Bloom Into You Episode 9: Sports Day

The Sports Day episode of Bloom Into You has been one that I have been looking forward to, though I kept quiet about it so as to not give away anything for those who have not read the manga. Let’s see whether the ninth episode is able to live up to my anticipation.

Touko kisses Yuu when they have some alone time

Preparations for Sports Day are well underway, with Yuu being sent to find a banner. She finds what she is looking for in the gym storage room, and then Touko finds Yuu in there. Touko takes the opportunity to recharge, and kiss Yuu. However, she goes a bit too far and Yuu pushes her away. Touko suggests that if she can behave for the rest of Sports Day, she should get a reward. That reward is having Yuu kiss Touko.

Koyomi hits upon an idea for the student council’s play script

Elsewhere, Koyomi is still struggling for how to approach Touko’s character in the script she is writing. She tries asking another member of the student council about Touko, but ultimately isn’t able to get any new information. However, people not knowing her character gives Koyomi a spark of inspiration.

Yuu talks to Maki about Touko

Touko ends up talking to Maki. He is convinced that Yuu is in love with Touko, but Yuu denies it. She claims that she can’t fall in love with anyone – something that Maki feels makes him and Yuu similar. However, Yuu’s expression after their conversation leads Maki to believe that he and Yuu aren’t quite the same.

Miyako drops by to see Riko embarrass herself in the teacher’s relay

Miyako decides to pay a visit to the Sports Day, mostly to see her girlfriend participate in the teacher’s relay. Riko isn’t very good at sports, so it seems that Miyako believes that it will be a good laugh.
She has a brief chat with Sayaka beforehand, who shows her where the visitor seating is and says when the teachers will be running. When Sayaka departs afterwards, she meets up with Touko. Miyako is quickly able to figure out that Touko is the girl that Sayaka loves, though she believes Touko will be a handful romantically.

Touko has a rivalry with Serizawa from the Basketball Club

The time of the club relay draws closer, and Touko is very enthusiastic about it. This stems from a rivalry with the Basketball Club. The student council president may be enthusiastic about the event, but the same can’t be said for Yuu and Sayaka.

Yuu is completely mesmerised by Touko when she is running

The relay starts, and it comes complete with an insert song and Yuu just being totally mesmerised by Touko. It’s a really good scene. Despite their best efforts, though, the student council only manage to snag third place. Still pretty impressive, considering they were up against more athletic clubs.

Yuu prepares to give Touko her reward

Sports Day comes to an end, and Yuu and Touko have the small matter of Touko’s reward to tend to. Touko prepares to receive a kiss from Yuu, but Yuu isn’t able to bring herself to do it. She feels that it just isn’t right for her to kiss Touko, as she isn’t in love with her – or so she claims.
Touko is disappointed, but since Yuu broke her word, she decides that she will do what she wants.

Touko does what she wants

Touko goes for the French kiss, which catches Yuu off guard at first. Touko stops and apologises for going too far, but Yuu admits that it actually felt good. The two continue after that. Yuu is able to hear a heartbeart, but she doesn’t believe it is her own – there is no way her own heart could beat that fast.

Well, I can safely say that this episode lived up to my expectations – nay, it surpassed them. The scene of Touko running was particularly excellent, and of course Yuu and Touko’s kiss scenes were very good as well.
Yuu may claim to not be in love with Touko, but she isn’t exactly pushing her away. I think Maki has a slightly better idea of what Yuu is like when it comes to romance – presumably from plenty of experience of watching romances unfold in front of him.

Koyomi coming up with an idea for Touko’s character in the student council play is also a key point – we are moving ever closer to said play. I’m sure viewers have already guessed this by now, but it is going to be a rather important event.

Episode 9 of Bloom Into You adapted chapters 15 and 16 of the manga. It was a completely faithful adaptation, though the anime was able to improve certain scenes by taking advantage of something that manga doesn’t have: sound and colour. But everything that happened in these two episodes can be found in the manga, and the order of events remains the same too.

Bloom Into You continues to be a fantastic experience.