If I recall correctly, Touko confessing to Yuu doesn't happen out of nowhere, it's precisely because Yuu told her she can't fall in love. Now, there's two sides to Touko's view of love. One is the standards thing as you mentioned, which is, to my knowledge, pretty fleshed out in the manga. Her older sister presented herself as a model student, and when she died, Touko thought she had to pick up the banner and what's more, she got praise for being just like her sister. So this just reinforced this notion that you can be loved only if you live up to someone else's high standards. So there's a question "what if I change? will people love me the same?" The second thing is, which kinda stems from the first one, because Touko doesn't actually love, but hates herself (because in her view, she's nobody and can receive praise and love only in as much as she's a reflection of her late sister), she can't accept someone loving the real her. And why is that? Well she told Yuu "Please don't fall in love with me. Because how can I love someone who loves something I hate.". Also, it's the fear of change and thus being unworthy of love that she doesn't want to be loved by Yuu. If Yuu accepts her but doesn't love her, she doesn't have to be worried about changing, she will not be burdened by the standard and expectation placed on her by Yuu's love. And then the story revolves around Touko coming to terms that she can find her own excellence and follow her own interests, that she doesn't have to be a carbon copy of her sister, that she's worthy of love and around Yuu growing to understand what love actually is, that it's not just this fluffy feeling you get in your stomach, but that it's giving your everything to the one you love, and growing to be courageous enough to express this love, no matter the cost. It's not that complicated, but there's many layers to stuff so that makes it a little bit difficult to piece together. EDIT: And yeah, I mean, those girls "need therapy". That's the point. They're flawed and they overcame their flaws together. There is something to be said about the relationship between love and expectations. This will sound mundane, but there needs to be a balancing act between the two extremes: 1. If our expectations are high, we won't find it in ourselves to ever love anyone 2. but if we don't have any expectations, can we actually claim that someone is truly special to us? it would seem the person could be replaced on a whim because we don't have any expectations or standards which makes all people the same to us, and thus nobody can be special by definition. or they could change into a horrible criminal, but we would still love them? so the balancing act is finding the right standard by which we allow ourselves to fall in love.
I imagine this manga may be pretty relatable to aro / demiromantics. Trying dating out in hopes of developing feelings you're not sure you ever will. That uneasiness you felt reading, is the uneasiness felt so often in real life. Toph (idk) sounds like a very interesting character. I can totally understand believing you're underserving of love, but still kind of wanting it anyway. Contradictions may as well make us human at this point I think this manga got popular because it was character focused slice of life, rather than overly sexualized or an action or fantasy where their relationship can be interpreted as some metaphors or a backdrop. I didn't read or watch this franchise so I can't say much, but I hope as you delve into Yuri manga you find ones you like personally and enjoy. Thanks for the video and review 🥰
There is actually an aro side character who loves watching other people fall in love and becomes very invested in Yuu and Touko's relationship. It's definitely possible for Yuu to be demiromantic though. Touko for sure has some self-worth issues, she states throughout the series that she hates the person she actually is and it takes the people around her showing her that they like the real Touko for her to embrace her imperfections. I don't think it doesn't deserve to be popular, like, the art is really good and there's enough interesting characters to keep things spicy. I guess I just wasn't expecting what it was haha.
Yeah I'm aro and even though Maki is great I found myself relating more to Yuu in her mindset having never had a crush on someone and not understanding the seeming universal feeling everyone else does
@@ahhhh2233 samee. I'm also defined myself as aroace but I related to Yuu and (a bit of) Touko so much. It's always a push-and-pull between wanting a relationship but when it was in front of me I just acknowledged it platonically, but I want the "lover" status, and ready to accomodating my partner, but tbh I feel like I never would 'love' my partner in a way what my partner hope me to. It feels like I just need the social status--and 'normalcy' (ha)-- that comes with lover status. This is why Bloom Into You is my favorite queer stories, too. They really explain all of the nuances of asexual in relationship for me. Right from the bat all of Yuu's confusion is all of my own confusion managing teen age where everyone feel the need to be a lover of someone. And Yuu and Touko's relationship in early chapters was what my relationship with my partner right now (also Aroace, so glad to meet them and have them). So I agree that at least, based on my own experience, Bloom Into You is more like wlw asexual romance than a allo wlw one. I get the allos confusion of the relationship, though. I also once have an allo lesbian friend who discussed this anime with me and she said that this is so weird. lol. The same friend later on went into a relationship with an Ace woman and then she called me and said that her life really now had turned into Bloom Into You. 😂
@@ahhhh2233I sorta saw bits of myself in Maki and Yuu. Like there's been a weird joy in laughing at my friends' relationship problems and crushes, and for some damn reason there was a time when lots of them talked about their relationship stuff to me, knowing I was aro, but then recently I've been transitioning and someone asked me out and...well, feelings have been developing. Which has been equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.
