Intersection/Rained In
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 will contain spoilers)
Oh no. I think it might be happening already. In episode six, we finally caught a glimpse into the thought process surrounding why Touko has fallen so hard for her kouhai. And considering that the episode directly after that spent a good 75% of its time on Sayaka, we didn't really get much of a chance to plug up the cracks in Touko's surface that have since begun to show. What I'm trying to get at here is that this 'undying love' that the student council president has been showing for our protagonist might not be as undying as we initially thought. In fact, the tables may even be turning for our two characters as Yuu begins to act more smitten with each passing episode.
Now, we're all pretty aware that rain has become time timeless anime symbol for things getting depressing or bad or whatever you want to call it. Rest assured, Bloom Into You is no exception to that. Almost the entire duration of episode eight is drenched, symbolizing the growing unrest deep within the hearts and minds of both Touko and Yuu. And as if the rain wasn't enough to showcase that, the sheer distance between these two characters finishes the job rather flawlessly. Up until now, almost all of Bloom Into You has centered on direct interactions between our primary couple. This week, however, Yuu and Touko don't even see each other until around the fifteen-minute mark. Sure, it could probably be chalked up to pure happenstance, but one key thought from Yuu emphasizes that this isn't exactly the case. Just as we had ascertained from the post-credits monologue in episode six, Yuu has also begun to realize that Touko doesn't exactly want her to return her unrequited love. And even though she's had absolutely no problem with this so far, it's beginning to get rather complicated in the grand scheme of things.
I think it's safe to say that, at this point, Yuu is becoming aware of the feelings she has for her senpai. Sure, she's still dodging that question whenever it's directly sprung onto her (Thanks, Sayaka), but her incessant blushing and cutesy verbal slip-ups beg to differ in almost every scene. The biggest example of this comes into play in the final few minutes this week's episode as both Yuu and Touko take shelter from the rain under the cover of a storefront awning on their way home. Going over the few minutes before they met up, Yuu actually says something along the lines of, "I was really happy when you showed up today." But instead of returning this line in an equally adorable manner, Touko sort of just stands there with a blank look on her face, almost forcing herself to believe that Yuu meant something else. Of course, Yuu picks up on this immediately and respins her words to contain an uninterested demeanor and, lo and behold, Touko reverts back to her normal self.
For the first time so far, Yuu lets her guard down and the girl who has shown her unblemished affection for two straight months is the one to back down. It's almost inarguable that Yuu is longing for a new type of connection -- she even goes to hold Touko's hand for her own benefit this week instead of simply trying to gauge a reaction. It's easy to say that our protagonist has finally begun to bloom, but what's worrying about that is that the flower next to her might wither and die by the time that happens.
In Summary:
This week's installment of what I would easily deem as the best yuri series of the year is just dark and dreary as the weather in the featured picture. Sure, Yuu and Sayaka manage to bury the hatchet, but the chemistry between our main couple slowly but surely begins to fade. Despite things ending on a positive note, Yuu's growing affection and Touko's growing unease spell a dangerous final arc to this wonderful series. At this point, all we can do is hope that these two girls can discern their feelings and finish blooming as a couple, rather than just blooming into their own skin.
Episode Grade: A-
Streamed By: HIDIVE
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