The other possibility, of course, is that Japanese adult life sucks so bad that no one wants to read about it.

...whether the first may be the case or not, the second isn't necessarily true.
There are to my knowledge plenty series that follow adult life and for example center around plain old work, akin to the sports centered school stories.
But they don't get that much public attention, certainly not overseas. It's much harder to market those stories or produce merch for them. And maybe we don't want to read about them.
In that regard, yuri itself is still more of a niche genre, despite having such a loyal fellowship and community that has it available overseas (fantranslations, and official publications increasing the past few years) as well. It's arguably gaining popularity, both in Japan as well as overseas, tho.

Now, the main trend might still be escapism. While that can be achieved following a fictional story of realistic situations, fantasy and science fiction for now still holds the torch (while there's a declining trend and it may soon pass it on again). These trends are subject to various social and cultural as well as political (in the widest sense) influences and will with due time change again. With globalisation there may be minority trends that can gain a lot of focus in their respective audiences for a while, much more and quicker than in the past.
Additionally, whatever we percieve as "target audience" from a "western" point of view, may not be congruent with its definition in Japan...

So, it's hard to tell, probably within Japan itself, which kind of stories exactly are currently in demand. Even if there are a few outliners that gain traction, that would not necessarily mean a new trend was forming (to stay).

For now, I would be happy if Bloom Into You would follow in the footsteps of Kase-san, by closing this chapter / arc and organically opening the next one.
But Nakatani may want to try out something entirely new or explore different characters and settings - I wouldn't blame her. If that's to be achieved by a spin-off, a break, exploring different aspects of these characters and their evolving circumstances or plain ending this story and moving to a new project on for good, remains to be seen...
Do we even have an official statement from her?

But Nakatani may want to try out something entirely new or explore different characters and settings - I wouldn't blame her. If that's to be achieved by a spin-off, a break, exploring different aspects of these characters and their evolving circumstances or plain ending this story and moving to a new project on for good, remains to be seen...
Do we even have an official statement from her?

Based on some interviews, I'd say Nakatani plans on moving on from YagaKimi once it's over. When asked what she wants to do next in this interview from 2017, she says she wants to try out fantasy since she thinks she's already doing what she wants to do with yuri in YagaKimi for now. Then in the most recent interview with Kusunoki (her editor) and Iruma (AdaShima author & Sayaka's LN writer), Nakatani says that Sayaka ends up being the character with the longest story in YagaKimi thanks to the LN spinoff which will be covering her time in college in the 3rd vol.

Edit: In that last interview, she also says that the point of the final volume is not to simply show Touko and Yuu dating, but to reassure readers that those two will be okay (as individuals and as a couple) and hopefully give readers a sense that "[they've] seen everything that needs to seen."

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 12:00PM

Do we even have an official statement from her?

Based on some interviews, I'd say Nakatani plans on moving on from YagaKimi once it's over. When asked what she wants to do next in this interview from 2017, she says she wants to try out fantasy since she thinks she's already doing what she wants to do with yuri in YagaKimi for now. Then in the most recent interview with Kusunoki (her editor) and Iruma (AdaShima author & Sayaka's LN writer), Nakatani says that Sayaka ends up being the character with the longest story in YagaKimi thanks to the LN spinoff which will be covering her time in college in the 3rd vol.

Fantasy and Yuri are not mutually exlcusive and Nakatani-sensei knows it. She can pretend that she isn't usually a yuri writer all she wants, but her stories almost exclusively revovle around the relationships between girls one way or another.
When she says fantasy I think of her Touhou stuff. She does love those weird concepts that twist relationships.

Either way, I'm sure she will do more yuri in the future, whether she calls it that or not.

Maybe an unpopular opinion but personally I want to see more stories that are yuri first and anything/everything else >else. Sadly most non-h Canon (so not just subtext) yuri series don't get much good yuri porn (and the less said about >the hetshit, the better). It's a niche of a niche of a niche.

Honestly being Yuri is just another attribute/subgenre to me. It doesn't enhance or diminish the value of the story for me, but can make for a very interesting plot element. Bloom into You, to me, is a masterwork romance story that happens to be Yuri. Sure, were it not, it would have played out differently in many regards, but I think I could have enjoyed such a story just the same if it was told as well.

