Buckle up folks, it’s time for another episode of the altogether excellent Bloom Into You. The show’s first episode offered a poignant and consistently convincing glimpse into our heroine Yuu’s worldview, and the followup extended that grace of illustration to her “friend” Touko and the greater world around them. So far, director Makoto Katou’s fondness for rich colors and saturated lighting have aligned perfectly with Bloom Into You’s dramatic intentions, creating a world that can alternately feel lonely and claustrophobic or as fancifully beautiful as a shoujo confession scene. The careful execution of sequences like Touko kissing Yuu have created a consistent and fascinating tension between the world as Yuu experiences it, and the world as she’s been led to believe it’s supposed to be. The conflict playing out in Yuu’s thoughts is thus beautifully echoed by the world around her, resulting in a show whose visual style perfectly mirrors its dramatic priorities. When you couple that compelling aesthetic holism with the show’s generally strong dialogue and compassionate approach to its core conflict, you end up with an altogether excellent high school drama. If the show can keep this up, we’re in for a very rewarding journey. Let’s embark on our next episode!

Episode 3

Back to the soft blue and purple pastels of the show’s first moments, as Yuu thinks to herself, “but why would Nanami-san like me?” A question that reflects her insecurity and close focus on her own “weirdness,” but which is also perfectly reasonable in its own right. Touko declared she was falling in love with Yuu only a few days after she met her, and the two haven’t really demonstrated the strongest chemistry

We jump to Yuu rehearsing her campaign speech. While she wonders about what Touko finds worthwhile about her, she’s literally spending her free time rehearsing a speech about all of Touko’s own virtues

We offhandedly learn that Yuu went to the same middle school as Akari, and likely Koyomi as well

“What’ll you be doing during our time off?” Bloom Into You is very good about establishing the ongoing context of these characters’ lives not through exposition, but through incidental lines like this. This both helps the pacing and also bolsters the audience’s belief in the solidity of this world; characters here don’t explain things they both know to each other, they offhandedly reference them

Touko offers Yuu her juice, and then stares at the rim for a moment after having it handed back. These details are great

Touko is an only child, while Yuu has a big sister, which seems absolutely appropriate for both of them

They head to a bookstore, which Yuu reveals is her family store. These idle conversations are good; giving the two of them some topic to discuss outside of their relationship helps them develop a genuinely convincing rapport and relationship. Romances where “the strength of our love” is the emotional core, as opposed to the actual experiences and conversations they share, always feel pretty flimsy

“That person before was so polite.” “It’s all an act, if you ask me.” Yeah, pushing Touko and Yuu through unique situations like this allows Yuu to gain a fuller understanding of Touko’s actual personality

Yuu’s family lightly joke about the idea of her bringing home a girlfriend. You don’t have to be actively malicious to create an unsafe environment for your kids to be themselves. I appreciate how dedicated Bloom Into You is to illustrating how much bigotry or social censure expresses itself more through these thousand tiny cuts than big, obviously homophobic gestures

Yuu heads out with her homeroom friends and Natsuki, another friend of theirs who went to a different high school

This episode seems a bit more conservative visually than the first two. Lots of slow pans over backgrounds to conserve animation

We’re moving into some sort of Akari-focused drama, apparently. Lots of lingering shots on her as they head to a romance film

Aw dang, Akari just got rejected by her crush

While her friends urge her to keep trying, Yuu picks up on Akari’s undertone of having truly realized this boy just isn’t interested in her. And likely seeing herself in this boy, she’s the only one who says “maybe he won’t change his mind”

Touko lurking awkwardly outside Yuu’s store. “I was just doing some shopping.” “But your house is two stations away.” Merciless, Yuu

“Why not just give me the souvenir at school?” Yuu is really pushing back on Touko crushing on her at this point

“Just how much do you like me?” Aw jeez, Yuu. She’s basically flirting with Touko at this point, and actively enjoying the attention of this one-way love

And having received a thoughtful gift, Yuu once again returns to “why would she settle for me?” A very natural distance between these characters’ public and private selves

Oh damn, time for the speech

This show absolutely adores symmetrical compositions that place each of our leads in one half of the frame. They are constantly being contrasted against each other visually, separated by that center bar, assessing each other one scene after another

“Sayaka! Are you here for scare tactics or to provide genuine support?” “In your case the former, in Yuu’s case the latter.” The banter in this show all feels very natural. Their jokes are never particularly funny, but that in its own way enhances the sense of believable dialogue. They’re not fiction-witty, they’re just friends being familiar with each other

Sayaka’s words only hype up Touko even more, once again leading Yuu to assess what Touko sees in her, this time without a word

And then Yuu demonstrates her own strength. She pulls Touko outside for a moment, and lets her admit to her own nervousness. Like when Yuu first confessed her own lack of romantic feelings, this is someone Touko can admit her anxieties to – someone she can let see the mask slip. No wonder the OP features masks so centrally

“Sayaka and the others, they all believe in me. I can’t let them lose that faith.” As Touko confesses, the camera cuts back through the forest, framing them as closer and closer together. Touko’s honesty “resolves” the visual distance this show works so hard to establish

As a child, Touko was an average student and shy person. Eventually, she deliberately chose to reinvent herself as her current incarnation

“I need… to stay who I am, someone special.” So the new poise that helped her eventually like herself demands she never actually embrace emotional honesty with the people around her. Not the most sustainable solution, but an extremely High School one

“I’ve known your personality from the start. Showing me when you feel ‘weak’ doesn’t change a thing. Don’t worry about it.” Yuu wonders why Touko has fallen for her, but in moments like this, it’s easy for us in the audience to see

Touko literally leans on Yuu’s shoulder, making the metaphor physically clear. Yuu is the only person she can be vulnerable with

“So remember, this is normal.” And yeah, Yuu can’t see the value of what she herself is doing

She eventually gets it, though. Reflecting back on that first confession, she realizes what she’s been providing for Touko

Perspective shots for Yuu rising to the podium, of course. If ever there’s a time for perspective shots, it’s when we’re supposed to be feeling the stress of performing for a crowd

This is a great sequence. As Yuu’s overt speech highlights the effectiveness and accomplishments of Touko’s mask, her inner voice revels in the distance between that and Touko’s ultimately insecure true self. This is dangerous ground though, Yuu – learning to love the weaknesses someone is willing to share with you isn’t that far off from romance

And yeah, she basically spins halfway through into her “confession,” but in terms of truly joining the student council

“Maybe we won’t even have to do any campaigning.” We’re getting more and more glimpses of Yuu’s confident side, and it’s very charming

And of course, they win in the end

And Done

Whew, that episode was great! If the first episode was dedicated to establishing Yuu as a person, and the second Touko, then this episode essentially felt like the hard sell of Yuu and Touko together as a couple. And the episode succeeded brilliantly in illustrating that, using the framing device of Yuu wondering why Touko liked her to explore exactly what each of them offer the other. There were plenty of convincing, endearing scenes between the two, all leading into that climax that directly presented why Touko fell for her. I’ve been enjoying this show in a craft sense all along, but at this point, I’m genuinely invested in seeing how this relationship develops. I want more!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.