Book: Bloom Into You, Volume 4
Author: Nio Nakatani
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars
I found this fourth volume to be rather refreshing. While we didn’t get to see the student council play in this one, there was just something so charming and relaxing about watching the main characters go through their day to day lives. I don’t know what is about this slow daily life things that really has me hooked on this series.
I really like the slow development of the characters’ relationships with not only themselves, but the other characters. It’s kind of refreshing to have this slow burn, instead of the normal fast pace instant love that seems to be so common in books. I want to see the characters have a chance to form a bond and get to see them grow closer. Having them fall in love so quickly doesn’t always work and I’m glad that’s what the author is doing here. We get to experience the idea of falling in love right along with the characters. There is no rush. Instead we are given these lovely little moments that allow us to see this bond form.
I think that getting to see the bond and getting to know the characters along with them is what really makes this series stand out to me. With each new volume, we are learning something new about the characters. We are seeing the drive to be perfect, the pressure, the desire to something, and so much more. At first, we didn’t see this, because, like our main characters, we really didn’t know them. Now, we are. For example, at the start of the manga, we didn’t know that a lot of Nanamai was driven by her dead sister’s memory and now we do. By knowing this now, we are able to see why she does some of the things that she does. Plus, here, she has to face some facts about her sister that she would probably rather not. Again, this all adds to her character.
I guess that what I’m getting as is that all of these layers and things that we are learning in each volume really adds to the overall story arc. I like getting to experience these things very slowly because I find that it works. Getting to know the characters and seeing the story at a slower pace just works for this series. If the pacing had been faster, I really don’t think that this series would have the same charm that it does.
Anyway, I can’t wait to pick up volume five and see how this all plays out. I’m kind of sad that I’m halfway through this series already.