Bloom into You Vol. 1 (Bloom into You (Manga))

Genre: LGBTQIA+, slice of life, romance, yuri, girl’s love, manga Content warning: n/a It is hard to write a review for only the first volume, because Bloom Into You has became one of the best written manga I have read during the past few years. It has quickly became the new standard to which I now hold all yuri/yaoi/bl/gl manga. It turned out to be all I needed from the genre which I never even dared to hope for. It stars a female couple and supporting characters, among them we have characters on the aroace spectrum, lesbians, heteros and some who never really label or define their attractions. The story also deals with past trauma and overcoming them and exploring romance and sexuality and what it means for the characters. While the first volume moves quick (which I have to chalk up to the genre’s fault, more on this later) the following volumes take a step back and start exploring and explaining everything. It is rare to find such manga where all conversations and scenes add to the depth of the story and the characters or it foreshadows something. There is also a lot of symbolism in the paneling and how the illustrations express the characters feelings. Yuu just started a new school a few months ago and she is slowly getting used to it. She always dreamed of having a sparkling and heart-pounding romance that shoujo mangas talk about. But when a friend asked her out after their middle school graduation she didn’t feel anything special. Confused and feeling like her friends would not understand she has been delaying her answer. It’s not like she doesn’t like the person, so then, why doesn’t she feel that special feeling that would lift her up from the ground? One day she gets roped into helping out the student council after classes and she accidentally overhears a confession between an older girl and a boy on the school grounds. When the beautiful upperclassman rejects the boy and tells him she doesn’t plan on dating anyone, Yuu finally feels like she has found someone who could understand her. As Yuu gets acquainted with Touko and the two works together at the council they also learn a bit about each other. Yuu wants to have that special connection with someone yet she feels she is unable to fall in love. She feels like she has found a kindred spirit in Touko who also confesses to never have been in love. So she is a bit suprised when suddenly it is Touko herself who confesses to Yuu. While she doesn’t understand why she would like her, Yuu certainly doesn’t mind having Touko around. While the first volume and the first few chapters move very quickly and seemingly fall into instalove on Touko’s side, it is far from it. I chalk this up to the medium, since manga are often published monthly, chapter by chapter, they have to set up their story fairly quickly to grab their audience. However, I can promise you that after volume one the story takes a step back and unravels everything that was set up in this volume. This is probably the only instance I ever had an issue with the pacing or the writing, everything in the next volumes is so carefully crafted and amazingly written. There is a reason why Touko has been refusing every love confession before and why it is only Yuu that interests her. There is a reason why she is so quick to throw around the word love without really knowing Yuu. While the story moves around the school year and we witness several school events in it’s heart it is very much character focused. We learn the inner workings of Yuu and Touko and even the supporting characters. There are a lot of scenes where the paneling is symbolic and portrays the character’s feelings – like in the very first chapter where Yuu feels distant from her friends and suddenly it seems like she sits a huge distance away from them. Every scene and conversation between the characters is meaningful, it either moves the plot forward or tells us something about the character. There are no scenes that are just there for the sake of filler. While I have read some titles that came closer to depicting real lgbtqia+ people and not just chalk their story up to the yuri/shoujo-ai genres, Bloom Into You is the first one I have read that focuses on main characters who fall on the asexual-aromantic spectrum. It lets Yuu and Touko freely explore their feelings and lets them define it for themselves: what they want from a relationship and what love means to them, if anything. And I love that it is not just the main characters who ponder about these things, we also have a self proclaimed aromantic supporting character and several confirmed lesbians. I love that even if there is drama prevalent in the story, things get resolved in a satisfactory way and the characters actually talk things out between them. There are some heavy topics and characters going through past traumas but it all gets discussed in a healthy way and shows how they can move forward from it. In the first volume there are some scenes where the question of consent comes up but I really appreciate that these times it actually gets addressed and not just glossed over as I have seen in other manga. If you want to read a great book with aro/ace characters and carefully crafted storytelling I recommend you start reading all eight volumes and then there is also a spin-off lightnovel with one of the supporting characters. (Has three volumes as of now, illustrations done by the same mangaka). Oh and before I forget, there is also a gorgeous anime adaptation! It is well worth watching but the ending is a bit more open ended in the anime – at the time it was airing the manga was still running so they had to avoid spoiling the manga’s story. And they even adapted the story into a stage play which seems to come full circle with the in-story school play.

As a fan of yuri, i really enjoyed reading this first volume. It's neither fluff nor ecchi, but a slice-of-life story that is light on the drama and easy to read. The writing is decent, the characters are likable, and i really enjoyed the art style. It's no mystery where the story is going, but i'm very much looking forward to watching the romance continue to develop in the next two volumes. I would recommend this to anybody who likes romantic yuri.

Bloom Into You is an interesting twist on the typical yuri novel. When it starts out, if you're at all a fan of the yuri genre, you know exactly where it's headed. Except you don't. Instead of the typical buildup or abrupt confession that's immediately reciprocated, Yuu doesn't feel anything. Most of the manga is set in the awkward position of having to work with someone who loves you, when you don't love them back. Nanami (girl who loves Yuu) is also really awkward about it as well. She even tells Yuu that it's alright if she doesn't love her, as long as she can basically act like they're together. It's weird, but I love it. It's a new, more realistic yuri story that isn't just an excuse to be all lovey-dovey. I highly recommend at least checking out this first volume!

