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A surprisingly insightful addition to the anime, it's a shame they're not aired along with the original series. If there's any difference the specials devote a greater proportion to comedy than in the originals, giving you more or less a Honey and Clover experience, but relatively lightheartedly.

Chapter L sees the flashback to a new character who brought a lot of laughter and joy to the students in the apartment complex living on a tight budget. It is also nice to see Mayama back in a period when he is still a college student. Packed with action and comedy, this episode may at first feel lacking ... in any revelations or insights compared to other episodes in the anime, however Takemoto's narration near the end draws you to reminisce about the insecurity brought forth by adolescence, once again reminding me why this is one of the best slice-of-life anime out there.

Chapter F is split into two shorts, but they are not cut explicitly as there is a tie-in of the first half into the second. The first half is a glimpse into life at Fujiwara Design before Mayama's time. More screentime was given to Yamasaki's and Miwako's relationship, which I find immensely enjoyable, not just because of the laughs but also that we get to know Yamasaki better as a character, who I feel has been sorely neglected amid the large cast in H&C. The second half we see lives of the usual gang at the art college after school, strung by a conversation between Mayama and Hanamoto-sensei. I thought this is an excellent short as it touches on many themes in H&C (unrequited love, misunderstandings and time) among its jokes, and manages to include bits of every character. Special mention must be made about the reference to Yamada's impression of Mayama being fickle at the start of the series, which is explained in this short, something I hadn't expected and was pleasantly surprised (it took me a while to recall this scene from the original anime, as it seems insignificant then). Also, the two men's frustration with the amount of time they spent in a standstill on Japanese chess in the end reminds me of Takemoto's concern of himself going nowhere while the wheel of time moves on; I may be over-thinking it, but I think it is a great symbolism.

In short, if you enjoy the allusions to the emotions in adolescence in the original Honey and Clover, then this is definitely a bonus you will enjoy. You get to see Takemoto in the short, disheveled hair he sports at the beginning of the anime, and revisit both versions of the OP and the two EDs. As usual artwork and music is great, no worries there.

The danger in producing a season two in anything is you run the chance of ruining some of the magic in the first season. Season 2 of Kimi ni Todoke continues with its slow, walk-in-the-park pace that many find so charming and refreshing when the anime first aired, but that’s also where season 2 starts to irk people, it feels like the plot is going nowhere. The first six episodes or so have many moments where you just feel like tearing off the fourth wall and bring the two protagonists together yourself, but on hindsight I feel that that frustration was natural and necessary. The ... people in the anime are realistic, if not downright relatable; that’s what I like about this anime - Sawako and Kazehaya won’t just suddenly become a lovey-dopey couple, even Kazehaya will have his moments of doubt in their relationship. All the silly misunderstandings and frustration mounts up to this realization and development so profound and genuine that I promise will be worth twelve episodes of your time.

As for characters, Kurumi came back to make her mark as one of my favorite characters in the show. That confrontation-like scene with Sawako in the last episode explains it all. Kurumi is not a sore loser, and the mutual respect she and Sawako held for each other as a ‘rival’ is something quite admirable, and such a refreshing change from all the catty, backstabbing rivalry you usually get from the female population. She already stood out as an unexpected villainess in season one when she cried about her insecurities in front of Sawako, again it is that sense of Kurumi being a ‘real’ person with her own thoughts that make this series so realistic. And bonus points to her for spicing Sawako up to being more honest and direct with her feelings (and for giving Kento that much-deserved slap!).

The new character Kento, besides drawing out the jealousy in Kazehaya and providing a few comedic scenes initially, I really don’t understand the point in having. His personality seems inconsistent and unclear, and his behavior sometimes just downright irritating, considering he is one of the main causes for the six tedious episodes of miscommunication and doubts we have to endure. Here is perhaps where the magic of Kimi ni Todoke fails to deliver; however if you go on to read the manga you will find he has more to give in later chapters, and may perhaps be a little more forgiving over this cardboard, annoying character that somehow make his way into the wonderful world of Kimi ni Todoke.

And some praise must be thrown in for Pin as an adult character that fools around but always throw the right amount of words of wisdom about life and youth onto his clueless students. I think he speaks for all of us when he says ‘All this mopping around (between Sawako and Kazehaya) is getting old’ Amen.

Now for the music and animation. I don’t think anything can ever compare to Tanizawa Tomofumi’s Kimi ni Todoke from the first season, which sets the tone perfectly to this aesthetic piece of art, though his opening song for this season has captured the same essence. The ending song is also very enjoyable, conveniently named Kimi ni Todoke as well. And as some of the other reviewers have pointed out, I do find season 2 to have a greater tendency to incline to chibi scenes more often than before. Whether it is to cut cost, or they think it is what the demographic wants; well, it’s not, it makes serious scenes unsatisfying and left viewers puzzling over the mood we should be feeling sometimes. But overall the art style was still very like the previous season – simple and pure like the storyline itself.

If there’s one theme in Kimi ni Todoke, I’ll say it is, not love (though it’s a huge part of the anime and what makes me all cheesy and warm inside), but communication. It’s in the title, ‘Reaching You’, getting the feelings across; and boy, was that so much harder than we thought. And is it worth it? The answer to that will determine the extent you will enjoy the second season of Kimi ni Todoke. I personally enjoyed it, even through all the frustrations of the episodes midway, as it points out all the more obviously how many opportunities are lost or moments missed when we didn’t channel properly what we think. Kimi ni Todoke is not a fast-paced love-love story, treat it like a cup of freshly brewed coffee on a Sunday morning, sit back and take time to savor it.