Kimi ni Todoke

Known for her semblance to the Sadako character of The Ring series, Sawako Kuronuma is given the nickname "Sadako" and misunderstood to be frightening and malicious like her fictional counterpart, despite having a timid and sweet nature. Longing to make friends and live a normal life, Sawako is naturally drawn to the cheerful and friendly Shouta Kazehaya, the most popular boy in her class. From their first meeting, Sawako has admired Kazehaya's ability to be the center of attention and aspires to be like him.

When Kazehaya organizes a test of courage for the entire class and encourages her to attend, Sawako sees this as an opportunity to get along with her classmates, starting with Ayane Yano and Chizuru Yoshida. Through each new encounter and emotion she experiences, Sawako believes that meeting Kazehaya has changed her for the better. Little does Sawako know, her presence has also changed Kazehaya.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kuronuma, Sawako Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Kazehaya, Shouta Main

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Sanada, Ryuu Main

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Yoshida, Chizuru Main

Sanpei, Yuuko Japanese

Yano, Ayane Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Kurumizawa, Ume Supporting

Hirano, Aya Japanese

Arai, Kazuichi Supporting

Ono, Yuuki Japanese

Maru Supporting

Jounouchi, Souichi Supporting

Yamanaka, Masahiro Japanese

Sanada, Tooru Supporting

Hatano, Wataru Japanese

Wada, Jouji Producer

Tamura, Manabu Producer

Nakatani, Toshio Producer

Nakatake, Tetsuya Producer

Reviews

Dec 27, 2024

MidniteAndBeyond

Recommended

This is a review of all three seasons.

This is an incredibly sweet romance story that really delves into what it means to truly love someone. Sawako is such a sweetheart and a delight to watch from episode to episode. I saw a lot of myself, both good and bad, in her. It was so surreal, seeing a mix of my exact high school days and the happy ending I've lamented never having. The visuals are lovely and capture the essence of first love perfectly.

My biggest gripe with the show was probably with the second season. I feel like its single plotline just dragged out for ... way too long and didn't make much sense considering what the characters had already gone through in the first season. The new character they introduce is also annoying and I could've done without him. But Season 3! OH MAN!

The fact that it released over a decade after Season 2 but picks up right where the story previously left off, along with the exact same voice actors, writers, animators, etc. It was so perfect. The animation evolved beautifully while still staying true to the original show. And it ended things on a MUCH more satisfying note than Season 2 did.

I find myself loving this show the more I think about it. It didn't rip my heart out and shatter it into a million pieces like I was expecting it to, but I'm still really happy I watched it and can easily recommend it to anyone looking for a beautiful romance story with a great cast.

8/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Mar 4, 2025

TheOnlyJack

Mixed Feelings

I’m almost done watching all 3 seasons of this but it was hard to push myself through it, I seriously wonder why I didn’t just drop it. I get what the show is trying to show- our main character is deeply traumatized by how she was always treated as an outcast, “used to it” as she says, and it results in her not being able to build any connections and isolating herself even more. I get that this is a serious topic and they did really well at showcasing it realistically, but that’s the catch- it was triggering. Now I’m not the kind of person ... to complain about trigger warnings and I usually endure any uncomfortable content well enough, but the way she acted due to her screwed perspective on the world reminded me of my old self. Seeing her unintentionally self sabotaging all the time and the way she scares away from situations was annoying in the way where you’d say “omg why did you do it that way” but at the same time I knew I would have done it the same way back then, which just pushed me into a conflict.
I know this is “on me” and that many people see this show as healing rather than reliving, but I’d recommend anyone who got bullied as a kid and had difficulties building friendships due to it to proceed with caution.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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Jan 15, 2025

Cloughy04

Not Recommended

I really don't understand the hype for this show. It's currently rated at an 8.05 on here and I'm so confused.

I get it was 2009, but the art style is very classic shoujo and dated. The cutesy moments are okay enough, but they get grading after a time because sawako is the most bland carbon copy female protagonist of all time. In general, I think I'm just tired of this type of show. So if you're still pretty new to romance anime and are going through the old ones first, you might enjoy it more.

The main guy is pretty chill, although I forget his name ... which is kind of a problem considering how much Sawako says it. He's just kind of there though. He has enough charm because as male protagonists go he's fairly normal. In a genre filled with either a shoujo MC who's a cliche nervous wreck, or a MC who's ridiculously perfect in a cringey way, this guy was pretty chill. There just isn't that much to him at all. He's just there.

Ryu was interesting. Him and Chii and the other girl were the only reason I got this far through the show. Ryu and Chiis dynamic, although pretty played out, was much more interesting then anything to do with the main girl. But their plot lines didn't really go anywhere either.

There's a lot of typical 2000s romance anime drama in here, the shit you've seen a million times before, the timid MC crying over every misunderstanding under the sun. I think it's the fact that anime has got a little more realistic in terms of relationships and character dynamics nowadays, and the ones that aren't that come out now are the ones I don't enjoy as much.

Dandadan and blue box are great examples of great modern romance, where there's internal drama but it's done in a grounded, realistic way. Even the losing heroine show that came out last season had that.

Again, if this was like 5 years ago, I mightve enjoyed this show. It's similar to the maid sama era, a show I had fond memories on but rewatched a few years ago and struggled to get through it.

Times have changed I guess.

The art is pleasant enough, the soundtrack is mid af but fits the show well enough, the OP is pretty decent, I skipped the ending, and the voice acting is okay. I think the VAs were well cast and well performed (I watched the sub), its more that Sawako as a character is so annoying so her voice needs to accommodate for that soft "cute" style of voice. But yeah, that's just another thing I'm sick of.

If you're bored of timid main characters and shows that move at a snails pace and never feel like they resolve, don't watch this.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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	Poll: Kimi ni Todoke Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) tsubasalover - Dec 15, 2009	210 replies	by pipegf98 »» Feb 13, 1:01 AM
	Poll: Kimi ni Todoke Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) HawthorneKitty - Oct 13, 2009	332 replies	by epainos »» Feb 7, 6:27 PM
	Poll: Kimi ni Todoke Episode 23 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Translucent - Mar 16, 2010	195 replies	by santiagoasa »» Jan 23, 4:25 PM
	Poll: Kimi ni Todoke Episode 22 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Jakeki - Mar 9, 2010	174 replies	by Muow »» Jan 13, 3:52 AM
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