Good hentai is hard to come by, indeed. An American researcher recently put the biggest issue I have with (especially modern) porn in really nice words: (roughly) "The issue with internet pornography is the framing of everyday sexual acts as the humiliation of the female, making her nothing more than a tool for his sexual gratification." I think this issue is slightly less severe in Yuri porn, but the humiliation/devaluation aspect is still overly present.

Rule 34 has no exceptions but it doesn't say anything about the volume or quality of the porn. There will always be one >but there's no guarantee that there will be a hundred, or that they will be any good. Of course, you can argue with yuri >it's the emotional aspect of the relationship that's most important, not the sexual aspect.

I think I've seen, like, two hentai doujin for YagaKimi, and at least one of which, a reinterpretation of the locker room scene, was actually not all that bad. Not the most in-character doujin I've seen, that title goes to a relatively recent Black Lagoon doujin, but quite decent at least.

I think there's not much more to explore for Touko/Yuu.

Yeah, because a relationship really doesn't have any development worth mentioning beyond having sex for the first time... /s
Seriously, could authors please look beyond the first milestones? Far too often the characters only get to hold hands, or at best kiss at the end of the story. Almost never do we get to witness their joined life, which is a huge deal, believe it or not, and filled with smaller and larger conflicts, hardships and challenges.
Sure, we've seen a lot more of relationship development in Bloom into You compared to what we normally see, but their story is actually far from over. At least judging from my experience, being in a single, stable relationship for almost twelve years.

The point about her innocence I made at least was about her asking Touko to stay over at her place, for the reasons I >already listed back then. Many people blew it out of proprotion like she asked to have sex, but that was not what that >moment was about. She considered even that simple request a big deal and was embarrassed, but some people saw >that as her being embarassed for wanting to ask for sex (which is totally ridiculous). Again, I point to the fact that she >couldn't have known Touko's parents would not be home.

I'll be another one to bite and say: While everyone is entitled to interpret a literary work for themselves, I consider the circumstantial evidence sufficient to say that Yuu was very much thinking about sex or at least heavy petting and making out when asking for the sleepover. Partly because they had gone on dates before, made out before and had also been physically intimate, despite the circumstances being very different. (Locker room scene and chapter 22 https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/bloom_into_you_ch16#27 https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/bloom_into_you_ch22#27 )
Again: you're not wrong, just as no one is right in their interpretation. Some people consider the evidence towards conclusion A more convincing, others end up assuming B. There is no truth in literary interpretation, not even the author can decide your headcanon.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 12:12PM

Fantasy and Yuri are not mutually exlcusive and Nakatani-sensei knows it. She can pretend that she isn't usually a yuri writer all she wants, but her stories almost exclusively revovle around the relationships between girls one way or another.
When she says fantasy I think of her Touhou stuff. She does love those weird concepts that twist relationships.

Either way, I'm sure she will do more yuri in the future, whether she calls it that or not.

She says that she'll be taking her time to think about what else she can do with yuri before coming back to it. I'm sure her fantasy will have gay girls doing gay things cuz that what she loves to draw, but I'm guessing she just doesn't view the yuri to be the focus.

I'll be another one to bite and say: While everyone is entitled to interpret a literary work for themselves, I consider the circumstantial evidence sufficient to say that Yuu was very much thinking about sex or at least heavy petting and making out when asking for the sleepover. Partly because they had gone on dates before, made out before and had also been physically intimate, despite the circumstances being very different. (Locker room scene and chapter 22 https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/bloom_into_you_ch16#27 https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/bloom_into_you_ch22#27 )
Again: you're not wrong, just as no one is right in their interpretation. Some people consider the evidence towards conclusion A more convincing, others end up assuming B. There is no truth in literary interpretation, not even the author can decide your headcanon.

There is no way to prove that she had that intention, so in the first place everyone who says that just makes an assumption. But it goes against Yuu's character to do something like that when Touko's parents are at home.

Your evidence is meaningless, because this is not about whether Yuu was ever or wants to be physically intimate with Touko. I think nobody was doubting that. This is entirely about the fact that she didn't have those intentions when asking for a sleepover. There is just as much evidence for Yuu simply wanting to be closer and sleeping over in a non-lewd way. (Remember the dream where they were sleeping normally and clothed in the same bed? Yeah, not sexually laden).

If Yuu wanted to have sex somewhere, why does anyone assume she would hide that fact behind a sleepover request anyway? It was rather obviously a natural progression from: Sleepover--> Touko's parents aren't home? --> Clearly the moood is right ---> Let's have sex. From Yuu's perspective of course. Touko was most definitely aiming for that from the start when she sent her parents on the trip. Yuu's requerst was a surprising boon to her efforts.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 12:32PM

I think there's not much more to explore for Touko/Yuu.

