Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Yuu Koito has always been entranced with romantic shoujo manga and the lyrics of love songs. She patiently waits for the wings of love to sprout and send her heart aflutter on the day that she finally receives a confession. Yet, when her classmate from junior high declares his love for her during their graduation, she feels unexpectedly hollow. The realization hits her: she understands romance as a concept, but she is incapable of experiencing the feeling first-hand.

Now, having enrolled in high school, Yuu, disconcerted and dispirited, is still ruminating over how to respond to her suitor. There, she happens upon the seemingly flawless student council president, Touko Nanami, maturely rejecting a confession of her own. Stirred by Touko's elegant manner, Yuu approaches her for advice, only to be bewildered when the president confesses to her! Yuu quickly finds herself in the palm of Touko's hand, and unknowingly sets herself on a path to find the emotion which has long eluded her.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Koito, Yuu Main

Takada, Yuuki Japanese

Nanami, Touko Main

Kotobuki, Minako Japanese

Saeki, Sayaka Supporting

Kayano, Ai Japanese

Maki, Seiji Supporting

Ichikawa, Taichi Japanese

Kanou, Koyomi Supporting

Kohara, Konomi Japanese

Kodama, Miyako Supporting

Mori, Nanako Japanese

Koito, Rei Supporting

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Hakozaki, Riko Supporting

Nakahara, Mai Japanese

Doujima, Suguru Supporting

Nogami, Shou Japanese

Hyuuga, Akari Supporting

Terasaki, Yuka Japanese

Yamashita, Shinpei Producer

Ogata, Mitsuhiro Producer

Isogai, Noritomo Producer

Kimura, Kaori Producer

Reviews

Feb 18, 2025

griddyweeb

Recommended

I don't think I could've asked for a better introduction to the yuri genre. I came in expecting a love story, but it's so much more than that, it's a great drama about self exploration.

The story follows the relationship of Yuu and Nanami, but instead of them actively growing closer or liking each other more and more, the story is really about "unlocking" their love by coming to terms with their own feelings and selves first. They both have a lot to learn about themselves, but they do know that they want to do that while being side by side.

I love the characters, their struggles ... seem easy to solve on the surface, but as the story progresses it unfolds to be more and more complicated and difficult to handle. And how the 3 main characters (let's consider Sayaka a "half" MC for now) is also just very interesting to follow, not everyone is aware of the others' intentions and feelings and it all happens without boring tropes that lead to annoying misunderstandings, it's not like that the slightest. In a sense everyone is "right" even when they don't feel the same way, everyone is entitled to their feelings afterall.
Even a side character like Maki managed to be interesting with barely any screentime, most support characters add a really nice touch to the story without being boring or tropey.

The direction, visuals and music are also just spot on, it really feels like everyone was on board with each other, everything worked out like they're in complete sync, it's a really nice experience that not many anime could achieve for me. But especially the OST, it's beautiful and stands out, full of nice pieces.

The only negative thing I have to say about the anime is that it doesn't end here, it only adapts about half the story. The chance for a second season is becoming smaller with each year passed (but never reaches zero!).

This piece is heavily recommended for anyone, unless you really don't like emotional stuff or have a strong stance against half adaptations.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 22, 2024

veganramen

Mixed Feelings

I think the plot is good and there is depth in the characters, I couldn't say if the story or the way in which the events came to be is very realistic, but it's not at all far-fetched, besides, I really liked the perspectives, the ‘camera’ games, the colours, the art style in general, I think everything gave it a lot more dynamism and you can see that there is a real elaboration in it. However, at certain moments I was bored by a certain monotony that felt like it was going nowhere and when I finally felt it was getting too interesting the season ... ended.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 3, 2023

woopwopp

Not Recommended

It's unfortunate because this is a manga adaptation that had a lot of potential, but I think there was quite a few things holding it back. Especially because of the unsatisfying ending. Thats not a spoiler though, because this was intended to be 26 episodes and ended because of poor reception.

I liked the manga mainly because it was actually substantial on its statements about queerness and self identity, but the anime ended up being inconclusive and unfinished. And even then, some of the characters here are either half-baked or extremely irritating/ trope-y. Especially Sayaka, as much as the fandom for this likes her, on ... a rewatch I found her mindset towards her friend unrealistic and frustrating. And Yuu for some reason never even fully admits to liking Touko in the show, which suggests some view on queerness that its caused by grooming. That doesnt help with Sayaka's backstory either.

This show is a very unfortunate failure in my eyes (if you are looking for explicitly romantic GL anime).
However if you are able to look into the implications set by the story instead of a concrete reciprocation of feelings with the characters, go ahead.

This is seen as a historic moment for Girls Love anime because of how lacking the genre is in terms of stories with endings that aren't breakups or disaster-involved. If you want to see a slow-burn Girls Love without the "yuri-isms" and male gaze, check out Fragtime.

My criticisms aside, this was the first anime I ever watched (I'm a bisexual and I always have tried to find shows that are positive LGBT rep, anime or not), so it does mean a lot to me. And it has some amazing artwork and moments despite its flaws. If you love the classics of GL despite their flaws, this has a lot in common with them in terms of it being a diamond in the rough, in terms of representation.
6/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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