SPOILER ALERT: Many spoilers follow, read at your own risk
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You(2009-2011), Anime 2 Seasons, 38 Episodes, 24 minutes each
D: Hiro Kaburaki
W: Tomoko Konparu from manga by Karuho Shiina (椎名軽穂, Shiina Karuho)
M: S.E.N.S.
Studio: Production I.G
ANN 8.340 S1 8.254
S2
MAL 8.000 S1 7.990
S2
IMDB 7.800 S1-S2
Characters:
MC
Sawako Kuronuma (黒沼 爽子, Kuronuma Sawako) Romantic Lead, lover of Shōta Kazehaya
Shōta Kazehaya(風早 翔太, Kazehaya Shōta) Romantic Lead, lover of Sawako Kuronuma
Ayane Yano (矢野 あやね, Yano Ayane) Friend to Sawako Kuronuma
Chizuru Yoshida (吉田 千鶴, Yoshida Chizuru) Friend to Sawako Kuronuma
Ryu Sanada (真田 龍, Sanada Ryū) Friend to Shōta Kazehaya, lover of Chizuru Yoshida
Kento Miura (三浦 健人, Miura Kento) Lover of Sawako Kuronuma, possible lover of Ayane Yano
ANTAGONISTS
Ume “Kurumi” Kurumizawa (胡桃沢 梅, Kurumisawa Ume) Lover of Shōta Kazehaya, enemy and bully to Sawako Kuronuma
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (君に届け, Kimi ni Todoke) Trailer
“Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You” is an absolutely lovely work of great sensitivity and warmth.
This is basically a High School love story between a very shy girl, Sawako Kuronuma (黒沼 爽子, Kuronuma Sawako), and the most popular boy in that school, Shōta Kazehaya (風早 翔太, Kazehaya Shōta).
You have seen the basic plot many times, but this anime version of MS Karuho Shiina’s story captures the real angst and hurt and feels of what it means to fall in or be in love. The story also explores many different kinds of relationships, and emphasizes the importance of friends and friendship itself. We have May-December loves, jealous loves, triangles, overcoming debilitating loneliness, speaking directly and often, in order to avoid misunderstandings, overcoming shyness and mean bullying in the name of love so called.
In the two seasons of its run, we traverse from HS year 1 to HS year 3 and graduation, and even some followup after University.
The happiness and warmth of love is mixed in with sadness in saying goodbye as everyone goes their separate ways after graduation.
If you love Romance stories that feel like real love stories, we would highly recommend this simple yet very wonderful Romance.
Live well and thrive!
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© 2022 Folwine P. Pywackett (mox025)
Sawako is almost textbook high functioning autistic. There are a lot of anime that skirt around the topic but Kimi ni Todoke jumps right into it without actually putting the name to it. Rather like Big Bang Theory, where every major character could be diagnosed with varying degrees of autism.
Yeah, I would agree with that diagnosis. She is an absolute sweetheart, but she does not have a clue about what is going on with other people. Autism is the inability to “read” the emotions and intentions of other people. There is a wonderful movie with Claire Danes called https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin_(film) The condition can be overwhelming in young people, but self knowledge is possible as people grow, and the movie shows that as its central point. The condition is very common among Mathematicians and Engineers such that they don’t even talk about it.