All though this is late I can explain why the lesbians flock to bloom into you. The main reason is cause Yuri animes and manga are not good. Like they have a horrible way of romance. Most of the time Yuri's are extremely sexualized to the point where it's just fan service for men. Bloom into you has some drama in it. I don't mean that it's over sexualized but it feels like it's something that teenagers would do. Neither of them have a healthy concept of how romance works. So lesbians flock towards popular and not that sexualized because it has a better wrap than others. Of course there is better Yuri manga than Bloom into you but its hard out here. Plus black hair x pink hair is a popular ship in the Yuri community cause its cute.
@@demonicsapphire3773it kinda is? A lot of Yuri, like, the vast majority for a long time was either p0rn for men, tragic, unhealthy relationships, poor representation or pure subtext with very few series that weren't those being hard to find. When I was in highschool Citrus was considered good representation and there's a whole lot wrong with that story including one if the girls SAing the other. In modern day there's a lot more to choose from but it's still pretty obscure and you have to dig for it if you want it. Heck, even in modern day stuff that has good rep still has questionable or just awful stuff like I'm in Love with the Villainess lampshading SA at one point and trying to equate incest to being queer at another.
@@grimsongreen3217It’s more like a half truth. The issues brought up aren’t exclusive to gay and lesbian romances. These same issues show up in a lot of straight romance as well. I think the reality is women accept a lot of toxicity in life and relationships especially going back into the past. Writers who are women and perhaps men (because apparently many of the first writers of shoujo were men writing stories in the demographic before they got their real goal of writing stories for the shounen demographic) then write these toxic components into their stories.
Maybe I’ve just been reading the wrong yuri but I’ve found most of it to be fairly sexless rather than oversexualized. Seems like most of the time there is like one or two chapters with sex at all. Then again I haven’t read thaaaat much.
My absolute favorite yuri of all time is called “She loves to cook, and she loves to eat” aka Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna. It has a j-drama adaptation that had me smiling ear to ear throughout the whole thing. Such a beautiful portrayal of lesbian self acceptance imo. It’s gotten renewed for a second season which is coming out january 29th. I also adore the fact that it is about adults rather than high schoolers, for a nice change. Don’t be discouraged from checking out other yuri, I think some of the mainstream ones are quite lacking, but there are plenty of beautiful stories written by japanese women about sapphic relationships that are amazing.
I'VE READ THIS SERIES AND WATCHED THE SHOW AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! Literally one of my favourite reads of this year haha. So excited for season two! Especially with the new characters that were introduced in vol 3 of the manga :D
I like how it stands above the rest and isn't just some romance anime personally. I personally don't really like romance shows, Especially the premise of person a likes person b with the story building up to a confession and eventual relationship, at least not on it's own so that's where bloom into you felt special to me.
as someone who absolutely loves Bloom into you. i noticed u forgot to mention why Touko needed to act like her sister. Touko was basically forced to be like her sister because everyone around her only wanted her sister, they wanted her to become her sister because she was more important to everyone than Touko. she didn't choose it she was forced to become her. this affects everything in the story and is the reason why Touko has such a skewed view of how love works. she lost herself because everyone wanted her sister not her. Bloom into You is absolutely fucked, gross, and beautiful piece of media. in my opinion the best piece of media ever created. it is so emotional and so well written. it hooks u in with the characters and story. i know for a fact that it has made people realize their sexuality and helped people understand some of their struggles. i just now realize how much i relate to Maki. im aro/ace and i love reading and watching romance stuff but even before i realized that im aro/ace i never wanted to be in a similar situation. i hope more people would find this masterpiece.
I suppose the way I read it was just that because her sister died so young, everyone was mourning her so Touko took that to mean they would rather have her sister around than her. I wouldn't describe it as force, more so an incorrect conclusion that Touko comes to herself. The fact that her parents can see what she's doing and try a couple of times in the series to tell her to chill out tells me that they would rather she try and be herself. Especially as it's revealed that this person she's trying to be doesn't exist and that her sister wasn't this perfect, flawless being that Touko's built her up in her head to be. I think it's an interesting series and I'm glad it's helped a lot of people with figuring out their sexuality, I just think it's a weird read haha.
