yuri – Anime QandA

Heavenly Sweetness – ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Full Season Review

Heavenly Sweetness – A Full Season Review for ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ By guest writer: irlwaifu

What’s the show? Wataten!

Oh hey, Irlwaifu! Yup, I am back!

Welcome back–it’s been a while. Does that mean that the show we’re reviewing today is a boys love review like your very first review on the site for ‘LOVE STAGE!!’? Nope quite the opposite… well not exactly.

Intriguing. So, Wataten. What’s it about? Wataten is the shortened title for An Angel Flew Down to Me. It’s a yuri/ CGDCT show about college student and shut in costume designer Miyako, and her little sister Hinata, a fifth grader who worships Miyako. The show centres around the interactions and cosplaying adventures of Miyako, Hinata and Hinata’s friends Hana and Noa, with Miyako admiring the young and serious Hana a bit too much!

Yuri… sisters… CGDCT…cosplaying… why isn’t Matt writing this? This definetly sounds like the type of show he salivates over? Matt wanted a female point of view on this show specifically. There’s only so many times he can keep talking up these shows before–

–Before everyone starts labelling him a shameless lolicon? Hey, that’s the pervert I am going to marry you are talking about! Also, this show isn’t sexual. Why must every anime with young girls be seen as sexual fodder?

You sound eerily like him right now… Matt and I have some similar views on young/young appearing characters in anime, but we do differ a bit to. Just as you should never judge a book by it’s cover, you shouldn’t judge an anime by its loli.

Okay okay, I’ve heard this before. So, you have a college student who admires a fifth grader a bit too much and this show is…? Wholesome.

Wholesome? That’s a new one. Hear me out. Is this show about a college student who gets fifth graders to dress up as maids, anime characters and a myriad of other kawaii things. Yes. But at the heart of it, this show is about personal growth, and learning to push beyond your own boundaries. This show sees Miyako push beyond her crippling social anxiety, and place herself in situations she would never have done so if she hadn’t met someone who inspired her to do so. We even see Hana grow and learn it’s okay to play and be a child, and just be cute. The relationship begins as one of contract – I’ll wear your dresses, if you make me all the sweets I desire. But it grows as they grow, and goes beyond the superficial.

But she’s grooming a child… She’s not. She just is inspired by her. There’s a great montage at the end that shows that for me goes through Miyako’s emotions and feelings towards Hana, and it begins with a scene of a young Miyako and baby Hinata and the obvious love and bond they share. This is the series for me. It’s about admiration, love, friendship, growth – and that’s so wholesome. Yes there are plenty of jokes about otakus, lolicons and social anxiety but those add to the fun of the show, but are ~not~ the heart of the show.

“Heart of the show”? Is this you looking for something to justify the wholesome maybe only you see? There’s a bunch of people out there who think this show is creepy you know. I don’t think I am alone seeing this show in a wholesome and heartfelt way. When Matt and I were in Japan there was a ‘Wataten!’ pop up at Akihibara Gamers, so of course we had to go. When we were there my eyes gravitated toward one young boy. He was about 10 years old and was looking at all the acrylic standees and deciding who of the girls to buy. He was picking up all the girls before settling on Hinata–my fave too–and he picked her off the shelf, and then grabbed his mum and they began counting his coins in his little anime coin purse before going to the counter. I smiled watching the entire interaction, and it made me love the show more. This show appeals to a wide demographic because it is a CGDCT show with beautiful characters, big personalities and lots of laughs and feels.

Sounds like a cute moment, so maybe the show isn’t as ~lolicon~ as everyone thinks it is. Alright. Final score? You know I don’t score things. Best leave that to Matt.

Ah that’s right. Well thanks for popping along. Always good to hear from you, although I do question your taste since you are marrying Matt…. HEY!

***

Matt’s final recommendation and review for ‘Wataten!’ Thought I’d just quickly chime in with my thoughts on the show. I was initially skeptical about the show–not because of its subject matter of course, I’d enjoyed ‘UzaMaid!’ a lot from the previous season and these two shows share a lot of the same DNA. No, what I was worried about was Miyako–our slovenly, tracksuit wearing protagonist–who I didn’t much care for. It was about Episode 5 that I stopped caring and just started enjoying the show for the wholesome fun it was (yes, that’s right, I’m calling it wholesome too). It’s a fun, lighthearted series and it’s final episode is easily my favourite finale of any show this Winter 2019 Anime season and in fact ranks among the rare anime episodes I consider to be “perfect” which is in part why overall I give ‘Wataten’ a 91 out of 100.

