Yagate Kimi ni Naru First Impressions

“In both shojo manga and love song lyrics, it’s so radiantly blinding to me, but no matter what I do, I can’t reach it…”

Friday is here, and with it comes a sizable number of new titles. Of the dozen new titles that are coming out today, Yagate Kimi ni Naru might be a contender the one I was most curious about. It’s possible I’m mistaken, but I think the last yuri title I reviewed, or even watched, was citrus back in January, and it would be fair to say that I was left disinterested by that series’ premiere. Yagate Kimi ni Naru takes a more tried and tested approach to this type of subject matter, and while there isn’t anything in this first episode that serves to immediately distinguish it from others of its ilk, it executes its premise with such a graceful hand that it’s near impossible to fault it for lacking an apparent ‘hook’. There may be other series that have appealed to me more directly, but, so far, I’d say that Yagate Kimi ni Naru may be the most polished show I’ve watched this season. Of course, P.A. Works has a show coming out today as well, so that may not stay true for long, but the point still stands. This show is careful and deliberate in its approach and looks like it could become a classic in its admittedly erratic subgenre.

Yagate Kimi ni Naru follows high school freshman Koito Yuu who, despite an affinity for shojo romance, finds she can’t seem to feel love. A former classmate confessed to her after graduating from middle school, but she found herself unaffected by the revelation of his feelings, and struggling to find a way to turn him down. A month later, she still has yet to properly answer his confession, and is conflicted on what direction she will take at her new high school. However, after accidentally volunteering to help the student council prepare for upcoming elections, Koito inadvertently overhears a confession directed at an upperclassman, Nanami Touko. Nanami deftly and delicately lets the would-be suitor down, before running into Koito. Koito quickly finds a connection with Nanami’s assertion that she’s simply never encountered someone who sent her heart aflutter. Realizing that she needs to stop delaying on her response, Koito approaches Nanami for advice on how to reject her former classmate, but Nanami finds she has something to say regarding that subject as well.

As was stated before, there isn’t anything groundbreaking in that summary. Aspects of this plot feel reminiscent of many older shojo and shojo-ai series, notably Maria Watches Over Us due to the involvement of the student council. However, it doesn’t waste any time establishing the dynamic, and there are some aspects that are refreshing. The fact that the upperclassman is the one making a nervous confession is fun and refreshing. Neither of our main characters have any real experience with romance, so, even though Nanami is the wise, stoic senpai, she’s just as uncertain and confused as Koito. It’s looking like it will be a fun dynamic to observe. The animation style is a bit of a throwback. It’s an odd criticism to have regarding an anime, but it took me a little while to get accustomed to the scale of their eyes. Truly, even by anime standards, they take up a sizable proportion of the face. Maybe it is because they’re large in an otherwise subdued art style. I mean it definitely isn’t moe, but it was also easier for me to put my finger on why Kanon‘s art was off-putting. That’s only a passing annoyance though. Studio Troika has brought a crisp pastel palette to the proceedings, which lends a slightly muted liveliness to the tone. Troika is best remembered for last year’s Re:CREATORS. I only watched the first episode of that, but it would probably be fair to say they’re tackling substantially different material here.

Before I wrap up, a few Notes and Nitpicks:

• There is a well constructed use of repetition to hammer home the detail that Koito Yuu is enamored with the concept of love, but, by her own admission, a thorough stranger to the genuine experience.
• The official English title for this series is Bloom Into You, but a more literal translation would evidently be “Eventually, I Will Become You.” Both of these sound odd to me, but, if I had to pick one, I guess I do favor the official English title a bit more.
• The Maria Watches Over Us manga ended 6 years ago. When can we expect another season? You can’t tell me Studio Deen is putting all its resources into Gurazeni.