@@illreadwhatshesreading she was told to be like her sister multiple times when she was young. To a young mind that could feel like an order. That is why i describe it as forced.
I loved Bloom Into You so flippin' much, but I just kind of had to accept Touko's super weird schtick in order to enjoy it. Touko's confession right at the start just didn't work for me and even though the story tries to justify her behaviour I had to suspend disbelief a bit in order to go along with it. Nevertheless I absolutely loved Yuu's character and her gradually falling in love was really great. Also Touko learning to love herself was satisfying too. And don't even get me started on how great Sayaka is! So yeah, if you can get past that one thing I think the story has a LOT to offer.
as a bloom into you fan, having someone explain it in the way you did makes me realise how wild it is 😭 i do think part of the appeal to me is that their dynamic isn't straightforward, and as teenagers they're both just trying to figure themselves out while in this weird, ambiguous Not relationship (which i have also found myself in lmao). also i love the side character sayaka, and her own storyline regarding her sexuality! if you want a far more straightforward Yuri manga i recommend kase san ! that one really is just two girls falling in love lol
Yes, Sayaka was very interesting! I've been tempted to read the light novels about her. I do think it's an intriguing dynamic and definitely had the emotional pay off it was just a bit odd lol. Can see why a lot of people love it though. Kase san is on my radar! Thanks :)
@@illreadwhatshesreading I love it! There are so many little heartbreaks that I feel deeply. I liked it so much I ended up reading his most popular work which I also love but is EXTREMEMLY hard to recommend to people called "Adachi And Shimamura" which I have a lot of empathy for the characters and relate deeply to the poor choices they make as it takes me back to first love/high school relationship/being a total idiot stuff.... but reading a love story where you have to have a LOT of sympathy/EMPATHY for some clear red flag stuff seems like a BIG ask.
@@ci0ci0san ive heard of that series! I didn't know it was penned by the same author :0 ill still check it out eventually. honestly if it hits me in my feelings its a good read
It’s a bit iffy, but I think yuu is a good representation of someone on the aromatic/aroace spectrum and as a aroace spec person i related to her a lot wanting to fall in love and enjoying romantic things but not really the person, even if she started to like her at the end she doesn’t feel the way society expects her too. Reminds me of a queer platonic relationship even if it was handled weird at times
I can see that, and even though there's that whole scene between her and Maki where he basically tells her, 'we're not the same', I can see Yuu being somewhere on the aro spectrum. Low to almost nonexistent romantic attraction. I'm glad that people are able to really dig into the emotional themes of identity present in the series, whether it be with specific characters or the relationship between Yuu and Touko :)
My favorite weird/problematic Yuri is citrus. I started out hating it, and ended up crying and caring about things I'm still upset were normal enough to be a whole manga and anime.
Its funny how I found it 4 years back, when I was young, didn't know anything other than straight romances. Found it accidently, i hated it, but I cried at the end and wanted both of them to be together. But now that I know abt other sexualities, my mind unconsciously focuses more on sexualities rather than actual plot and I hate myself for that
i know i'm late but citrus is weird. i watched it since i couldn't find many other gl anime i could watch but it's really bad. not only is it basically incest, it also includes sexual assault. literally in the first episode yuzu is pinned down without her consent to have her first kiss be taken forcefully by her sister. how does one enjoy this??
I think you’ll find a lot of the more popular yuri mangas out there are about really deeply flawed characters with a lot of weird and messy relationships. There are definitely a fair amount of pretty “normal” romances but a lot of people (myself included) are just really drawn to weird and flawed characters, and watching them develop and grow as people. I’m something of a yuri fiend myself so I’ll give you a few more recommendations that have been stand out series for me! -First I definitely think you should read the light novels about Sayaka, they are as good as the manga and really complete her character arc that we see started in the main story. Volume 3 in particular is such a cathartic moment to see her get a girlfriend in college after all the heartbreak and pain she’s been through. -My second pick is “Still Sick”, which is my favorite office lady yuri. If high school romance is the most popular genre then OL(office lady) yuri is close behind. The manga goes pretty deep into the production side of manga itself and has some interesting meta-narratives there that I think are really enjoyable, and its also pretty damn funny. -My third recommendation is a comedy yuri manga called “School Zone” by Ningiyau. It’s just a ridiculously over the top comedy fest that also weaves in a surprising amount of depth (and gay angst sometimes) into its cast of loveable idiots. The art is also some of the best I’ve seen. -My fourth recommendation is actually a novel series called “Otherside Picnic”. This is a sci-fi/horror series about two college age women who make trips together through this bizarre and alien world that slightly overlaps with modern day Japan, and while there they encounter monsterous entities that are based off of japanese creepypastas. This is a series I recently binged and fell in love with, and I think both the character writing and the world building are master class. Hopefully this isn’t too much! I’m really passionate about yuri manga and other east/southeast asian wlw media and I wish that it got more recognition for being such a vibrant space for queer media.