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When Dragon Girl Met Princess – ‘Mysteria Friends’ Full Season Review

When Dragon Girl Met Princess – A Full Season Review for ‘Mysteria Friends’

What’s the show? Mysteria Friends.

And what’s it about? It’s a low-key and laid back slice of life style “romance” anime about the budding relationship between two high-school girls who attend a prestigious magic school, Anne who is a human princess and Grea who belongs to a race of half human half dragons–and is also a princess. It’s also an exceedingly beautiful anime with (arguably) some of the nicest art and animation of any anime this season.

Hmm, I note the “quotation” marks around “romance” and feel like you’re baiting me into asking why. So why? We’re given ten, 15 minute episodes so almost 150 minutes of total run-time and (spoiler alert) they don’t even kiss. Maybe I was expecting too much from a series like this (whatever a series like this even is categorised as) but it feels like a big investment and very little ‘pay-off’ so to speak.

You sound disappointed with the show. Are you? No, because I still enjoyed the journey, I loved spending time with these characters and watch them interact and grow closer, I loved the episodes that had more action and adventure and I loved the quieter more intimate ones where they’re just playing hide-and-seek in the massive school library. Aesthetically this show is gorgeous and it’s stunning world design along with the aforementioned high art quality means I couldn’t possibly be disappointed with the overall experience. It’s just worth mentioning because people watch different shows for different reasons and if you’re expecting any kind of romantic closure you ~might~ be let down.

Anne is too genki for her own good sometimes.

Fair call. So who was your favourite character? If you paid any attention to my 10 Best Anime Waifu’s of Winter 2019 you’d know there was no contest–Grea is not only the best girl on the show I voted her best girl of the entire season, and while pictures do speak a thousand words–hearing her speak and shyly interact with Anne is what really sells her and the whole show really. I can’t imagine this show being nearly as enjoyable if Grea wasn’t Grea. I know that might seem like an odd (or maybe obvious) thing to say but there’s no denying she steals every scene she’s in and thankfully she’s in most of them.

Grea’s introduction scene is the epitome of sexy *and* classy.

Anything else you wanted to add that’s important to mention? The series is an in-universe spin-off to ‘The Rage of Bahamut’ series (the game, if I’m not mistaken) but absolutely zero prior knowledge of that series is required to enjoy this series. This show never spends any of its time with lore or history or backstories, nor does it need it. This series could have taken place in any generic fantasy world with magic and half-breeds and floating islands and not felt any different–at least from a narrative perspective.

Final recommendation and review for ‘Mysteria Friends’? With regard to its overall mood there are similarities between this and ‘Bloom Into You’ though the same comparisons do not extend to tribulations shared by the characters in the latter. If you want a sweet and simple story of two girls building the beginnings of a relationship set against a fantastical ‘Hogwarts’-esque backdrop with dashes of action and magic thrown in then this show might be for you. But if you’re looking for a substantial narrative or romantic progression beyond hand-holding you will need to look elsewhere. There’s no “mystery” about how much I enjoyed this show though: 84 out of 100.

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In Hot Water – ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 4 Review

In Hot Water – An Anime QandA Review for ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 4

What’s the show? Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me, Episode 4.

How’s this episode? More of the same, which makes this incredibly difficult to review but I’m sure I’ll muddle through it.

Well that bodes well for this review… I don’t know, I just thought ~something~ more interesting would have happened by now—‘UzaMaid!’ this ain’t.

You keep comparing it to ‘UzaMaid!’, is that really fair? Probably not, I mean they’re only tangentially related but that relation is still enough to make the comparison applicable. Though there’s one thing that’s significantly different and that’s the protagonist and her motivations. I don’t think there’s any connective tissue between Tsubame and Miyako—in fact I dare say if they ever did meet Tsubame would harbor the same kind of disdain she has for Midori.

And what was the point of that thought exercise? I dunno. Filling time?

*facepalm* Just tell us what the episode was about and what you liked and didn’t like about it, no use wasting everyone’s time, okay? Fair enough. So the first part is about the girls playing in an inflatable pool in Miyako and Hinata’s backyard while arguing over who is cuter in their swimwear, the second part is them making clay models of their “favourite things” for summer homework project and the third part is everyone going to a summer festival.