Yeah, because a relationship really doesn't have any development worth mentioning beyond having sex for the first time... /s
Seriously, could authors please look beyond the first milestones? Far too often the characters only get to hold hands, or at best kiss at the end of the story. Almost never do we get to witness their joined life, which is a huge deal, believe it or not, and filled with smaller and larger conflicts, hardships and challenges.

To be fair, there's a distinction to be made between relationship development and narrative development. Insofar as they're imaginary human beings, of course Yuu and Touko would continue to develop their relationship, and readers with a fondness for the characters would be interested in seeing that development work itself out.

But as a narrative construction, the specific conflict that has made this story this particular story has been resolved, and while we may be greedy for a king-sized denouement (the two of them coming out to their friends and family, etc.), in order to create Bloom Into You, Part 2: Yuri Boogaloo Nakatani would need to generate some new central conflict (assuming we didn't go into a slice-of-life "Yuu and Touko Disagree On What Kind of Sofa to Buy" mode).

As I've said before, the genius of this one is the bizarre but wildly productive opening premise of the series--the setting, basic character types, and plot tropes are almost all achingly familiar, but the unusual relationship dynamic between the MCs (along with Nakatani's remarkably poised narrative execution) made things seem both fresh and comfortable rather than annoyingly trite.

I'm not saying an extension couldn't be well done--after this I'm not going to say that there's anything the author couldn't do--but it would be a very different kind of undertaking than this series has been.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 12:50PM

There is just as much evidence for Yuu simply wanting to be closer and sleeping over in a non-lewd way. (Remember the dream where they were sleeping normally and clothed in the same bed? Yeah, not sexually laden).

Remember when Yuu had a sexual fantasy in chapter 42? Yeah, not sexually laden.
I don't think you're totally wrong- Yuu had been thinking about the idea of having sex as ch 42 showed, so when she made her request, while I don't think saying she was asking for sex is right, saying that she only had sleeping together with nothing happening at all in mind is wrong too. It's more of a "let's see what happens" kind of request, with a fair amount of uncertainty imo.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 12:55PM

Yeah, because a relationship really doesn't have any development worth mentioning beyond having sex for the first time... /s

That's actually a sort of issue I have with a lot of these teenage romance stories. They tend to end with the couple finally accepting their feelings for another and having their first time together (as a couple, in case of some shennenigans they had "casual" sex or sex under different pretext before).
In case of YagaKimi there's sooo much coming after that. They've been school girls who barely met / dated outside school activities. I mean, hell, Yuu just met Touko's parents for the first time, was at her home for the first time. In the penultimate chapter?

That's what I meant when I said, that Nakatani could explore something entirely new even with this story, still.
Again, I won't blame her for not continuing that road, but I agree that it's sad that only few authors stay with their characters beyond the "happy ending-intercourse", not to mention a lot longer than that. Can't blame them for that neither, because usually building up to that is if well done already an exciting and long road. And creative minds tend to seek new projects, eventually...

Remember when Yuu had a sexual fantasy in chapter 42? Yeah, not sexually laden.

Pointless once again. I think you should carefully read what's being said next time. I brought this up to prove that there is also evidence to the contrary because, you know, a contrary exists. That being horny thoughts. Which are not necessarily about any intention on any sleepover anyway.

I don't think you're totally wrong- Yuu had been thinking about the idea of having sex as ch 42 showed, so when she made her request, while I don't think saying she was asking for sex is right, saying that she only had sleeping together with nothing happening at all in mind is wrong too. It's more of a "let's see what happens" kind of request, with a fair amount of uncertainty imo.

That's at least a step up from "Haha look, Yuu is so horny she begs Touko to have sex with her even if its right above her parents" that some other people have basically shouted back then.
I see really no way this could have turned out sexual if Touko hadn't made preparations. It would have just been the first sleepover... of many. Then eventually a opportunity would have presented itself either way. And if it didn't, a hotel is always a good alternative (let's not get into the "Oh no Yuu, we can't do this in the student council room, what if we get caught?!" scenarios)

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 1:36PM

@BD
Well, actually, now that I think it over again...
I'll have to concede some points to you.
While I will maintain that sex was on her mind, I will agree that it was not the prime intention. It was a possibility, something that Yuu wouldn't mind if it happened during the sleepover, but not the motive.

