Aug 9, 2021
I don't normally review anime and manga, but I feel like this series deserves more positive attention. As you can tell by the 9 I gave it, it wasn't a masterpiece or anything, but it did give me the warm, butterfly feelings while reading.
Possible triggers: homophobia and... Ok, there is an older character who was Sanada's ex. The age gap is about 9-10 years. Not everyone will be comfortable reading the story because of this, and I understand.
However, I want to make it clear that he is NOT a predatory character. I could see if he was trying to make moves on Sanada after
...
they broke up, or if he made moves on any of the other teenage characters. But he didn't do ANY of that. You can tell that his purpose in the story is to be a mentor to the younger, gay teens. His interactions with Noshiro in particular are quite wholesome.
What I liked:
Noshiro as the protagonist. First, it's refreshing to see BL not being between two skinny dudes with six-packs. Despite being chubby, he is also athletic and is not constantly eating food. Second, he has a likeable personality. He's a genuinely compassionate, fun guy that I would like to know in real life. Of course he has flaws: sometimes he oversteps and can be clueless, but if these flaws end up hurting people, he feels guilty and owns up to it. Third, his journey reminds me of my own. At first, I was just interested in gay stuff because I wanted to help LGBT teens after hearing about some of the things they went through. Later I realized I was bisexual. Noshiro's journey with Sanada is similar: at first, he wants to reach out to the school outcast and is curious about being gay. Then whoops, here come the feelings!
Sanada's growth, particularly in his interactions with Noshiro. It wasn't Zuko-level or anything, but you can tell he starts to open up more and more to Noshiro as the story goes on. He becomes less aloof and more kind to him, and they share moments that range from fluffy to angsty to somewhere in between. He also feels guilty about things between him and his childhood friend, and later does his best to rectify it.
The female childhood friend of Sanada is not crazy or predatory like rival interests in other stories (Citrus)! She's cute and chill.
Makoto can be annoying sometimes, but you know what? He's a bundle of energy and optimism and it's hard not to smile when he's on the page. And again, rival love interest that's not crazy or a jerk! Whoo!
The art style is so cute and aesthetically appealing! They say not to judge a book by its cover, but sorry, I loved the character designs the moment I saw them.
A look at how LGBT life is like in Japan. Although I live in the US, in my experience, a lot of LGBT people do online dating. So it was nice to people in other countries do it too. Also, sorry Noshiro, not all gay guys like BL.
But of course, there were also things I didn't like:
Pacing. I knew this was going to be a slow burn, but dang. It made Bloom into You look quicker. There were a couple of plot points that felt dragged out to the point where I was wondering if I should even bother with the second volume. Thankfully I did!
Like I mentioned earlier, Makoto can be annoying sometimes.
In summary, if you like Bloom into You, this is basically the guy version! If you like slow burn romances and cute art, and aren't triggered by homophobia or age gaps, please give it a try!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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