I've read Still Sick and School Zone! Yeah, they were really good. Otherside Picnic sounds super cool, I'll have to check that one out soon. Thanks for all the recs, I'm always down to hear what people enjoy :)
i gotta admit as a gay man when i saw the thumbnail and video title I thought "girl, what are you on about for yaoi/yuri this is very healthy" but than i remembered that the bar is so low so good on you for talking about the show in a critical and non "praisy" way
It got popular because it’s like a re-branding of the genre from the previous Yuri titles for the anime audience. A lot of the new titles seem to be doing this re-branding and keeping the less marketable elements in manga form. It also helps Bloom being about an asexual/demi experience. It’s an interesting experience for viewers/readers who haven’t seen a story like that before.
I think for most people who are frequent readers/watchers of Yuri manga/anime, you get a bit desensitized to the weird dynamics they show with these relationships. Specifically, the predatory aspects of them. Because the bar is so exceedingly low with how they display Yuri relationships (or relationships in general) in Japanese manga, and you are constantly scrounging for crumbs for ones that have decent characters and writing, you ignore these problematic behaviors they showcase between the characters. I was surprised that the thing you found weird was the “not relationship” as opposed to Touko taking advantage of Yuu at certain points. While the “not relationship” was a consensual thing, Touko often put Yuu in uncomfortable situations, sometimes ignoring Yuu’s feelings. Showing a consensual “friends with benefits” type thing was pretty refreshing to see in a manga. But they just had to have some weird scenes where Touko tries to convince Yuu to do things she’s uncomfortable with. But then again, these aren’t perfect characters. And the story is very interesting, and talks about a lot of things that most manga/anime don’t talk about in regards to sexuality, relationships, and love.
I just finished the anime to that book series and I wasnt sure how to feel about it either. It also doesnt really have a conclusion. Does Touko figure out if she can love herself? Dunno. Maybe? Not? What I didnt like was how the show dragged things out sometimes. In one episode they "overcome" a problem with such certainty and in the next its like that moment never happened. It started to bore me a bit to be honest. While I know that finding yourself isnt always easy, for the sake of the show they couldve explored it without nullifying what has happened before. Well, Ill give it Dunno/5 Stars
I wanted to like it so bad but Nanami was so predatory and manipulative to Yuu just to earn her affections. She kept pushing Yuu into a corner, pressuring her, engaging in social tactics so that Yuu's guards will drop. Needless to say I didn't lasted until episode 4. It was mega weird. I had to watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire again just to wash this predatory image of lesbian romance out of my mind 😭
I personally think it’s way overrated. Not bad just not amazing like people seem to think it is. “How do we relationship” despite the awful name is a much better lesbian romance manga imo. It has its flaws but the characters feel way more grounded and complicated in a way that feels closer to real. Also written by a lesbian from what I’ve heard so that probably helps.
I read the first volume of How Do We Relationship? and just thought it was okay, but I have read more yuri since making this video and found some series I really enjoy!
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
it´s a surprisingly deep exploration of expectations and idealization in a relationship
If I recall correctly, Touko confessing to Yuu doesn't happen out of nowhere, it's precisely because Yuu told her she can't fall in love.
Now, there's two sides to Touko's view of love. One is the standards thing as you mentioned, which is, to my knowledge, pretty fleshed out in the manga. Her older sister presented herself as a model student, and when she died, Touko thought she had to pick up the banner and what's more, she got praise for being just like her sister. So this just reinforced this notion that you can be loved only if you live up to someone else's high standards. So there's a question "what if I change? will people love me the same?"
