjects that I know will completely draw me in the next time I pick it up, and every time after that. I already can't wait to fall in love with If I Could Reach You all over again.

"Those treasured moments we shared are still with me now. And the bond we made will continue to support me, tomorrow and so on. So I'm sticking to my dumb and ridiculous unrequited love."