Like you said, she wanted to be more intimate with Touko, whether that meant just being able to spend the night together and do some more intense cuddling, or being able to take it all the way to sex.
One thing that got me to agree with you after all was remembering the first night my wife (then girlfriend of one week) slept over. We did share a bed and intensely cuddled, and we did get to fondle each other quite romantically (yes, that's partly nostalgia talking - thanks for allowing me to relive that day again), but we were neither fully undressed against one another, nor did we have sex. There was no genital contact at all.

That came two days later, and sex came the next weekend...

@Blastaar
@KueKyuuQ
Yeah, I agree that it's not all that easy to expand on a dedicated romance after the initial milestones have been reached. It would require either going Slice of Life, focusing on further milestones in the future of the couple (Clannad After Story comes to mind, although I still haven't watched or read it - I just know a few things about it) or, having planned it from the start, allowing the couple to experience interesting stories... as a couple.
(drawing on het anime again for references)
Think Bunny Girl Senpai, but they actually become a full-fledged couple after the first three episodes instead of the weird limbo they're in until ep. 13, and solve the mysteries together as a couple.
Sword Art Online got pretty close to that, but committed the grave mistake to not give equal gravity to both characters and also mostly kept them apart during their adventures.

Again, my favourite Novel series, the Black Jewels by Anne Bishop stands out. Its couple is fully formed about 60% through the last book of the initial trilogy, but not only did that leave another 150 pages for them to take care of the overarching story as a couple, but the author wrote several continuation/spin-off novels that told good to in some cases fantastic stories about not only side- and minor characters, but also allowed the central characters to experience adventures and deal with conflicts as a couple.

I don't always just want to see characters become a couple, but rather also do things as a couple. Bloom into You, again, did a lot more in that regard than most other romance I've seen, but I wouldn't mind it expanding the idea further.

@Zormaru
Glad I could jolt those synapses.
A little tmi though...

Yes, cuddling, making out (sans sex) and other things of the kind are normal and sometimes essential in relationships. If you don't want to risk anything or just don't feel like it, it's definitely a lot safer and comfortable. Especially when you're staying over at your gf's place...

A little tmi though...

I'll confess that I do that occasionally... and I'll also confess that I do get a little giggle out of people being mildly uncomfortable about it. I may use spoiler tags to give readers an actual choice in future...

But as a narrative construction, the specific conflict that has made this story this particular story has been resolved, and while we may be greedy for a king-sized denouement (the two of them coming out to their friends and family, etc.), in order to create Bloom Into You, Part 2: Yuri Boogaloo Nakatani would need to generate some new central conflict (assuming we didn't go into a slice-of-life "Yuu and Touko Disagree On What Kind of Sofa to Buy" mode).

I'd read this tbh. You could argue "rabble rabble literary quality rabble rabble" but there's a market for it. Make it a 4koma, I don't care. There are at least two magazines, Manga Time Kirara and Manga Time Kirara Carat, that are almost entirely dedicated to SoL 4koma fluff. I'll add some of those got adapted into decent subtexty anime too, like Yuyushiki, Hidamari Sketch, Hanayamata, K-On, and New Game.

Also Futaribeya.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 4:43PM

But as a narrative construction, the specific conflict that has made this story this particular story has been resolved, and while we may be greedy for a king-sized denouement (the two of them coming out to their friends and family, etc.), in order to create Bloom Into You, Part 2: Yuri Boogaloo Nakatani would need to generate some new central conflict (assuming we didn't go into a slice-of-life "Yuu and Touko Disagree On What Kind of Sofa to Buy" mode).

I'd read this tbh. You could argue "rabble rabble literary quality rabble rabble" but there's a market for it. Make it a 4koma, I don't care. There are at least two magazines, Manga Time Kirara and Manga Time Kirara Carat, that are almost entirely dedicated to SoL 4koma fluff.

Also Futaribeya.

Oh, yeah. I've joked that I would prefer to see Citrus continued as a comedy 4-koma with Mei as the strict headmistress and Yuzu as the kindly, sexy school nurse at the Aihara Academy over anything we actually see in the series.

But that's not the kind of thing I loved about this series.

The other possibility, of course, is that Japanese adult life sucks so bad that no one wants to read about it.

You want just enough adult life to be relatable to the Japanese salaryman, but not too much adult life. Hence, half the isekai genre. And at this point even half the isekai genre would be big enough to be the 2nd or 3rd biggest genre in anime right now.