Oh. I can see why you didn’t have much to talk about–kinda basic stuff for this kind of show? More or less. And none of it’s bad, it’s all pleasant and fun and funny and occasionally creepy (in all the right ways) but as I said at the start it’s just not particularly interesting to talk about. The most interesting thing that happens is at the summer festival Miyako starts taking candid photos of Hana and as a result Miyako gets in trouble with the police. It’s a funny moment but is resolved in literally 20 seconds with the girls coming to her begrudging rescue.

Does bribing them with sweets count as consent? Because she’s got that!

Anything else to add? Another thing that has the potential to be interesting (should it ever come to fruition) is the idea that everyone in Hinata’s class thinks Miyako is some super-sister, who’s a charismatic domestic goddess when of course the reality is the complete opposite. It’ll be interesting should these two worlds collide but for all we know that could be ages away.

Final thoughts on the episode? It’s more of the same–which is neither a great thing nor a terrible thing. The three girls (now five actually–with the addition of two more classmates introduced in this episode) are consistently more entertaining than our protagonist, but she’s at the very least slightly less gross then she was at the start–either that or I’m just getting used to her…

This is Koyori and Kanon, they are very cute. More of them please.

Previous ‘WATATEN!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Reviews:

Angel Sweets – Episode 1 Review
Hide And Meek – Episode 2 Review
Loliconopoly – Episode 3 Review

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Loliconopoly – ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 3 Review

Loliconopoly – An Anime QandA Review for ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 3

What’s the show? Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me, Episode 3.

How’s this episode? First of all–I don’t normally mention individual episode titles, because most of the time its consequential but this episode was called “Imprinting” and boy did my brain jump to some scary conclusions when I saw that at the end of last week’s episode…

Okay, why? Well if you’ve managed to force yourself to watch the entire Twilight saga of films, including the final film ‘Breaking Dawn Part 2’ you’ll know ~exactly~ why “imprinting” is one of the most vomit-inducing things ever conceived of. But I digress…

…you watched all of the ‘Twilight’ films…? I’ve done a lot of stupid things in my time, okay? Don’t judge!

Right… okay then, ahem, so what’s this episode about presumably some manner of “imprinting”? Thankfully not–least not in the way I was thinking about. This episode has two main themes. First we have Hinata, Hana and Noa making a board game in class about Miyako, yes that’s right they made a board game about Hinata’s weird big sister. But turns out the game has an ulterior motive–to help Miyako overcome her overall awkwardness by forcing her into ~mild social interactions~ all of which she fails… well except for the ‘Hugging Hana’ spot on the board which she over commits to and earns a well-deserved slap in the face from Hana over. “No” means “no!” Miyako!

It was pretty satisfying watching Miyako getting slapped by Hana.

A “board game for her to overcome her awkwardness”, well that’s a new one. It’s pretty endearing the fact that these elementary school girls are trying so hard to help out Miyako but it also reinforces what an absolutely pathetic specimen Miyako is, so you know swings and roundabouts.

Wholesome, except in the hands of a lolicon.

Hmm, true. And the second “theme”? Well it ties into the titular “imprinting” but is more about the fact that Hinata is utterly obsessed with spending time with her big sister and as far as this show goes this is about as wholesome as it’s been (and probably ever will be) as we learn about the closeness between these two sister’s. It’s adorable and completely not-weird (and the fact I have to clarify it’s “not-weird” says all you need to about this show).

Okay then. So good episode? As good as the others I suppose. I’ve noticed this show has a very slow pace, even compared to other shows of its ilk and while I don’t ~dislike~ that fact it does take some adjusting to get used to. That said there’s a few good laughs in this episode and some begrudging character development and it’s for the most part perfectly entertaining so yeah, “good episode” pretty much about sums it up. I’m still waiting for the turning point that turns this show into something ~different~ than my current expectations line it up with but I wonder if I’m waiting for something that’ll never come.

Previous ‘WATATEN!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Reviews:

Angel Sweets – Episode 1 Review
Hide And Meek – Episode 2 Review

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A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words – ‘Mysteria Friends’ Episode 1 “Review”

A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words – An Anime QandA Review for ‘Mysteria Friends’ Episode 1

But a picture’s only half the story, right? You want a review too? It’s visually sumptuous and exceedingly endearing from the get-go. You want a recommendation, it’s like ‘Bloom Into You’ meets ‘Harry Potter’ but with a Slice of Life leaning. You want to know what to do next? Watch ‘Mysteria Friends’.

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Hide And Meek – ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 2 Review

Hide And Meek – An Anime QandA Review for ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 2

What’s the show? Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me, Episode 2.

