The Difference Between Fondness And Kisses/Not One Of The Characters
What They Say:
Yuu has always loved shoujo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and blushes, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her...she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yuu enters high school still unsure how to respond. That's when Yuu sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she's inspired to ask her for help. But when the next person to confess to Yuu is Nanami herself. Has her shoujo romance finally begun?
The Review:
Content: (Please note that the content portion of the review may contain spoilers)
If there's anything we've learned over the last few weeks, it's that Touko and Yuu don't exactly have the most standard sort of relationship when it comes to romance. With the former being head over heels in love and the latter being more confused than anything else, the dynamic between these two high school girls has been rather entertaining from a spectator's point of view. Strangely enough, that exact idea goes on to encompass a large part of this week's episode in the form of a spectator within the series itself. But before we further delve into the spectator's role, we must first take a look at the more literal side of what's happening in Bloom Into You.
We're already aware that Touko has become the new student council president and that Yuu has followed suit in joining the association. What we didn't know until this week, however, is that it's already crunch time for them. With the cultural festival approaching far sooner than anyone had anticipated, it's time for the council to kick things into gear and decide what exactly they're going to be doing. Touko, taking the reins as she normally does, suggests revitalizing an old school-tradition of putting on a play for their peers. And while Sayaka and the newest addition to the club (A first-year named Dojima) are all for the idea, Yuu and Maki are quick to voice their opposition.
After a brief dispute, the student council decides to save the discussion for another day and regroup at a later time, leaving Yuu and Touko alone in the clubroom. Given that Touko has had to contain herself for roughly two hours up to this point, she's having a hard time not jumping onto her new companion straightaway. Instead of acting out of aggression this time, though, she asks for Yuu's permission before commencing another round of lip wrestling. And while it sure is great to see these two going at it again, the greater part lies in how Yuu has begun to handle these situations. Slowly but surely, she's making her senpai aware that she's still not entirely against doing things like this. In fact, this time around, she even voices her interest. And for the first time since the pilot, we have a relationship that seems [almost] entirely consensual. There are no problems whatsoever.
Well, at least for a few seconds there aren't. Remember that spectator I mentioned earlier? Yup, you guessed it. While Touko and Yuu are "sharing a moment," Maki shows up to retrieve an item he left in the club room, ultimately seeing these two engaged in, as I will refer to it, 'the deed.' Instead of going all NTR on the girls, however, Maki keeps it to himself before revealing what he knows to Yuu the very next day. What's interesting about this exchange, however, is that Maki's perception of the event is a rather interesting one -- one that isn't all that far off from how Yuu views romance.
A monologue from this spectator reveals that Maki doesn't really have any interest in experiencing romance firsthand, but that he'd rather watch from the sidelines. The relationship between Yuu and Touko has become the perfect example of that. He vows to keep their secret safe and, before the episode comes to a close, actually reveals something to Yuu that she was having a hard time grasping herself. Maki, who is suspiciously experienced when it comes to watching couples in love, lets Yuu in on the fact that, well, she's probably really into her senpai. Hearing this from someone else throws Yuu into a spiral of reflection and realization as she begins to realize that her classmate may actually be right. But before we have time to learn more about what she's feeling in that moment, the episode comes to close. We're going to need to wait one more week to discover whether or not Yuu has fully accepted her own feelings and what exactly they mean to her.
In Summary:
Despite several strong moments and the most semi-promiscuous scene to date, Bloom Into You begins to slow down as the seeds for its future are planted. With a third party now in on the secret relationship developing between Yuu and Touko, it's only a matter of time until others begin to find out as well. But will the inclusion of other people play a role in helping this couple? Or will the secret getting out begin to tear them apart? It's a set of questions that this entire episode is set up to establish. Thankfully, Bloom Into You remains impressive enough on all fronts for either of these answers to be a fulfilling one.
Episode Grade: B
Streamed By: HIDIVE
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