The other possibility, of course, is that Japanese adult life sucks so bad that no one wants to read about it.

You want just enough adult life to be relatable to the Japanese salaryman, but not too much adult life.

So Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid? That's kinda the perfect combination of salaryman, fantasy hijinks and familial/potentially-romantic bonding to me.

Are we drifting too far off topic?

@Nezchan

Are we drifting too far off topic?

I have the same question as Zormau here...

...risking tmi myself... what's so incomprehensible about having sex with the parents next room / in the house? I mean, one can (try to be) be quiet... especially on the first time there may even be involuntary giggles ensuing which would be perfect to keep up the pretext of a girls sleepover... To some the additional level of secrecy may even add to the excitement.
..I don't even mean it like a planned circumstance, but either that it can happen anyway or just due to the fact that more privacy can be hard to attain for teens (be it for not being able to finance a hotel / get permission for such / a hotel being further inconvinience and source for embarrassment or no opportunities of parents and potential siblings staying overnight somewhere else), that it may be unavoidable.

In case of Yuu, I wouldn't even think she thought that far, though. Of Touko's parents, I mean. *shrugs*

On the other topic...
Continuing as slice of life could be one option, but even without abstract or overused drama being thrown into the mix ("Random ex showing up. Dundunduuun.") normal life can be just as exciting / interesting for a full and continuous narrative.
In case of YagaKimi, there are several things to explore. First of all, their coming out. A process that keeps coming up in various ways the entire life (friends, family, co-workers, neighbours, random associates...) even when being private about it. Or how differing educational and career paths can keep a couple apart, even if they start living together. Or how to deal with the partner's success or lack thereof. Even working in the same genre, doing differing jobs, how the couple would arrange? Would they eventually want to have kids, how to deal with that? They could try to be matchmakers for others (Sayaka?), with all the hits and fails, agreements and disagreements that come along with that.

Yeah, Kobayashi raised some of these topics, but more in a comedic and rushed (and fantasy) way. I could certainly see a crafted Mangaka persuing those beats in a more realistic setting with an already esatablished couple and fairing well with it, keeping momentum and creating a captivating story. (Here's to hoping, Kase-san will someday reach that stage...)

...risking tmi myself... what's so incomprehensible about having sex with the parents next room / in the house? I mean, one can (try to be) be quiet... especially on the first time there may even be involuntary giggles ensuing which would be perfect to keep up the pretext of a girls sleepover... To some the additional level of secrecy may even add to the excitement.
..I don't even mean it like a planned circumstance, but either that it can happen anyway or just due to the fact that more privacy can be hard to attain for teens (be it for not being able to finance a hotel / get permission for such / a hotel being further inconvinience and source for embarrassment or no opportunities of parents and potential siblings staying overnight somewhere else), that it may be unavoidable.

In case of Yuu, I wouldn't even think she thought that far, though. Of Touko's parents, I mean. *shrugs*

I can't believe I'm explaining this... But here we go.
Generally speaking people are ashamed of being found out by other people, especially their parents. This goes double in prude Japan. Triple for lesbians who haven't come out! If you don't happen to have an exhibitionism kink or need to spice up your dried out sex life, it is completely unlikely that most would risk it. Some siblings might yet not care, but as long as the parents are home it's a no-go.

If you are unfortunate enough to have literally no alternatives you might consider it, but exactly none of these exceptions apply to this topic.

You think Yuu would be mindless enough to ask Touko to come to her place to have sex and not think of the parents at all? And it is incredibly restricting for your first time to be handled that way. At least for these two you would expect that they want their first time to be happy and free of stress. At this point I wonder what kind of airheaded slut people see in Yuu...

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 4:41PM

On the subject of getting busy while your partner's parents are home:

Yes, giggles do occur when exploring each other, and those could easily be misinterpreted as simply girls having fun during a sleepover (kinda stereotyping, but tropes usually do have a real-world origin).
Also, not everyone is actually loud during the deed, male and female alike. Partly depends on how sky-high the partner that's being served is shot up into the air (less control often leads to more loud vocalisation), but in no small part their natural inclination and personality.

My personal experience is kinda funny, but not representative. Both my wife and myself were of age at the time we got to it (me 18, she 19), and I did have a lock on my door that I was generally allowed to use at my discretion. The spoiler contains things some might already call TMI. And good thing I did, because my dad would have walked right in on us when we got naked for the first time. My parents were well aware that we'd be doing naughty things and I could literally hear him blush at my abrupt remark that we were busy.