So how’s this episode? This one’s kind of difficult to review because it’s more or less ~exactly~ the same as last week, which for this kind of show isn’t a bad thing. But if I’m to draw comparisons (again) to ‘UzaMaid!’ episode 2 of that show wasted no time in giving us a whole heap of touching character development for its lolicon protagonist–whereas this show doesn’t even seem remotely interested in doing so. Which again, is fine, it’s just taking a different approach but yeah not the best for reviewing.

Some quality reaction images from this episode.

You say “exactly the same”, but surely it’s not? Tonally it absolutely is the same, all that’s changed is there’s a new friend to join Hana and Hinata in their predominantly housebound fun. The new girl is blonde loli Noa who we were briefly introduced to last week as she observed Miyako in an embarrassing cosplay outfit (and pose) from her window which is directly opposite hers. And at first we’re led to believe that Noa is going to use this information to blackmail Miyako but as it turns out she’s not that sadistic and seems to be just trying to get Miyako to come out of her shell and have more fun. Which you know, is nice and all, but she just met the woman–I don’t know that elementary school kids are that insightful and knowledgeable about picking up the societal anxieties of adults. But whatever it was pretty cute all the same.

‘Spider loli, spider loli, does whatever a spider loli does’

RIght and so it’s just all fun and games in the house then? Yep. They all dress up and Miyako takes photos of them, then Noa gets a ~complex~ about not being the cutest girl in the room so they have a dress up competition, then they play some hide-and-seek, then they have a competition to see who can take the cutest photo of Noa and then they have a bath. This certainly isn’t complicated stuff but it’s still endearingly adorable, even if Miyako still hasn’t lost any of her ‘creep’ factor.

So not won over on Miyako yet then? Not by a long shot, I mean I tolerate her–I don’t dislike her because she has funny reactions but I’m still not endeared to her the same way I am our other characters on the show. Even the mother, who has just a single scene in this episode is more likeable.

So we’ve got three loli’s coming over for visits and the lolicon protagonist still only has eyes for Hana I assume? Yes. Although there was an interesting moment that was very ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ but made me wonder if the show was going to eventually head in a different direction. Miyako’s looking at Noa in one of the cosplay outfits and thinks to herself–rather surprised–about how cute Noa is. And the way she said it sounded exactly the way a harem protagonist who’d otherwise been hung up on another character would ‘observe’ another girl in his harem. And I was like “is this going to be a gay loli harem?”

Most people’s reactions to reading the sentence “gay loli harem”

I bet that got you excited at the prospect… Well it’d certainly be unique–especially the yuri part of the equation! Sadly(?) I don’t think this show is going to go that route, at least not in any official capacity, unlike something like ‘The Ryuo’s Work Is Never Done’ which (despite my dislike of its protagonist) seemed “all-in” on the loli harem aspect.

Right. So overall thoughts on the episode? It’s fun, I was smiling throughout which is always a plus but I think if the show doesn’t commit to some decent backstory or character development soon it’s going to lose some points in my book–even though I freely admit it’s still ticking all my buttons aesthetically.

Previous ‘WATATEN!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Reviews:

Angel Sweets – Episode 1 Review

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Angel Sweets – ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 1 Review

Angel Sweets – An Anime QandA Review for ‘Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me’ Episode 1

What’s the show? Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me, Episode 1.

So how’s this episode? So we’re in familiar territory with this anime, it’s basically ‘UzaMaid!’ all over again with our lolicon protagonist fawning over an elementary schooler–who in the case of this anime is her younger sister’s new best friend.

Really? This again?! And so soon after ‘UzaMaid’?! I know, I was surprised too but here we are, no use you complaining, we’re in it for the long haul!

Ugh, fine! So what’s this show specifically about and who is our pervert this time? It’s about Miyako Hoshino a terminally shy college student who spends most of her free time drawing and sewing cosplay outfits at home, she has a little sister named Hinata and they have a very close relationship.

That’s three degrees of head-pat-seperation!

Siscon and lolicon?! Calm down, she’s not a siscon, well… I mean, she doesn’t want to date her sister, she appreciates her sister’s cuteness and enjoys dressing her up–that’s about where it ends (as far as we know so far). So anyway one day Hinata invites her classmate Hana over and it’s “funny, squirmy feeling” at first sight for Miyako.

Excuse me? Those her words to describe her feelings upon seeing such a “cute angel” like Hana. Simply put, she’s got a big ol’ crush on an elementary school girl and doesn’t know how to process it. What the rest of the episode is more or less Miyako trying to get closer to Hana, Hana (quickly) realising that Miyako is creepy and Hinata being oblivious to it all.

