Kimi Ni Todoke (君 に 届け) - A review and there are spoilers.

I make a horrible anime blogger because ... it's a heck more effort then being a food blogger! But i have decided to restrict my writing for anime based on shows i really really really like. Which is quite little at times. Some of the anime are not worth watching or putting a blog post up. But 2009 and 2010 has been a good anime year as i have seen quite a few number of good ones. This one is one of my favorites this year. Kimi Ni Todoke or in english, Reaching out to you.

This is actually an anime based from a manga as they always are and it's superbly converted to an anime. It's also going to be out as a dorama this year but i will hold me excitement on that as very few anime to dorama shows have really peaked my interest. For example, Honey and Clover, in my opinion plays better as an anime rather than a dorama.

Do you all remember the time when you were in high school, you feel like the social outcast? The gawky kid that no one wants to talk to or everyone throws a slushie at you ( this is so from glee :) ) Well, if those kind of awkward teenage moments come rushing back to you, then Kimi Ni todoke will bring you down memory lane. Set in Hokkaido, this is a story of a young girl who is considered a social outcast by her peers, mainly because of her name and her keen resemblance to a Japanese horror icon familiar to many.  Remember Sadako? Meet, Sawako Kuronuma. :) With that long long black hair and that ability to "sneak" up on people quietly,  the kids in her school thinks she is a freak actually. They even talk about her so called ability to curse people. Sitting next to Sawako was like sitting next to death itself.  Everyone takes to calling her Sadako instead of Sawako until people mistakes it for actually being her name.




However, she is largely a misunderstood girl, and deep down, she is a nice and kind girl who just seeks out to be friends with the people around her. On her first year and first day  in senior high school, she bumps into Kazehaya-kun, a popular and attractive boy in the school. Kazehaya is a complete opposite of Sawako. He's the brightness against her dark and gloomy nature. And the first person to smile and say "Hello" to Sawako. Unknown to Sawako, their first meeting was also when Kazehaya has taken a liking to this shy girl.  What amuses me is he sees her as the below, while everyone else sees her as the above- scary Sawako. ( I prefer the below, as i am quite terrified of Sadako after watching The Ring, any puny resemblances, freak me out - hence i never kept long black hair for that reason ).


And thus, the start of friendship that latter blossoms to more than just friendship. Sawako learns to make new friends with the help of Kazehaya and people start trusting as well as respecting her for who she is. Sawako's joy comes when people called her Sawako instead of Sadako. Sawako and Kazehaya have a few close friends that play an integral part of the story line.



Kazehaya Shota: Main lead male character of the show. All rounder, sunny and popular guy of high school. Tries to do the right thing and for a teenager is unsurprisingly unbiased when it comes to friends. Normally teenagers are quite the opposite of him. I love the fact he sees people beyond their face value. Something we do not do a lot in this day and age. It's also nice he goes out of his way to be nice to people not because it's to gain popularity but because he genuinely likes them for who they are. Kazehaya is also extremely jealous if anyone shows a bit of interest in Sawako. Check out the episode where he thought Ryuu was interested in Sawako.

Kuronuma Sawako: The female lead of the show. If she is not scary, she is quite sweet and simple. She over analyzes a lot and probably is the first person who will do things to benefit others instead of herself. Kazehaya volunteered for summer duty because he says that Kuronuma always did the summer school duty and it's not fair. I like the parts where she interacts with her father and mother. It's so cute to watch especially her Otousan who dotes on her.

Ayane Yano + Yoshida Chizuru: This is the Yankee(deliquent youth) and the over made up girl of the school. They initially forced Sawako to "scare" the living daylights out their classmates in a school bravery test ... ( i am so glad i don't go to school in japan sometimes -it would have freaked me out if i have to do this ) but became firm friends with her when Sawako proved to be quite sporting. Chizuru happens be one of my other favorite characters in the show, as her romance between Ryuu and his brother is quite an interesting story at the end of the show. ( Tissue paper required for this part ).

Sanada Ryuu: A local ramen shop owner, his is the younger brother to Sanada Tooru, whom Chizuru has a crush on big time. Ryuu is a quite guy and talks as much as only 1 or 2 sentences before falling a sleep. However, in a class seating arrangement day, he pops himself behind Sawako, clearly stating his alliance for her. Ryuu is also surprisingly supportive of Chizuru's attempts to attract Tooru, even though he himself has been in love with Chizuru since he could remember.

Ayane Yano: is Chizuru's best friend. She dates an older guy in University and is known for wearing a lot of make up to school. More streetwise of the 3 girls, she picked up that Kazehaya was interested in Sawako way before anyone else did and tries to match make the both of them. ( These attempts are extremely funny in the course of the show )

I must say i was completely hooked on this show when i picked up the first episode. Mainly because it reminded me a lot on my school days ( no, i was NOT sadako ) but how kids interacted with each other and also the characters in the show were good and strongly built. The slowly brewing romance between Sawako and Kazehaya was also innocently sweet, in days where people are less interested in liking people for whom they really are. However, there are some certain flaws in the show, mainly because of the ending. The manga has not stopped in Japan yet, so when i watched the ending, all i could think was PART 2, PART 2! Both the 2 leads have stopped short of actually confessing to each other but then have confirmed they are both in love with each other.  And it is so cute to watch them go through that realization period. It's both awkward and at the same time... painfully slow ... because i wanted to shout loudly to them both " HE/SHE LIKES YOU OK??"  *Hand to forehead*. The character built up in this show is excellent. You grow with them.

However, since it is with a hanging ending, i am left salivating for more ... sigh... i ended up reading the manga online to find out what happen. Is it better than Honey and Clover? Yes, definitely. I like this story line a lot better than H&C as this is less depressing. Over the years, i found that H&C ( despite good comedic parts ) is more like a toxic relationship anime. Things you don't need in your life.

If you have time, pick this up. Definitely worth a watch.  You will laugh, cry and be frustrated.... That's what i call good viewing :)