Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You

TL;DR at the bottom The shoujo romance is one of the most popular stories published in the magazines of Japan. The story of a high school girl living a mundane life before one guy turns her life upside-down is a story that’s been done time and time again. But how different series differentiate themselves ultimately comes down to their starting conditions. Kimi ni Todoke (From Me to You), written by Karuho Shiina is one of the longest and, arguably, the most successful. Whereas other series have fairly unrealistic and wacky premises, Kimi ni Todoke keeps it simple: the socially awkward girl Sawako Kuronoma, who’s never madefriends due to her creepy resemblance to the girl from the ring, suddenly meets the first person to brush aside all the rumors and treat her like any other girl, the most popular guy in the class, Shota Kazahaya. Okay maybe it's not that realistic. Now it's not spoiling it to say that these two will end up being a couple. As with most shoujo romance stories, you already know from the beginning that the two first characters introduced will get together. But, as the saying goes, it’s not about the destination, it's about the journey. And boy does this journey suck. If you’re a big fan of characters misunderstanding each other because they are dumb and just won’t listen, you are going to love the first 11 volumes. As soon as you think that they’ve made progress on their relationship, the main pair somehow finds a way to perform a soft reset. The arc leading up to their inevitable conclusion is one of the most frustrating and unbearable arcs I’ve ever read and made me wish I could do a free kick on an abandoned child across an empty parking lot. Genuinely one of the first times I’ve gotten angry over a set of panels. Although I would say that when they finally get together, it is good. Like I was giggling like an idiot. But of course it's good. That's the whole appeal of a romance story. I can’t say it was worth it. So why are there 19 more volumes? Half of it is focused on the romance of the side characters, which, in Kimi ni Todoke’s defense, are some of the best side characters I’ve seen in a shoujo romance story. While Chizuru Yoshida’s romance consists of the standard “childhood friend doesn’t know when the feelings of friendship turn into feelings of love”, and to be fair, is pretty fun in its own right; Ayane Yano’s romance is by far the best part of this manga. Ayane is awesome based solely on the fact that she actually feels like a normal human character with a normal human brain. It's always fun when a character actually knows the romantic shenanigans that are going down. But what makes Ayane a compelling character is the fact that no guy she hooks up with ever seems to be ‘the one’. It's not like other romance stories where you kind of know who they’re gonna end up with. She experiences commitment issues, relationship doubts, and even breakups, which is honestly just a breath of fresh air that I’ve never really seen in a Japanese romance story before. So to see Ayane have a satisfying conclusion to her character is one of the few joys of this manga. But, alas, that's only half of it. The other half consists of stuff between the main couple. You may be wondering, “after the main couple gets together, how can you make their interactions compelling and interesting for 19 volumes?” Well, you can’t. At least this manga can’t. After reading this manga I now understand why so many romance stories end after the main couple gets together. Nobody wants to be in the same room as a lovey-dovey couple making out. Many of the interactions between Sawako and Shota make you feel like a third wheel. 90% of the time their interactions begin with “I want to see you” and end in “I love you”. Sure, it's nice the first time around, but after the 7th time, I kinda wanted to throw up. But maybe I’m just lonely. The root of the problem is really the fact that Sawako’s entire personality is ‘nice girl’ and Shota’s entire personality is ‘nice guy’. When the two get together, besides the occasional awkwardness, there is no interesting banter or chemistry or just any fun to be had when all they can say is how much they love each other. TL;DR Kimi ni Todoke is one of the most barebones shoujo romances you can get. All I can really say about the main couple is that they’re safe and normal, if not repetitive and boring. Where the series really shines is the side characters, even if the manga doesn’t really flesh most of them. With beautiful art and decent characters, it's a perfectly fine introduction to the shoujo romance genre. But keep in mind it's often a huge drag to get to the interesting stuff. If you like the genre, you’ll probably like the series. If you’re just starting out, give it 2 volumes before dropping it. I will say though, the girls in this manga are really pretty.

