Late Bloomer

Late Bloomer is a romantic comedy drama series created by Ryan Nurse and Animatron Studios. First conceived in March 2016, the first instalment was released on 21 August 2016. The series centres around Suzu Motozaki, a 30-year-old Japanese woman whose life has slowly fallen apart, leaving her a single, unemployed alcoholic. When college student Hana Minami arrives to fulfil a childhood promise she had made with Suzu, she takes it upon herself to help Suzu turn her life around.

Late Bloomer bears several similarities to Nurse's other work Aishiteru! Hikikomori-san, but is noticeably more sombre in tone, It is also notable for centering around a lesbian couple, as well as having a twelve-year age gap between the two romantic leads. Nurse has stated that the series will most likely follow an irregular publication schedule.

Synopsis
When she was in high school, Suzu Motozaki used to babysit a young girl named Hana. Hana virtually idolized her cool “onee-chan”, and promised to marry Suzu once she had grown up; Suzu, believing it to be just a child’s joke, agreed.

Twelve years later, Suzu is now 30 and her life is slowly falling apart. She is a single, jobless alcoholic who was fired from her last job for sexually harassing her younger male boss while drunk. When she finds herself reunited with Hana, who has just graduated high school, both girls are in for a surprise: Hana is shocked to learn what has become of her formerly cool babysitter, whereas Suzu is shocked to find that Hana is now a beautiful young lesbian who is intent on fulfilling her childhood promise of marrying Suzu. The thirty-something refuses, but in her desperation she finds herself questioning her sexuality, and wondering whether Hana’s offer is worth accepting. Hana, meanwhile, vows to help her "onee-chan" get back on her feet and turn her life around.

Development
Late Bloomer was inspired by a two-panel comic, created by an unknown author (see right). Nurse based Suzu and Hana's appearances on those of the characters in the comic, but altered their ages slightly, specified their initial relationship, and significantly downplayed the sexual aspect of Hana's attraction to Suzu. Chapter 1 is essentially a drawn-out adaptation of the comic, with the remaining chapters being Nurse's own creation.

Each of the series' chapters takes the form of a startled question asked by Suzu. For example, Chapter 1 is entitled, "I Promised to do What?!"

Reception
Late Bloomer has been positively received so far, with its serious tone and emotional content being praised; however, Hana's characterization has been criticized as unrealistically naive.

Chapter 1 was viewed over 50 times within 24 hours of its publication, and as of 25 August 2016 has been viewed 59 times.