And by “getting closer” you mean…? Dressing them up in her cosplay outfits and taking photos, making Hana sweets in the hopes of winning her over (or at the very least keep her in her life) then the requisite sleepover related shenanigans.

This sounds very creepy, even for you. Did I say I liked it?

Wait, what? You didn’t like it? No of course I liked it, but I have issues… Unlike ‘UzaMaid!’ which had me from the first second and (almost) never let go there’s one BIG thing stopping me from calling this a largely enjoyable experience. And (unsurprisingly) it’s our lolicon protagonist Miyako. And I thought about this longer than probably anyone should, trying to think why I don’t like this particular flavour of lolicon but Tsubame from ‘UzaMaid!’ was so delicious. And at the end of the day it all comes down to confidence. People will tell you that confidence is sexy and alluring and brings with it charisma, and they are absolutely right. Tsubame was a hard-working ex-airforce woman with a killer six-pack and an attitude to match, she could say absurd lines about only liking girls who hadn’t had their period and you believed in her conviction–and (as much as this is probably the most problematic thing I’ve ever said) she made being a lolicon seem like the right play. Her confidence and self-assured attitude made you nod your head agreement all the while inside you were shaking your head in disbelief.

But not Miyako? Nooo~, Miyako is always in her sloppy loungewear (you can imagine they stink of sweat), she talks and acts like a shut-in otaku, she is the polar opposite of Tsubame and as a result you’re not endeared to her perversion (as much as one can be considering the subject matter) but rather repulsed. She is–to put it plainly and harshly–pretty gross.

I only just noticed her drawing tablet is a ‘Cherry’, now I’m worried about Hana’s virginity…

Wow. I didn’t expect that kind of dressing down on a show like this, a show you’d ordinarily be all for. Stop. Make no mistake I am all for this show, this show is aesthetically superior to ‘UzaMaid!’ absolutely everything about it from the loli’s themselves, to the more low-key setting, to the music and the visuals it is all incrementally preferable to ‘UzaMaid!’ in my opinion and for my preferences. But Miyako will continue to be a stumbling block for the rest of this series, oh I don’t doubt we’ll get some tragic backstory about why she’s so shy and housebound and maybe even a reasoning for her love of loli! Maybe she didn’t have a proper childhood and maybe she’s trapped in that mindset? Maybe high-school was so terrible for her that she reverts to her happiest time of life when at home? But until it does those things (assuming it does) and does them well, I can only take what I can see and that’s that Miyako is not an appealing protagonist. Yet.

Probably for the best. (Okay that was a bit harsh)

Okay, fair enough. So uh, how do you go about recommending this? The target audience for this show (at least among my readers, presumably) is small–if you enjoy moe, slice of life it’s a “maybe”, if you enjoyed ‘UzaMaid!’ it’s a “probably” everyone else nothing to see here, move along…

“Hey kids I’ve got candy in my van, come see!”

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Keeping Each Other Afloat – ‘Bloom Into You’ Episode 13 (Finale) Review

Keeping Each Other Afloat – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Bloom Into You’ Episode 13 (Finale)

What’s the show? Bloom Into You, Episode 13 (Finale).

So how’s this episode? It’s surprising…

By which you mean? I’m surprised by its non-ending—not that I was expecting any kind of closure, one of my commenters assured me of that fact that weeks ago. I’m surprised by the confidence this show has in its audience. Also I’m surprised by how good it still is, actually scratch that, this show has proven itself more than capable at this point. The point I’m trying to make is that the show doesn’t force a ‘fake’ ending and it’s still a satisfying finale. Even if things are left more or less ~in the middle~ of two stories.

You don’t think your being too forgiving? Maybe. But I prefer the show to not rush towards a conclusion it’s not ready for just for the sake of an impatient TV audience, this is roughly the midway point of the manga, the mangaka has estimated an end date in 2019/2020 so maybe we’ll get a second season then.

Right so what happens in this “non-ending”? In the first half Yuu and Koyomi go to everyone’s favourite gay cafe to work on the amendments to the play’s script and Koyomi tasks Yuu with coming up with a title. Afterwards Sayaka and Touka come to the cafe after the other two have left and they have a deep discussion about Touko’s sister—we don’t see the conversation and that works in the show’s favour I think. Also because we already kinda know what Touko’s sister was like to Touko because Touko plays that role everyday. Then after they leave Riko, their teacher stops by to pick up Miyako the coffee shop owner from work so they can go home together and the two have an “interesting” exchange.