So, this manga is probably one of the best your gonna get from this genre. At least, as I've found so far. I said this with the anime as well, but Kimi ni Todoke is as realistic as realistic get with romantic fiction, and that's really nice. I won't lie to you: if you don't like slow paced things, this manga will probably bore you more often than not. It does take the story extremely slow, so you need to be invested in the characters to care about what's happening. Though, that really shouldn't be a problem, because all of the characters written for this mangaare absolutely amazing. I think the thing I loved seeing the most was how the characters' friendships were written. It felt authentic to watch Sawako's friendship begin and develop with her friends because the writer took such care with it. It's because of that specifically that this manga could be about more than just romance. It had substance beyond that. Some of the negatives, and I'm gonna keep it a buck, the story's pure form as far as the romance goes got so boring after a while of reading it. Don't get me wrong, this is a really inspirational manga that really showcases what it means to be a teenager, especially a teenager that feels invisible. It tells a great story about a great main character that breaks out of her shell... but the *romance,* oh my goodness. The development of it was wonderful and realistic. I think seeing how she falls in love was done beautifully. However, after a while (about where the anime drops off... well, at least for the main character), it just got to be a bit too much. It didn't turn super gushy, but it felt like the progression with the characters stopped in favor of romantic developments and conflicts. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the series probably should've stopped a bit earlier than it did, but I understand why it went where it went. I've got the negatives fresh in my mind because I didn't quite enjoy the last stretch of the manga, BUT the manga as a whole is amazing. Honestly, if you want a good slice-of-life type romance manga, you should read this. It's warm and comforting, and it'll make you happy from the bottom of your heart. Just... pace yourself with reading it so you don't get jaded like I did. That's all for now.

I read this manga just after finishing "Ao Haru Ride," so I have something to immediately compare it to, and I want to say that this one was much, much better. Even though it's frustrating and slow at times, like high school love, it's still extremely refreshing and heart warming. One of the main things that I enjoyed about the series was the lack of fan service and the focus on friendships along with romance. It isn't your average "shy unpopular girl and experienced popular boy fall for each other" story, specifically because the main character is a bit more than just shy. Because ofher inability to interact with others and her constant overthinking and distancing, I came to believe that Sawako must have serious social anxiety. This makes the fact that she is able to form lasting bonds with people and break out of her shell exciting and sweet for the audience. She goes on an extreme mental journey where she learns to believe in herself and trust her peers, so we see more than just a crush altering her life. I personally liked all of the characters and the ways they changed. As I said before, Sawako is quiet and innocent, but she's also strong from the beginning. Even though everyone was scared of her, she wouldn't stop trying to befriend them, and Kazehaya saw that. Kazehaya initially seems like the perfect hottie who is inherently nice and approachable, but he's also selfish and completely at a loss when it comes to being in a relationship. We get to see Ayane change from someone who sees no value in herself and is in abusive relationships just to pass time to someone who studies and works hard and gets nervous around someone she likes. Ryu stays quiet and balanced throughout the whole series, but we see his bottled up romantic feelings finally overflow through his bold actions with the one he likes. Chizuru is the only character that doesn't really makes sense to me, since she goes her whole life seeing a character as family and then sees him romantically out of nowhere. Nevertheless, she's still a supportive and air-headed character that provides comic relief and becomes more in touch with her feelings as the story progresses. Pin is hilarious and it's great that we get to see his relationships with his students develop and his true teaching abilities surface. I really like the art, but I didn't when I watched the anime like five years ago, so it depends on your personal style preferences. The main thing that I didn't like was how upsetting their misunderstandings and behavior were. I found myself screaming at the pages when the characters would just assume something and make the relationships they were developing take ten steps back in terms of progress. They have trouble expressing their feelings and being clear, which is true of teenagers in real life, so at least it makes sense. I personally didn't have an issue with how slow their relationships moved. It made each romantic moment between them more special since I had been waiting for them for quite a bit. Ultimately, the story is light-hearted and fun. The audience sees teenagers fumble through their first relationships and then get hit in the face by the iron wall of college and their futures. They mature and change for the better, while also measuring their own worth and effort. I highly recommend it!

Kimi ni Todoke is one of those classic romance mangas that you have to read, alongside Maid-sama, Fruits Basket etc. It's not as generic as other high school romances though, it has some spice. It's about a girl who is pushed to the side for being creepy and an outcast. All she wants is to make friends and have a happy high school life but with her looks and then with the most popular guy in the class falling for her, it all starts getting a bit rough. I really love this story, it's got a good length, a great ending and beloved characters. Eventhe characters who you start with hating, you end up loving. Everyone has depth, and a good character arc, so it doesn't feel like the whole world revolves around these two people- which ends up dragging you deeper into the world building. Great read, definitely worth every page, and the spin-off From Me to You is also really worth it.