Anime Hajime Review: Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom

Original Run: October 10, 2020 - December 26, 2020
Number of Episodes: 12
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Based on the Series Created By: Koi

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Is the Order a Rabbit: Bloom. Reader discretion is advised.***

Series Synopsis

Welcome back to Rabbit House, the quaint coffee shop where one can go to relax. While there, you’re sure to run into the store’s three friendly and lovable waitstaff: Chino Kafuu, Cocoa Hoto, and Rize Tedeza (voiced respectively by Inori Minase, Ayane Sakura, and Risa Taneda).

These three are often joined by their two other friends, Chiya Ujimatsu and Sharo Kirima (voiced respectively by Satomi Satou and Maaya Uchida).

Together, these five live their lives happily and carefree. Watch as the group tackles school, the restaurant, and their daily chores.

Series Positives

This will be one of the shortest reviews I have done, as I expected it most likely would be. We have reached the third venture into the Is the Order a Rabbit series, and twice already, we have been graced with a fun and relaxing show. I had no reason to think Is the Order a Rabbit: Bloom (Bloom) would be different.

Spoilers alert; it wasn’t.

Bloom was precisely what I expected it to be. If you have seen and enjoyed its predecessors, you can fully expect to be satisfied with this one.

Granted, I will admit I have not seen an Is the Order a Rabbit production (anime, OVA, etc.) since 2016 – a five-year gap between then and this post’s publishing. Thus, I had mostly forgotten everything connected with this series’ characters’ personalities when starting Bloom. Additionally, I have long since jumbled this franchise’s atmosphere in my head – over time, I began to assume this franchise was more heartfelt than it was silly. There were several big wake-up calls while I watch this third season.

To put it bluntly, I remembered Is the Order a Rabbit to be a good series; I just forgot why.

Nevertheless, Bloom was relaxing, lighthearted, and cute; my god, was it cute. It also had a fantastic sense of humor that could be mischievous, sarcastic, and tricksy as often as it was sweet, friendly, and comforting. So, in short, I was laughing quite a bit throughout, and I suspect you will as well. That is, of course, this is the type of anime for you.

And let’s be honest, if you’re really considering Is the Order a Rabbit 3, this is probably an anime for you.

Aside from merely reaffirming my expectations, there was one thing that thoroughly impressed me while watching Bloom. Although I can’t give sole credit to this one installment, this season did reap the benefits of the previous two installments’ hard work.

If you were to ask me before I started Bloom, I would have told you Cocoa and Chino were the main characters. That answer has now changed; Cocoa and Chino are just two of several co-equal protagonists. Is the Order a Rabbit is the story of Cocoa, Chino, Rize, Chiya, and Sharo. Each one of them could and did carry this series.

It didn’t matter who was on screen or what combination of characters there were; Bloom never had any dead air. No one was this series’ out and out star. Cocoa and Chino may have had a bit of extra emphasis, but they and their friends were this show.

Perhaps there are other examples of anime having so many options to play with. Still, nothing comes to mind as I am writing this sentence.

Series Negatives

I suppose the only way for me to write this section would be to turn as cynical as possible. As I said before, Bloom was everything that made its predecessors what they were. If you liked them, then you’ll like this. And if you didn’t like them, then why have you made it this far?

I guess if you’re a reviewer like myself who watches everything, then you might be put off by Bloom’s lack of anything new. Was there anything that separated this season from its predecessors? No. This was just a continuation that took five years to make (Is the Order a Rabbit Season 2 released in 2015). There was a movie, Is the Order a Rabbit: Dear My Sister, in 2017, but I have yet to watch it.

I could be wrong, and correct me in the comments below if I am, but I don’t think there was a huge demand for a third Is the Order a Rabbit season. I base that assumption on the fact that there was nothing exceptional about Bloom. It existed, and then it ended.

And that’s the only real negative I have to say about this season. It simply didn’t seem necessary. However, I’ll let you decide if that’s a bad thing or not.

Final Thoughts

I told you this was going to be short. But really, what is there to say?

Here is one of those series that could have existed with a single season. There is no overarching story, no mystery to solve, and no goal to achieve. This is a slice-of-life tale that is hardly distinguishable from whatever installment you happen to be watching.

All this show has is its sense of humor, fun characters, and relaxing atmosphere. Is this a must-watch anime? No. But, if you are a fan of this series, then you should take comfort in knowing this third attempt delivers everything you’re probably looking for.

Therefore, I am happy to give Is the Order a Rabbit: Bloom a recommendation.

But these were just my thoughts. What are yours? Have you seen this series? How would you advise Is the Order a Rabbit: Bloom? Leave a comment down below because I would love to hear what you have to say.

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For Anime Hajime, I’m LofZOdyssey, and I’ll see you next time.