Bloom Into You Episode 8: Under an Umbrella

In the eighth episode of Bloom Into You, Yuu decides to sit down and have a chat with Sayaka – after preparations for the club relay at the upcoming sports day don’t go so well. Then the weather takes a turn, and Yuu finds herself without an umbrella.

Sayaka’s response to what her ex-girlfriend said was pretty good

Before getting into the episode proper, we get a scene where Sayaka bumps into her ex-girlfriend. Said girl effectively says that it is not normal for girls to love other girls, but Sayaka offers a pretty good rebuttal.

Practice for the relay doesn’t go so well

Practice for the club relay doesn’t go particularly well; Yuu struggles to bass the baton to Sayaka. Their practice time comes to a close, but Touko tell them to do more later on. Seeing Yuu and Sayaka’s performance has another student council member wondering if the two don’t actually get along.

Touko may appear capable, but Yuu and Sayaka know differently

Preparations for the sports day are in full swing, with Touko being the one in charge. Whilst most everyone else know that they can rely on Touko, both Yuu and Sayaka know differently. That is something that Yuu finds herself thinking about.

Yuu invites Sayaka to get some food

Later on, Yuu invites Sayaka to a fast food restaurant with her. Sayaka takes her up on the offer, and the two discuss their impressions of each other and the upcoming student council play. Of course, it doesn’t take long for the discussion to turn to Touko – Yuu asks if Sayaka likes her. Sayaka gives a relatively vague answer, and asks Yuu the same question. Again, more vague answers.

Yuu and Touko think about what will happen if Touko starts being herself

As their conversation comes to an end, Yuu wonders if Touko will stop trying to be her sister once the play is over and done with. Sayaka doesn’t think that is what Touko is aiming for, but it does get both her and Yuu thinking about what might happen should that come to be.

Yuu encourages Akari to walk home with the boy she likes

Moving on, and the rain comes pouring down. Yuu doesn’t have an umbrella with her, so she plans to walk home with Akari. However, the boy that Akari likes doesn’t have an umbrella either, so Yuu encourages her to walk home with him.
Of course, as this leaves Yuu with no umbrella, she walks around the school in search of an alternative.

The last loaner umbrella isn’t exactly in great shape

She comes across a box for loaner umbrellas, but the only one left is very battered. For a brief moment, Yuu considers calling Touko, but decides instead to call her sister. Unfortunately, she is with Hiro and driving, so Yuu just decides to leave them too it.

Yuu and Touko share an umbrella

Just as Yuu decides to brave the rain, Touko finds her. She ends up walking home with her, sharing Touko’s umbrella. As it turns out, walking home from school under an umbrella was something that Touko did with her sister. Touko feels comfortable telling Yuu about her childhood.

Yuu and Touko laughing under their umbrella is a scene I liked very much

Yuu realises that Touko has been holding the umbrella whilst they have been walking, and insists that she should be doing it. However, Touko is fine with it. The two have a silly argument about it, resulting in them laughing together.

Yuu dries Touko off

Yuu and Touko decide to stop under a shelter for a short while, where Yuu brings out a towel to dry Touko from where she had been caught in the rain from not being under the umbrella properly.
Yuu tells Touko that she was really happy when she showed up with an umbrella – which seems to worry Touko, as she wants Yuu to clarify what she meant by that. Yuu writes it off as nothing.

Touko falls asleep under the shelter

Yuu and Touko sit down on the bench, and Yuu can feel the warmth of Touko’s body. It is something that she wants Touko to share, but she doesn’t say anything.

Yuu and Sayaka can agree on one thing: Touko can be a pain sometimes

Finally, the episode ends by showing us that Yuu and Sayaka’s practice for the relay is starting to pay off, as Yuu is getting better at handing off the baton. If nothing else, being forced to practice that so much has Yuu and Sayaka agreeing that Touko can be a real pain sometimes.

This episode adapted the interlude chapter titled ‘So Much For First Love’ – that was where Sayaka bumped into her ex – and chapters 13 and 14, though the anime swapped the two around.
I guess it makes sense, with the interlude and chapter 14 having a greater focus on Sayaka. The interlude chapter actually comes between chapters 18 and 19 in the manga, but it works pretty well here in the anime.

Rei’s conversation with Hiro about Yuu after her phone call isn’t in chapter 13. Presumably what she said was alluding to Touko. Another thing that wasn’t present in the chapters was characters asking about favourite colours and hydrangeas.

One other notable difference is when Yuu and Touko are sitting on the bench under the shelter. In the anime, Touko falls asleep. In the manga, it is Yuu who falls asleep. However, on the front cover of the third volume of the manga, it is Touko who is asleep. It’s a bit odd, but the whole takeaway from that scene is that Yuu wants Touko to share her warmth.

Still, things are remaining faithful to Nio Nakatani’s manga, even if the order of certain events have been shifted. Yuu and Sayaka seem to be getting on a bit better now – you can tell because they were able to pass the relay baton between themselves with no problem.
Yuu and Touko sharing an umbrella was very nice, as well. There were plenty of highlights from that, with my favourite being the pair of them laughing together.
Touko’s reaction to Yuu saying she was happy is also pretty notable. Seems like what Touko wants for Yuu may not be so easy after all.

Bloom Into You continues to be a stellar experience.