An absolutely fantastic yuri story, easily the best one that I am familiar with. The story sort of jumps right into the water with an early confession, but due to Koito Yuu's personality, sexuality and lack of experience she doesn't really know how she feels. Or rather... she doesn't *think* she knows what she feels, consciously. Sub-consciously...? Expecting fireworks, she is disappointed when she feels (or believes she feels) nothing at all, and is left uncertain; she *likes* her senpai that is clear, not just to the reader but to her. But.. does she like her enough?
Nakatani Nio did a superb job with dialogue, pacing and scene set up with YagaKimi, showing a very, very realistic portrayal of teenage first love - uncertainties, fears, anxieties. The characters (mainly Koito Yuu and, later on, Nanami Touko) spend a lot of time on introspection, trying to figure out their emotions and desires while at the same time, wrestling with an over-arcing shadow that seems to hang over the Yuu and Touku and to a lesser extend Saeki Sayaka.
Overall, I think it does a pretty good portray of some labels (heh, we all hate but love labels, right?) within the LGBTQ+ community, though I won't spoil the exact details here - a number of different types of sexuality show up, outside of the usual 'hetero, gay/lesbian' which is pretty great.
This story.. if I wasn't concerned with spoilers I could talk for hours. Moments of joy, sorrow, fear and uncertainty. Jealousy, anger and even depression. But, through it all a slow-building exploration of what it means to not just 'fall in love' but also to CHOOSE to love, and that last part I think is what makes this story extra special. Far too often, in fiction and in life, people will let love slip by them while they wait for that legendary feeling of fireworks, of the instant blossoming of both love and desire, rather than seeing a subtle, quiet love right in front of them and reaching out to grab it.
8 volumes, 45 chapters and honestly, its just not enough. Two anthologies, and still not enough of these wonderful people - maybe we'll get lucky and Nakatani-san will someday decide to revisit Yuu and Touko and the rest.
Once you've read the 45 main-story chapters, I *highly* recommend checking out the anime adaptation - it covers chapters 1 through to 24 in *incredible* detail. Not only were there no scenes from the manga left out, but the scenes present were expanded on and so beautifully constructed, with what feels like a perfect score. TROYCA outdid themselves.
Nakatani Nio outdid herself. I havn't read her other works, but I intend to; that being said, Yagate Kimi ni Naru has set an incredibly high bar.
If you like romance, if you like explorations of not just emotion but also the psychology of being a teen then you really need to read this manga. If you like the yuri genre, then you are absolutely doing yourself a grave disservice if you do not read this. The Citrus manga was great. Kase-san series is fantastic. Bloom, while shorter, tops both of them.
~Alyfox
PS: There are three spin-off light novels, "Regarding Saeki Sayaka", that are also incredible and must-reads for fans of this series. The two anthologies are wonderful, but I've read that they are only somewhat canon, and so you *could* skip them if you really wanted... but, why would you?
