Bloom Into You

"Bloom Into You" is one of the absolute best the genre has to offer thus far. This is coming from someone who's read a bunch of yuri stuff (I'm talking dozens of manga and hundreds of one-shots) and watched quite a few yuri-focused anime. But this show shines like a beacon amongst all of those. This is due to a couple of factors, which a lot of stories in the shoujo-ai and yuri genre get wrong.

To start with, this show has a strong focus on the characters. In a lot of yuri stories, it seems the focus is on the novelty of the relationship. That is, they focus on the fact that it's a lesbian relationship and it becomes less about the characters, but more of the fact that they are both girls. It's like the author is saying, "look! They're both girls!" They then proceed to have the story's main drama being about the fact the characters are unsure about whether two girls can be in a relationship or not, with the "but we're both girls!" line being a common appearance in these stories. It's fine if done right, but NOT fine if it stretches half the damn series. The characters cannot stand out this way, and it's frankly boring as hell.

This show was different though. It focused on the character's insecurities and mindset, which made for a far more interesting story. Touko and Yuu's conflict with their identity made the relationship more complex and intriguing. This in turn helps viewers to understand the characters and empathize with them, where with stories that focus on novelty, you end up getting frustrated at the story. This isn't exclusive to yuri, as many romance shows with straight couples suffer from cliché drama too. But it's worth mentioning due to how prevalent it is from a majority of the yuri content I've seen.

I'm also glad they didn't do any creepy stuff as well. Shows like Citrus and NTR just have a lot of nasty content. Even if it's a good show in Citrus' case (in my opinion), it isn't pleasant to watch and the drama makes you want to gouge your eyes out. So while this show has some serious internal conflict with its characters, there isn't any bullshit wrenches being thrown in from the outside by the author just to stir up more drama. The drama in "Bloom Into You" is natural and makes sense.

Talking about characters, all the side characters are fantastic too. As a romantic rival, Sayaka is a pretty swell girl who gets quite a bit of development herself. The contrast between Yuu and Sayaka's relationship with Touko, and how differently they try to help her, further strengthened the intrigue of the story and Touko's character arc. Characters like Maki and Koyomi aren't a focus, but they all play a role in the story and are great characters in their own right. The relationship with Riko and Miyako is also a very fun side addition.

One thing I do have to mention is Studio TROYCA. I really loved Re:Creators, and I'm so glad they adapted this. They were not only loyal to the source, but they added their own twists to the animation which was gorgeous most of the time. The cinematography was top-notch, as was the sound direction too. Topped with some A+ voice acting, it really added so much more to an already great show.

Really, the only problem I have is with the inconclusive ending. I'm praying for a second season because the story does feel incomplete. This is a problem with a lot of yuri shows (eg. Aoi Hana, Sasameki Koto), but I'm hoping the popularity of this one will give it the conclusive ending it deserves with TROYCA's amazing direction. But for now, you'll need to read the manga for more, which sucks. If you wish to hold out for a second season, you could read "Octave" in the mean time (I'm 100% sure this is never going to get adapted unfortunately), which is my favorite yuri manga of all time and has a lot of great character drama too (It's a bit less wholesome though). Despite that, this show is definitely my anime of the season for Fall 2018 without a doubt.