The second thing is, which kinda stems from the first one, because Touko doesn't actually love, but hates herself (because in her view, she's nobody and can receive praise and love only in as much as she's a reflection of her late sister), she can't accept someone loving the real her. And why is that? Well she told Yuu "Please don't fall in love with me. Because how can I love someone who loves something I hate.". Also, it's the fear of change and thus being unworthy of love that she doesn't want to be loved by Yuu. If Yuu accepts her but doesn't love her, she doesn't have to be worried about changing, she will not be burdened by the standard and expectation placed on her by Yuu's love.
And then the story revolves around Touko coming to terms that she can find her own excellence and follow her own interests, that she doesn't have to be a carbon copy of her sister, that she's worthy of love
and around Yuu growing to understand what love actually is, that it's not just this fluffy feeling you get in your stomach, but that it's giving your everything to the one you love, and growing to be courageous enough to express this love, no matter the cost.
It's not that complicated, but there's many layers to stuff so that makes it a little bit difficult to piece together.
EDIT:
And yeah, I mean, those girls "need therapy". That's the point. They're flawed and they overcame their flaws together.
There is something to be said about the relationship between love and expectations. This will sound mundane, but there needs to be a balancing act between the two extremes:
1. If our expectations are high, we won't find it in ourselves to ever love anyone
2. but if we don't have any expectations, can we actually claim that someone is truly special to us? it would seem the person could be replaced on a whim because we don't have any expectations or standards which makes all people the same to us, and thus nobody can be special by definition. or they could change into a horrible criminal, but we would still love them?
so the balancing act is finding the right standard by which we allow ourselves to fall in love.
I imagine this manga may be pretty relatable to aro / demiromantics. Trying dating out in hopes of developing feelings you're not sure you ever will. That uneasiness you felt reading, is the uneasiness felt so often in real life.
Toph (idk) sounds like a very interesting character. I can totally understand believing you're underserving of love, but still kind of wanting it anyway. Contradictions may as well make us human at this point
I think this manga got popular because it was character focused slice of life, rather than overly sexualized or an action or fantasy where their relationship can be interpreted as some metaphors or a backdrop.
I didn't read or watch this franchise so I can't say much, but I hope as you delve into Yuri manga you find ones you like personally and enjoy.
Thanks for the video and review 🥰
There is actually an aro side character who loves watching other people fall in love and becomes very invested in Yuu and Touko's relationship. It's definitely possible for Yuu to be demiromantic though. Touko for sure has some self-worth issues, she states throughout the series that she hates the person she actually is and it takes the people around her showing her that they like the real Touko for her to embrace her imperfections.
I don't think it doesn't deserve to be popular, like, the art is really good and there's enough interesting characters to keep things spicy. I guess I just wasn't expecting what it was haha.
Yeah I'm aro and even though Maki is great I found myself relating more to Yuu in her mindset having never had a crush on someone and not understanding the seeming universal feeling everyone else does
@@ahhhh2233 samee. I'm also defined myself as aroace but I related to Yuu and (a bit of) Touko so much. It's always a push-and-pull between wanting a relationship but when it was in front of me I just acknowledged it platonically, but I want the "lover" status, and ready to accomodating my partner, but tbh I feel like I never would 'love' my partner in a way what my partner hope me to. It feels like I just need the social status--and 'normalcy' (ha)-- that comes with lover status. This is why Bloom Into You is my favorite queer stories, too. They really explain all of the nuances of asexual in relationship for me.
Right from the bat all of Yuu's confusion is all of my own confusion managing teen age where everyone feel the need to be a lover of someone. And Yuu and Touko's relationship in early chapters was what my relationship with my partner right now (also Aroace, so glad to meet them and have them). So I agree that at least, based on my own experience, Bloom Into You is more like wlw asexual romance than a allo wlw one.
I get the allos confusion of the relationship, though. I also once have an allo lesbian friend who discussed this anime with me and she said that this is so weird. lol. The same friend later on went into a relationship with an Ace woman and then she called me and said that her life really now had turned into Bloom Into You. 😂
@@ahhhh2233I sorta saw bits of myself in Maki and Yuu. Like there's been a weird joy in laughing at my friends' relationship problems and crushes, and for some damn reason there was a time when lots of them talked about their relationship stuff to me, knowing I was aro, but then recently I've been transitioning and someone asked me out and...well, feelings have been developing. Which has been equal parts terrifying and exhilarating.