Drawing on both my personal experience, things I've known through friends and the like, as well as more reasonable representations of juvenile sexuality in different regions of the world, including Japan, I would assert that Touko's parents might as well have been rather accepting, as I would imagine Yuu's family might be.

By German standards (which obviously says very little about Japan), it's not only perfectly legal to get sexual after you turn 16, but also pretty widely accepted or at least tolerated by parents, especially those of a higher socio-economic status.

The world often isn't as hostile a place as we make it out to be.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 4:51PM

The world often isn't as hostile a place as we make it out to be.

Key word there: often. In some situations, it can be just as hostile, or even more hostile, than we make it out to be.

But I'll drop my point here before I can truly risk a ban for letting my anarchist side show itself on the surface here.

The world often isn't as hostile a place as we make it out to be.

Key word there: often. In some situations, it can be just as hostile, or even more hostile, than we make it out to be.

But I'll drop my point here before I can truly risk a ban for letting my anarchist side show itself on the surface here.

Well, the debate would just be an exchange of arguments for optimism vs. pessimism (often misconstrued as realism, which would be a balance of the two).

To nip things in the bud:

Optimism has value as how you interact with and what you expect from the world will often influence not only your perception, but actual outcomes as well.
Go into a situation (over)confident and you'll tend to find more success from it.

Risk: sometimes it fails, and depending on the situation you applied your optimistic expectations to, consequences can be dire (traffic and personal safety come to mind)

Pessimism would have the exact opposite consequences. Expecting bad things to happen everywhere not only makes you perceive bad things more strongly (confirmation bias), but also leads to results being less favourable more often (self-fulfilling prophecy). Add to that that we humans tend to have a negativity bias anyway and perceive negative events more strongly than positive ones. An evolutionary safety mechanism to keep us from being careless.

Benefit: Since pessimism is the extreme of caution, you may end up avoiding some terrible things that might occur if you were careless.

Thus, obviously, you'll need to temper optimism with carefulness, but not succumb to pessimism at the same time.
Which is best in which situation is often hard to predict.

For the situation at hand, I really couldn't tell which would be the proper course of action. I don't know enough about both Touko's as well as Yuu's parents to assess the risks. Considering that the Koito family was apparently d'accord with Rei doing it and going out with Hiro, they'd probably allow it. The Nanami family has lost one of their daughters, and the one that remains has been a sterling example of a student and daughter so far. I would not be surprised if they cut her a lot of slack and gave her quite a bit of leeway in that regard unless she went completely off the deep end.

I'm off to bed now, I won't be back until tomorrow evening, in about 18 hours.

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 5:47PM

I'm off to bed now, I won't be back until tomorrow evening, in about 18 hours.

G'night.

But it goes against Yuu's character to do something like that when Touko's parents are at home.
If Yuu wanted to have sex somewhere, why does anyone assume she would hide that fact behind a sleepover request anyway?

From what I understand, the word お泊まり doesn't have to be a sleepover specifically at Touko's place. The idea is that Yuu wants to spend a night with Touko outside of her own home (we actually considered "I want to spend a night with you" as a TL option but thought that it was too direct). It just so happens that Touko's place became the perfect spot for it. Not to say that Yuu only requested the お泊まり just to have sex, but it's silly to think that she didn't hope for an opportunity to push things further when she asked for it. I can ask a Japanese acquaintance to confirm this or if anyone wants to correct me, that's fine too.

Yeah, because a relationship really doesn't have any development worth mentioning beyond having sex for the first time... /s
Seriously, could authors please look beyond the first milestones? Far too often the characters only get to hold hands, or at best kiss at the end of the story. Almost never do we get to witness their joined life, which is a huge deal, believe it or not, and filled with smaller and larger conflicts, hardships and challenges.
Sure, we've seen a lot more of relationship development in Bloom into You compared to what we normally see, but their story is actually far from over. At least judging from my experience, being in a single, stable relationship for almost twelve years.

