Shiina Karuho - Kimi ni Todoke, vol. 01-03

[oyceter]

I feel like it's been so long since I've read manga! How weird!

Kuronuma Sawako terrifies people at school because she looks like Sadako from The Ring. But no one knows that she really just wants to be a normal, cute girl! That is, until Kazehaya Shota starts talking to her. Suddenly, Sawako is making friends with people and maybe even getting a crush.

This is so cute. So cute! It is quintessential high school shoujo, and it reminds me why I am so fond of the genre. Sawako is absolutely adorable as she learns how to socialize with people—every small gesture of friendship has her overcome with joy—and she is naive about... pretty much everything! Also, it doesn't hurt that Kazehaya is equally adorable. I get so tired of the aloof, cool hero in shoujo, and Kazehaya is about as different as that as you can get. He likes everyone, is always nice to Sawako, and in general makes me want to hug him and pinch his cheeks every time he shows up and smiles. And together, they are even more adorable! Especially when they are being terribly awkward around each other!

I also love that although the blossoming romance between Kazehaya and Sawako is a large part of the story, it's still only a piece of Sawako learning how to socialize. Yano, rumored to be a party girl, and Yoshida, rumored to be a former Yankee, both decide to befriend Sawako as well, and many of my favorite parts of the manga to date are the two of them scheming to get Sawako and Kazehaya together, or just to get Sawako out a little more. Volume 2 focuses mainly on a misunderstanding among the three of them, and while the plot is fueled by some assumptions and second-guessing, it's also nice to see how they manage to work things out without too much trouble.

Volume 3 progresses to sports festival planning, and I have no doubt that the rest of the series will go through assorted school festivals, examination hell, and all the other staples of high school shoujo. I have to say, even though I roll my eyes at the festivals sometimes, I actually like them much better than the usual "Who are you asking to homecoming and/or prom?!" that's in most US high school YA romances. Some of this is no doubt because the high school shoujo tropes are much closer to my own high school experience—even though we had prom and school dances at my school in Taiwan, reading about them in Sweet Valley or whatnot always felt so foreign—but some is because I like the focus on the class as a whole.

Alas, volume 3 also hints at some romantic rivalry. I do hope that the series keeps its sweet and sometimes silly tone instead of going off into romantic-manipulation land; I would much rather read more about Sawako befriending other people in her school than people fighting over Kazehaya. Also, why is it always girls fighting in underhanded ways for the guy?

Still, this is incredibly cute, and reading it always makes me laugh.

Comments

[torachan]

I love this series so much!

And I actually like the romantic rival plotline because this is Sawako and she is just as clueless and earnest and adorable through it all.

[oyceter]

Awwwww! I also love so far that she keeps trying to make friends with her rival.

[vi]

Thanks for recommending this! I've just started it and am blown away about how likeable Kazehaya is. His cheerfulness is pretty infectious, and it's such a nice change!

[oyceter]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! Kazehaya is so adorable!

[littlebutfierce]

I'm up to episode 23 of the anime & am afraid that the next one is going to be the last one, augh! Unless they do one of those everything & the kitchen sink episodes they are going to have a lot to wrap up (& even if they do that it will be unsatisfying). It may drive me to read the manga, just to not let it go for a bit longer (I rarely read manga these days! Partly b/c of availability, partly b/c my brain has trouble parsing motion in comic book form sometimes & it drives me nuts)!

I was worried about the romantic rival thing too, but in the anime at least it wasn't horrible. A bit more drawn-out than I wanted it to be, but could've been worse.

[oyceter]

Woe! It's so cute that I may end up watching the anime to tide me over between volumes (ha, if I have time from school, siiiigh)...

[softestbullet]

! Awkward, earnest love is my favorite!

[oyceter]

Me too! Well, among one of many favorites, but it is so cute!

[umadoshi]

This is such a great series. *^^* Viz is doing a really nice job with it, too. Yay!

[oyceter]

I mostly haven't noticed the translation, which is probably a good thing? I do like the end notes though.

[estara]

Yay, more Kimi ni Todoke love! The anime is also a very good adaptation. I'm reading ahead in scanlation (and buying the English translation as it comes out) and I think the story and characters stay strong.

[oyceter]

Excellent! The anime will probably make great cheer-me-up watching.

[estara]

Indeed. AND it passes the Bechdel test! ... I think that's the name...

[rilina]

I love this series SO MUCH.

[oyceter]

Me too!!!

[themadpoker]

Oh I love this series! It takes me extra long to read it because I always want to flip back to look at the scenes that made me smile again. And seeing as that's usually the entire volume... xD

[oyceter]

Awwwwww!

[troisroyaumes]

Kimi ni Todoke is so adorable! I heart Sawako so much!

[oyceter]

Me too! She is so cute and bewildered and earnest!

[lnhammer]

I like this one quite a bit, for all the reasons you cite, and I definitely prefer the manga to the anime -- as pretty as the latter is, its languid pacing has the effect of drawing out every misunderstanding even more.

In either form, tho', chibi!Sawako is redonkulously adorable.

---L.

[oyceter]

Chibi!Sawako is absolutely adorable! Especially when she is tearfully grateful for something!