This series is amazing , I absolutely adore the romance between the two main characters and it’s not just basic fluff , it has depth to it and every other character in the story has depth as well , even though this review is under the first volume , I personally have read up to volume 6 and I love this series.

i bought it used and it came perfect! the only thing i would suggest is better packaging, even just some plastic wrap to keep it safe but other than that i’m satisfied:)

Nice art and cute scenes. :)

I like this book a lot theres not much to say other than that it's a good read but my only complaint is that for some reason the typesetters emphasized certain words by bolding them and it's kind've annoying honestly

Coming of Age story of two girls that fall in love with each other

I like yuri. It's a manga about yuri. It's standard but really love the artwork and charcters.

Love it <3

Endlich der erste Band zu Yagate Kimi ni Naru oder auch Bloom into you. Der Titel spricht weitaus für sich. Die Entwicklung zwischen Yuu und Nanami schreitet relativ langsam voran. Was der Story wirklich in jeglicher Hinsicht nur Pluspunkte liefert. Da Yuu nicht dazu in der Lage ist Gefühle wie Liebe zu empfinden, Nanami die Schulsprecherin jedoch Hals über Kopf in jene verliebt ist und auch keine Scheu hat dies zu zeigen, muss sich das irritierte Mädchen mit allerhand neuen Dingen auseinander setzen. Was diesen Yuri Manga so fantastisch macht ist die Art und Weise wie sich Yuu gegenüber Nanami entwickelt. Wie sie auf die Situationen eingeht, etwas fühlt, aber nicht wirklich zuordnen kann was genau das jetzt ist. Viele Hinterfragungen stellt aber feststellen muss das die Gefühle, welche sie nicht beim Namen nennen kann, sich gut anfühlen. Es ist keine Achterbahn sondern wie oben beschrieben ein wirklich langsame Vorgang welcher eine menge flauschiger Momente bietet. Und das Beste daran, nichts wirkt erzwungen sondern einfach nur glaubwürdig. Hinzu kommt noch der einfach perfekte (Meiner Meinung nach, Kunst liegt ja bekanntlich im Auge des Betrachters ;) Art Style welcher einen mit vielen winzigen Umgebungs Details und unglaublich guten Gesichtsausdrücken (Sehr wichtig wie ich finde) gerade zu anspringt. Würde sofort Tag 1 ein Artbook kaufen, so viel sei gesagt. Also an alle ausgehungerten Yuri Fans, die des Englisch mächtig sind, zuschlagen. Sofort! Das Yuri Genre ist an sich schon leicht besäht wer jedoch mal eine Abwechslung von Titeln wie Citrus (Wenn auch sehr gut) braucht dem kann ich Bloom into you nur wärmstens ans Herz legen. Mein aktuell absoluter Yuri Top Titel. Ich bin begeistert und kann es wie gesagt kaum erwarten wie es weitergeht (ich hoffe noch lange, lange, lange genug) P.S Sollte jemals ein Anime dazu rauskommen, was ich schwer hoffen will, werd ich wahrscheinlich erst mal nerdisch heulend in ner Ecke sitzen mit ner menge Doki Doki und so... Ich hoffe diese Review ist für den ein oder anderen hilfreich :)

Ótimo mangá, já estou com o 1,2 e 3 aqui. No começo é um pouco difícil de acreditar que ela criará sentimentos por Touko, mas alguns volumes depois isto já fica visível.

Yagate Kimi Ni Naru, o Bloom Into You, è un manga di genere yuri/shoujo ai abbastanza recente, ma che ha conquistato da subito il pubblico, tanto da riuscire ad ottenere una trasposizione animata. Il motivo è molto semplice: è quasi sinonimo di perfezione, la trama non è mai banale e tratta ogni aspetto di ogni personaggio, anche i secondari, nella maniera più approfondita possibile, descrivendo più di una visione di amore. Abbiamo per esempio la protagonista, Yuu, un'adolescente che nonostante capisca perfettamente in cosa consista l'amore, per quanto vorrebbe non riesce a sperimentarlo, nonostante qualcuno sia stato capace di innamorarsi di lei, e Touko, la tipica ragazza giapponese oppressa dall'ideale della perfezione, così da non deludere mai le aspettative altrui e venire gettata via, che si ritrova attratta dall'incapacità di Yuu di provare sentimenti amorosi. Il manga tratta in maniera naturale l'omosessualità, senza tralasciare però i problemi che può comportare dal punto di vista sociale, in quanto non pienamente accettata, specialmente in Giappone e dà spazio anche a relazioni ed amori non corrisposti eterosessuali, senza perciò rendere troppo bidimensionale l'opera, visto che spesso si tende a riempire gli universi yuri unicamente di lesbiche, eliminando totalmente la presenza di eterosessuali o anche demonizzandoli, attuando una discriminazione al contrario. Se non si è molto pratici con l'inglese, il manga è presente in Italia ormai, ad un prezzo più accessibile anche, perciò in un modo o nell'altro consiglio davvero questa lettura.