Oh? And what do you mean by “interesting”? Well turns out our favourite gay couple are both actually bisexual. Which I mean doesn’t change much, but I tell you what it’s good to see bisexual characters in an anime who are in a stable relationship and not presented as sexually aggressive or perverted. Also turns out, when asked her preferences for either men or women Riko says she prefers men which elicits a comical reaction from Miyako. Riko then elaborates by saying it’s “different” with her and that she’s just fallen for her. And it reminded me of the best character and moment in ‘Citrus’ when Sara explains her bisexuality to Yuzu by saying “it doesn’t matter if I’m in a relationship with a boy or a girl, it just happened to be a girl this time.” More of this in our anime please!

Hard to argue with that. Anything else? Yes of course that’s only half the episode! So Yuu invites Touko to go to an aquarium and watching these two have about as a ‘normal’ a date possible for them was so heartwarming and adorable. And the episode doesn’t end with some forced cliffhanger or dramatic moment or angsty misunderstanding it just has a quaint little montage of all the characters over the end credits and that’s it for Bloom Into You (for now–hopefully)!

Such a simple gesture but it means everything.

Right then, overall thoughts on the final episode? I could absolutely understand a person being underwhelmed by this ending. Especially as how nearly half the season has been building to a stage play that’s yet to eventuate in the narrative. But as for me I’m more than happy with what we got, it’s a beautiful, low-key and heartfelt episode that makes me want to watch the series all over again.

Previous Bloom Into You Reviews:

Love Takes Time – Episode 1 Review
The Flower Blooms Alone – Episode 2 Review
Strength In Vulnerability – Episode 3 Review
The Ever Watchful Gardener – Episode 4 Review
Study Buddies – Episode 5 Review
Scenic Roots – Episode 6 Review
Garden Of Secrets – Episode 7 Review
Rainy Day Feelings – Episode 8 Review
Racing Hearts – Episode 9 Review
Playing The Part – Episode 10 Review
Life Imitates Art – Episode 11 Review
Last Minute Rewrite – Episode 12 Review

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Last Minute Rewrite – ‘Bloom Into You’ Episode 12 Review

Last Minute Rewrite – An Anime QandA Review of ‘Bloom Into You’ Episode 12

What’s the show? Bloom Into You, Episode 12.

So how’s this episode? I feel like there was a cohesiveness to this episode that felt very satisfying, not that other episodes haven’t been but with the emphasis being on the play they are rehearsing for and the fact that the play is mirroring Touka’s real life made for richly compelling viewing.

Okay that’s good. What specifically happens in the episode? Yuu feels a distance growing between her and Touko, whether it’s just Touko doing so intentionally because she doesn’t want to smother Yuu with affection or unintentionally because of the revelation about her deceased sister last week—she feels it nonetheless. After the study camp is over Yuu takes the initiative and invites Touko to come over to her house and up to her room. Touko is hesitant, saying if she comes up she won’t be able to “hold back” but Yuu doesn’t care because she wants exactly that, she wants to be closer to Touko in every sense of the word. The scene with them on the bed goes from insanely sensual and intimate to heartbreakingly honest as Touko once again repeats her plea “please don’t fall in love with me” before adding “because I hate myself and I couldn’t be with someone who loves something I hate.”

Ouch. Indeed, but this ‘declaration’ is the impetus for Yuu to take action. After Touko leaves she gets in contact with her friend Koyomi who is writing the script for the stage play and requests that she change the ending of the play.

How’s that going to help with Yuu and Touko’s relationship though? Well Touko believes that she has to pretend to be a ~better~ person than she is and that the person she has to be is one to be found out there. Which is more or less the decision of the character she plays in the play. What Yuu proposes is that she doesn’t pick any of the personalities that her friends and family assign for her but rather be the person she is now and learn to live and grow with that version of herself.

Why does she look so evil? She means well, I swear!

I guess that could work, but it might also not. True, but Yuu doesn’t have many other options available to her. The only way Yuu can get Touko to accept her burgeoning love for is to get Touko to love herself for who she is.

So with only one more episode left do you think things will get wrapped up nicely? Do I think we’ll be at ‘happily ever after’? God no, as much as I’d love to see them as a ~proper~ couple, there’s no way this story is near that point. So all I can do now is patiently wait the finale and then anxiously hope for a second season!

Previous Bloom Into You Reviews:

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