Kimi ni Todoke review

Kimi ni Todoke is sweet, pretty, and romantic like a shojo series should be. I wouldn’t say its unique by any stretch, just a good series for its genre…

I would agree that Kimi ni Todoke is full of shojo cliches, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad if that’s what you like. Just as Naruto is full of shonen cliches, but does a damn good job being creative with and executing them, so does Kimi ni Todoke with its familiar shojo elements. An outcast girl finds friendship and romance that she had never known before thanks to her relationship with a boy she eventually develops feelings for and friends who help with her personal development. The series is fraught with blossoming romances, warm friendships, hurt feelings, soft, flowery animation complete with sparkly bubbles in the background for key scenes, and many other things that define “shojo.”

Our main heroine Sawako is the typical shojo protagonist, overflowing with naivety, politeness, and conscientiousness. However, her status as a “late bloomer” when it comes to romance, friendship, and having a basic social life is actually pretty well-developed and make her somewhat memorable. As expected, she falls for the handsome, nice, popular guy, Kazehaya, who also eventually develops feelings for her. But of course, the two spend much of their time together blushing and being embarrassed about their hidden feelings for each other. Like most shojo series, the main focus of Kimi ni Todoke is romantic and friendship relationships. The prime one is between Sawako and Kazeya, with other relationships having their respective starring episodes, the kind of structure we’ve seen in Nana, Fruits Basket, and other shojo series. Examples of these “secondary” relationships in Kimi ni Todoke are Sawako’s tough, outgoing, somewhat tomboyish friends Chizuru and Ayane and their friendship with her, Sawako’s rival for Kazehaya’s affection, Kurumi, and unrequited love between Chizuru, their friend Ryuu, and Ryuu’s brother.

I can’t exactly praise Kimi ni Todoke for having the most memorable characters. They’re certainly likable (my favorite is probably Ryuu), just nothing special that we haven’t already seen in many other shojo series. I was never a fan of one-shot comic relief characters like Pin whose only purpose is to create humor that ruins the dramatic feel of the show. But besides him, I don’t particularly like or dislike any of the characters. Though they don’t bother me personally, if you can’t stand the unbelievably nice/shy/polite female protagonists, like Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket, then you probably won’t like Sawako. Our male lead Kazehaya is unfortunately nothing unique (he really should have gotten more character development) and I felt he was very much out-shined by the more entertaining and interesting Chizuru, Ayane, and Ryuu. Kimi ni Todoke is one of those shows where the appeal comes from the relationships of love and friendship between the characters and not from the individual appeal of each character.

There are many notable seiyuu in Kimi ni Todoke, especially Mamiko Noto, Daisuke Namikawa, Miyuki Sawashiro, and Aya Hirano. Mamiko Noto’s unmistakable acting is perfect for the gentle, flustered Sawako. And Aya Hirano’s role as Kurumi was the first time I heard her acting get so emotional. Despite being produced by Production I.G., the animation in Kimi ni Todoke is kind of plain, but that’s fine since it takes place in a slice-of-life setting about relatively simple day to day lives of average young people. Despite its frequent shots at humor, which sometimes succeed and sometimes fail, the series stays true to its dramatic, romantic, and emotional feel. During humorous moments, Sawako changes to a stylized chibi version of herself, while in dramatic moments she’s drawn normally but with great detail. Flowers, sparkles, bubbles, and other shojo animation elements are used a lot in Kimi ni Todoke. Though I don’t care for the ending song, the opening song, appropriately titled “Kimi ni Todoke,” is a plain but nice song. A slow and beautiful instrumental remix of it is played during some key parts of the series.

If you like shojo series, then I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t like Kimi ni Todoke. Or if you’re like me and you don’t particularly like shojo series but you enjoy them when they’re good ones, then this show could also be worth your while. Again, it’s full of shojo cliches, but if you overlook that and just focus on how they’re carried out, it’s a lovely, touching series. The manga is still ongoing so perhaps a second season will be made.