With You, Our Love Will Make It Through at its core is a shojo romance series. That is what is wants to be and succeeds at the most. What it also tries to be is a poignant exploration of racism, discrimination, and the divide that separates people from different walks of life. This is done less successfully but still manages to convey these ideas in a way that is easy to understand but also a bit bluntly. It's basically a show that tries to juggle to many things. One of those other things is SEX. Specifically a coming of age drama about two teenagers discovering their mutual romantic attraction for one another and their physical attraction. It's smutty, kinky, and can be off putting unless you're into that kind of thing. Luckily I enjoy all these different aspects of this series so this show was made for me.

Let's talk about the real meat and potatoes of the series. The romance. Honestly there isn't much to say about it that you won't find in a typical shojo romance about two characters finding love despite the overwhelming differences and societal divides. It was love at first sight both at the school and the shower. Soooo the series put those two together instantly which is honestly a good thing. No will they won't they crap. Poor Yujihiro whose efforts to turn this into a love triangle failed instantly. But one thing that the series does well is having such a great supporting cast and by that i literally mean supporting the two main leads relationship. Yukihiro genuinely supported the relationship but also was a solid friend to both characters even at the cost of his own romantic feelings. Of course his "help" was questionable at times like locking the two in his bedroom to test the limits of Tsunagu's feral instincts. That part was a bit bad even if it came from a place of good will. Then there is Kisara who after a rocking start became a nice supporter of the pair and our main cat girl for the series. All things considered the series doesn't have a real antagonist outside of "society". A classic us vs the world type scenario which we see at the season's climax.

The racism and discrimination directed at Tsunagu throughout the series is both lacking but also blunt. People are afraid of beast men despite those beast men living relatively close to them for years. That fear comes from ignorance. There is a literal wall that keeps the two sides from interacting with each other and therefore no trust can form between them. Rumors, stereotypes, and blatant prejudice are abound as Tsunagu tries to just live his life as a normal high school student. This is harder when he not only has to stay calm and not be provoked but the bullying is a common trope when it comes to these types of situations. It doesn't get easier no matter what minority you are even if it's a fictional one. The bullying all the way to the false accusations at the end of the season, are clear examples of the types of discrimination the story is trying to convey and that it's "wrong" to be racist. Remember that racism is wrong. Not the most poignant or oringial message but still one that people even in the real world can't seem to understand. But what the series does do a better job at illustrating is that discrimination and prejudice are washed away by knowledge. Once we understand that the things we fear are not really that different or unusual then it becomes normal. Normalcy is key. This is seen at the climax when the entire class stands by Tsunagu because they know him. They have spent the last few months getting to know him and realize that despite his species he's not any different from them and in fact is the best of them. This feeling of normalcy is also seen when Tsunagu and Mari are officially going out and show the world. Suddenly they are a normal couple doing normal couple things. The fear they felt is gone because there simply is nothing to fear. Another note is that show also demonstrates that for meaningful change to take place, meaningful action needs to be taken first. Standing up to bullies, standing up for yourself, and standing up for each other. These are the steps each character took over the course of the show to get to the finale. And it worked. Bullies backed down and got bored. People moved on.

I'm not going to dive into the physical romance part of the series. There was kissing, touching, and licking. Okay. Not much to talk about there. They're attracted to each other and their bodies.

What else can be said about this series. It's messy, mushy, and not for everyone. Yes it's very romantic and shojoey. It's unappolitically about a human girl and a furry beast boy having sloppy make out scenes. It's beautiful and it tackles sensitive subjects in ways that aren't great or handled well when you get down to it. But it's fun. It has solid animation and beautiful art. It's a wonderful show.