All though this is late I can explain why the lesbians flock to bloom into you. The main reason is cause Yuri animes and manga are not good. Like they have a horrible way of romance. Most of the time Yuri's are extremely sexualized to the point where it's just fan service for men. Bloom into you has some drama in it. I don't mean that it's over sexualized but it feels like it's something that teenagers would do. Neither of them have a healthy concept of how romance works. So lesbians flock towards popular and not that sexualized because it has a better wrap than others. Of course there is better Yuri manga than Bloom into you but its hard out here. Plus black hair x pink hair is a popular ship in the Yuri community cause its cute.
That's not really true but okay.
@@demonicsapphire3773it kinda is? A lot of Yuri, like, the vast majority for a long time was either p0rn for men, tragic, unhealthy relationships, poor representation or pure subtext with very few series that weren't those being hard to find. When I was in highschool Citrus was considered good representation and there's a whole lot wrong with that story including one if the girls SAing the other. In modern day there's a lot more to choose from but it's still pretty obscure and you have to dig for it if you want it. Heck, even in modern day stuff that has good rep still has questionable or just awful stuff like I'm in Love with the Villainess lampshading SA at one point and trying to equate incest to being queer at another.
@@grimsongreen3217It’s more like a half truth. The issues brought up aren’t exclusive to gay and lesbian romances. These same issues show up in a lot of straight romance as well. I think the reality is women accept a lot of toxicity in life and relationships especially going back into the past. Writers who are women and perhaps men (because apparently many of the first writers of shoujo were men writing stories in the demographic before they got their real goal of writing stories for the shounen demographic) then write these toxic components into their stories.
Maybe I’ve just been reading the wrong yuri but I’ve found most of it to be fairly sexless rather than oversexualized. Seems like most of the time there is like one or two chapters with sex at all. Then again I haven’t read thaaaat much.
My absolute favorite yuri of all time is called “She loves to cook, and she loves to eat” aka Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna. It has a j-drama adaptation that had me smiling ear to ear throughout the whole thing. Such a beautiful portrayal of lesbian self acceptance imo. It’s gotten renewed for a second season which is coming out january 29th. I also adore the fact that it is about adults rather than high schoolers, for a nice change. Don’t be discouraged from checking out other yuri, I think some of the mainstream ones are quite lacking, but there are plenty of beautiful stories written by japanese women about sapphic relationships that are amazing.
I'VE READ THIS SERIES AND WATCHED THE SHOW AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH!! Literally one of my favourite reads of this year haha. So excited for season two! Especially with the new characters that were introduced in vol 3 of the manga :D
@@illreadwhatshesreading Yes absolutely! Glad to hear you enjoyed it as well :)
I like how it stands above the rest and isn't just some romance anime personally. I personally don't really like romance shows, Especially the premise of person a likes person b with the story building up to a confession and eventual relationship, at least not on it's own so that's where bloom into you felt special to me.
as someone who absolutely loves Bloom into you. i noticed u forgot to mention why Touko needed to act like her sister. Touko was basically forced to be like her sister because everyone around her only wanted her sister, they wanted her to become her sister because she was more important to everyone than Touko. she didn't choose it she was forced to become her. this affects everything in the story and is the reason why Touko has such a skewed view of how love works. she lost herself because everyone wanted her sister not her. Bloom into You is absolutely fucked, gross, and beautiful piece of media. in my opinion the best piece of media ever created. it is so emotional and so well written. it hooks u in with the characters and story. i know for a fact that it has made people realize their sexuality and helped people understand some of their struggles. i just now realize how much i relate to Maki. im aro/ace and i love reading and watching romance stuff but even before i realized that im aro/ace i never wanted to be in a similar situation. i hope more people would find this masterpiece.
I suppose the way I read it was just that because her sister died so young, everyone was mourning her so Touko took that to mean they would rather have her sister around than her. I wouldn't describe it as force, more so an incorrect conclusion that Touko comes to herself. The fact that her parents can see what she's doing and try a couple of times in the series to tell her to chill out tells me that they would rather she try and be herself. Especially as it's revealed that this person she's trying to be doesn't exist and that her sister wasn't this perfect, flawless being that Touko's built her up in her head to be.
I think it's an interesting series and I'm glad it's helped a lot of people with figuring out their sexuality, I just think it's a weird read haha.
@@illreadwhatshesreading she was told to be like her sister multiple times when she was young. To a young mind that could feel like an order. That is why i describe it as forced.
