2.5 years ago, not having read modern Yuri, I asked for recommendations. First one is Citrus, second one is Bloom. I chose Citrus.2.5 years now, I finished Bloom in 2 days. All I have to say is I am still puzzled why so many people tell me Bloom is the best. I still do not get it. All I know is, this is the hardest manga that I have ever needed to grind through. Yuu, I have to admit, must be the nicest person MC I have ever read,
I think the problem is that you read it 2.5 years after first asking for recs. IMO Bloom Into You isn't the "best" modern yuri, but it IS a well-written series and a great "intro" to yuri piece. BIY doesn't really add anything "new" to the yuri genre, but it does all the usual yuri story tropes well without having any really controversial topics. It's a good, easy to dip your toes into yuri for the uninitiated.
I think it's kinda similar to how FMA:Brotherhood is always one of the first series recommended to people who want to start getting into anime. I finally watched it 2 years ago after being into anime for 20 years. I thought it was overhyped and a slog. Almost wanted to drop it, but it did finally become interesting to me after 20 eps. I ended up giving it a steady 7/10. If I had watched it early on as I was getting into anime, then I might have enjoyed it more, but since it was already so long, the genre had evolved and my own tastes and preferences in series changed so I didn't really care for it by the time I watched it. But I can see why it's a popular series to recommend for anime beginners who probably do not know what their preferences are yet.
I think a similar thing happened for you. Lots of yuri series came out in those 2.5 years and you've probably read many, many other series in that time so going back to read BIY won't be as "fresh" as it would've been if it was one of the earlier "modern yuri" series you read. Your own taste and preferences have also probably changed by now so you are more picky with what you enjoy.
I also think that many people who do claim BIY as the "best" probably read it as one of their first yuri series and live off the nostalgia. I personally don't know many pre-BIY Era yuri fans who claim it as the best yuri ever made or anything haha. We always end up comparing the things we read to the things we've read before afterall, so if BIY is most new yuri fans main point of reference as to what is considered good or bad, it's gonna be really damn hard to dethrone since it generally does most things well.
I only remember what I read as it was releasing years ago since I haven't actually gone back to do a reread, but I do remember for the time, I liked how it took the usual yuri tropes and gave them a little more depth. Yuu was also pretty unique for a yuri MC back then. Anyway because of all the praise it's gotten over the years, I think your expectations going in were too high and you were looking for a story it never was.
last edited at Dec 6, 2022 1:40AM