It's not that there's nothing left of Touko and Yuu to explore from a relationship development POV, realistically-speaking. I personally am curious to see how the time Touko is away in college and Yuu is still a high school student would play out and also Touko helping Yuu figure out her future career (the idea that Yuu gets lost thinking about how the people around her already have their future figured out gets brought up lightly first in ch 8 then this chapter). Even though there are definitely things I want to see out of their relationship, I don't think that YagaKimi is exactly the kind of work that would continue for the sake of exploring different situations. Nakatani is a very structured and meticulous writer whose focus is to create a cohesive narrative with very clear message and themes to leave her audience with. YagaKimi isn't as situational as a lot of romances where authors just put characters through certain situations and spontaneous conflicts, be it natural or contrived, in order to further their relationship. All plot points, character developments, and conflicts are planned out carefully in service of getting the audience to the big picture she had in mind from the very beginning (and she had made it clear that she wrote the story with a clear beginning and ending in mind). This is why this story is filled with so many parallels, callbacks, and interconnected little details.

YagaKimi is a coming-of-age tale about two individuals finding out what "love" means for them and what that tells them about who they are as individuals through their relationship with each other. Have they come to those conclusions? Yes. Yuu learns that her "love" isn't just instant fireworks that came out of nowhere. Just as with other things she's ever done, she has to put a lot of effort and commitments into pursuing her relationship in order to be emotionally invested in it (which her friends and family, Rei specifically, have been pointing out throughout the story). Touko learns to accept her whole being, both her weak and confident selves, while embracing the changing nature of "love." With a better understanding of who they are and through constant open communications, this allows them to pursue a mutual relationship, learn to get on the same emotional page, and be ready to tackle their unknown future, both as individuals and as a couple. As a work, it is complete--it has said what it set out to say, beautifully and concisely. So if there's a sequel, I agree with Blaastar that it wouldn't really be the same work--it wouldn't be "Bloom into You" or "Eventually, [You] will Become You" anymore. But it would probably be "I've Bloomed into Me Now, What's Next?" Considering the kind of writer Nakatani is based on her interviews and works, it's not just a simple matter of coming up with a new central conflict. She's not really one to write a feels-good situational story without a central message or theme to explore. So unless she has something to say out of a sequel, I don't think she will do it.

Some might see vol 8 to be irrelevant "bonus" or "filler" to the main story which proves that Nakatani can just write random relationship developments with similar themes tacked on for a sequel. But I'd argue that it is as integral to the overarching narrative as the rest of the story, giving readers the payoffs that came from 7 volumes of prior buildups with ch 44 being a way more complete and satisfying thematic and emotional conclusion to Touko and Yuu's journey than ch 40. Remember that Touko and Yuu's past relationship wasn't just unfair and unbalanced because Touko was afraid of love and Yuu wasn't allowed to reciprocate. They were never on the same page with how they expressed their feelings to each other. Touko was very inconsiderate of Yuu's feelings which led to her sometimes forcing her desires and emotions on Yuu while Yuu could do nothing but take whatever dumped on her (Ch 22 is the clearest example of this). This also left Yuu with a lot of pent-up frustrations, including sexual ones, that kept on piling (the entire point of vol 4). It was a huge problem with their previous relationship that even Touko herself recognized (Ch 34 and 35), yet it wasn't really addressed in ch 40 (Touko never properly apologized to Yuu and they never really sat down to talk about it). While the confessions in 40 allow Touko and Yuu to finally pursue a mutual relationship, they don't really address the finer points of their unbalanced dynamic.

That's where the rest of vol 8 comes in, not only does it give readers payoffs by showing Touko and Yuu as a cute couple with Yuu freely initiating and expressing her feelings, but it brings back the conflict of how they are still not on the same emotional page, seen in how Yuu is being insecured over Touko's perceived lack of enthusiasm as the latter is trying to hold back for reasons she doesn't properly communicate with Yuu. Ch 44 gives us the proper resolution to that aspect of Touko and Yuu's dynamic by having Touko bringing up how selfishly she treated Yuu and Yuu looking past that. This allows them both to move on from their old give and take relationship then finally be on the same emotional page so they can move forward with their new relationship without anymore emotional hangups. It is a wholesome display of where they were, where they are, and where they will be, which makes for such a conclusive emotional & thematic payoff. I don't think YagaKimi would have felt as complete had it just stopped at 40, but that's my take. However you feel about the chapters past 40, I don't think it's right to dismiss them as "fillers" and "bonuses." Vol 8 is the ending that Nakatani had envisioned from the start and she certainly had put a lot of thoughts into getting us here.

Edit: TLDR Vol 8 completes YagaKimi and I don't think there needs to be a sequel

last edited at Sep 3, 2019 10:26PM