I loved Bloom Into You so flippin' much, but I just kind of had to accept Touko's super weird schtick in order to enjoy it. Touko's confession right at the start just didn't work for me and even though the story tries to justify her behaviour I had to suspend disbelief a bit in order to go along with it. Nevertheless I absolutely loved Yuu's character and her gradually falling in love was really great. Also Touko learning to love herself was satisfying too. And don't even get me started on how great Sayaka is! So yeah, if you can get past that one thing I think the story has a LOT to offer.
as a bloom into you fan, having someone explain it in the way you did makes me realise how wild it is 😭 i do think part of the appeal to me is that their dynamic isn't straightforward, and as teenagers they're both just trying to figure themselves out while in this weird, ambiguous Not relationship (which i have also found myself in lmao). also i love the side character sayaka, and her own storyline regarding her sexuality! if you want a far more straightforward Yuri manga i recommend kase san ! that one really is just two girls falling in love lol
Yes, Sayaka was very interesting! I've been tempted to read the light novels about her. I do think it's an intriguing dynamic and definitely had the emotional pay off it was just a bit odd lol. Can see why a lot of people love it though.
Kase san is on my radar! Thanks :)
@@illreadwhatshesreading I love it! There are so many little heartbreaks that I feel deeply. I liked it so much I ended up reading his most popular work which I also love but is EXTREMEMLY hard to recommend to people called "Adachi And Shimamura" which I have a lot of empathy for the characters and relate deeply to the poor choices they make as it takes me back to first love/high school relationship/being a total idiot stuff.... but reading a love story where you have to have a LOT of sympathy/EMPATHY for some clear red flag stuff seems like a BIG ask.
@@ci0ci0san ive heard of that series! I didn't know it was penned by the same author :0 ill still check it out eventually. honestly if it hits me in my feelings its a good read
It’s a bit iffy, but I think yuu is a good representation of someone on the aromatic/aroace spectrum and as a aroace spec person i related to her a lot wanting to fall in love and enjoying romantic things but not really the person, even if she started to like her at the end she doesn’t feel the way society expects her too. Reminds me of a queer platonic relationship even if it was handled weird at times
I can see that, and even though there's that whole scene between her and Maki where he basically tells her, 'we're not the same', I can see Yuu being somewhere on the aro spectrum. Low to almost nonexistent romantic attraction. I'm glad that people are able to really dig into the emotional themes of identity present in the series, whether it be with specific characters or the relationship between Yuu and Touko :)
My favorite weird/problematic Yuri is citrus. I started out hating it, and ended up crying and caring about things I'm still upset were normal enough to be a whole manga and anime.
I've heard of Citrus haha. We'll see if I get 'round to that one.
Its funny how I found it 4 years back, when I was young, didn't know anything other than straight romances. Found it accidently, i hated it, but I cried at the end and wanted both of them to be together. But now that I know abt other sexualities, my mind unconsciously focuses more on sexualities rather than actual plot and I hate myself for that
i know i'm late but citrus is weird. i watched it since i couldn't find many other gl anime i could watch but it's really bad.
not only is it basically incest, it also includes sexual assault. literally in the first episode yuzu is pinned down without her consent to have her first kiss be taken forcefully by her sister. how does one enjoy this??
@@unathearoacemenace3157 I can give you some reconmendations if you want.
@@unathearoacemenace3157 it's not really incest and they're not even officially siblings, but reading the manga could give you a heads up
I watched the anime,it was pretty good though, I loved it, it is not weird, it is amazing
I think you’ll find a lot of the more popular yuri mangas out there are about really deeply flawed characters with a lot of weird and messy relationships. There are definitely a fair amount of pretty “normal” romances but a lot of people (myself included) are just really drawn to weird and flawed characters, and watching them develop and grow as people.
I’m something of a yuri fiend myself so I’ll give you a few more recommendations that have been stand out series for me!
-First I definitely think you should read the light novels about Sayaka, they are as good as the manga and really complete her character arc that we see started in the main story. Volume 3 in particular is such a cathartic moment to see her get a girlfriend in college after all the heartbreak and pain she’s been through.
-My second pick is “Still Sick”, which is my favorite office lady yuri. If high school romance is the most popular genre then OL(office lady) yuri is close behind. The manga goes pretty deep into the production side of manga itself and has some interesting meta-narratives there that I think are really enjoyable, and its also pretty damn funny.
-My third recommendation is a comedy yuri manga called “School Zone” by Ningiyau. It’s just a ridiculously over the top comedy fest that also weaves in a surprising amount of depth (and gay angst sometimes) into its cast of loveable idiots. The art is also some of the best I’ve seen.
-My fourth recommendation is actually a novel series called “Otherside Picnic”. This is a sci-fi/horror series about two college age women who make trips together through this bizarre and alien world that slightly overlaps with modern day Japan, and while there they encounter monsterous entities that are based off of japanese creepypastas. This is a series I recently binged and fell in love with, and I think both the character writing and the world building are master class.
Hopefully this isn’t too much! I’m really passionate about yuri manga and other east/southeast asian wlw media and I wish that it got more recognition for being such a vibrant space for queer media.
I've read Still Sick and School Zone! Yeah, they were really good. Otherside Picnic sounds super cool, I'll have to check that one out soon. Thanks for all the recs, I'm always down to hear what people enjoy :)
@@illreadwhatshesreading Oh I think you'll really like otherside picnic, its some of the best sci fi I've read in a loooong time
i gotta admit as a gay man when i saw the thumbnail and video title I thought "girl, what are you on about for yaoi/yuri this is very healthy"
but than i remembered that the bar is so low
so good on you for talking about the show in a critical and non "praisy" way
this was my first foray into yuri manga so the dynamic of the main couple just took me by surprise haha.
It got popular because it’s like a re-branding of the genre from the previous Yuri titles for the anime audience. A lot of the new titles seem to be doing this re-branding and keeping the less marketable elements in manga form. It also helps Bloom being about an asexual/demi experience. It’s an interesting experience for viewers/readers who haven’t seen a story like that before.
I think for most people who are frequent readers/watchers of Yuri manga/anime, you get a bit desensitized to the weird dynamics they show with these relationships. Specifically, the predatory aspects of them. Because the bar is so exceedingly low with how they display Yuri relationships (or relationships in general) in Japanese manga, and you are constantly scrounging for crumbs for ones that have decent characters and writing, you ignore these problematic behaviors they showcase between the characters. I was surprised that the thing you found weird was the “not relationship” as opposed to Touko taking advantage of Yuu at certain points. While the “not relationship” was a consensual thing, Touko often put Yuu in uncomfortable situations, sometimes ignoring Yuu’s feelings. Showing a consensual “friends with benefits” type thing was pretty refreshing to see in a manga. But they just had to have some weird scenes where Touko tries to convince Yuu to do things she’s uncomfortable with. But then again, these aren’t perfect characters. And the story is very interesting, and talks about a lot of things that most manga/anime don’t talk about in regards to sexuality, relationships, and love.
I just finished the anime to that book series and I wasnt sure how to feel about it either. It also doesnt really have a conclusion. Does Touko figure out if she can love herself? Dunno. Maybe? Not?
What I didnt like was how the show dragged things out sometimes. In one episode they "overcome" a problem with such certainty and in the next its like that moment never happened. It started to bore me a bit to be honest.
While I know that finding yourself isnt always easy, for the sake of the show they couldve explored it without nullifying what has happened before.
Well, Ill give it Dunno/5 Stars
Imo, YKN is perfect because of the philosophical aspects. While I'm enjoying any Yuri anime with ease, YKN really made me think hard.
God forbid a gay romance has conflict
Dude, I'm fine with the story having conflict, I just think their relationship dynamic is a bit odd.
thank youuuu i felt like i was crazy for being the only one to notice all this
I wanted to like it so bad but Nanami was so predatory and manipulative to Yuu just to earn her affections. She kept pushing Yuu into a corner, pressuring her, engaging in social tactics so that Yuu's guards will drop. Needless to say I didn't lasted until episode 4. It was mega weird. I had to watch Portrait of a Lady on Fire again just to wash this predatory image of lesbian romance out of my mind 😭
I personally think it’s way overrated. Not bad just not amazing like people seem to think it is.
“How do we relationship” despite the awful name is a much better lesbian romance manga imo. It has its flaws but the characters feel way more grounded and complicated in a way that feels closer to real. Also written by a lesbian from what I’ve heard so that probably helps.
I read the first volume of How Do We Relationship? and just thought it was okay, but I have read more yuri since making this video and found some series I really enjoy!
Sasameki Koto is my fav yuri manga!!
Thanks, I'll have to check it out ^^
this all we got bro
true enough lol
Yeah I need therapy! 😅🤣
Don't we all lol