Social isolation, like many afflictions dealing with the mind, is a cruel mistress. It robs you of precious moments before they can even form, even as you take a perverse sense of comfort in its cycle of self-harm. You fail to reach out to others, convince yourself that you deserved to fail, and then fully expect to continue to fail. Without the tools to change your behavior, in fact, you won't even realize the overlying problem at all, because this *is* your normality, having felt this way for so, so long.
As an outsider looking in, this can be a frustrating process to watch. Why doesn't
...
our female protagonist, Sawako, just simply state what she thinks in order to avoid confusion? Why is she so critical of herself; unable to accept her true worth as a beautiful, intelligent, kind young woman? Why doesn't she give Kazehaya the damn chocolates? Just *headpalm* give him the damn *backshove* chocolates! What's stopping you? He's right there!
And that last scenario is in the *second* season. Because this takes time to resolve, I understand the criticism that is often levelled toward "Kimi No Todoke" - which translates to "From Me to You" - that there are episodes where "nothing" happens. This is because what may be a huge step forward developmentally for Sawako may very well be an everyday, mundane event to you or me. It can take the form of a single sentence that is no longer left unsaid, a piece of advice that is truly taken to heart, or the revelation that maybe she is capable of being loved. It may be slow, but there is definite progress, and it's heartwarming to see.
Compare this with Tomoko, the main character in "WataMote." Although it's a comedy and not a romance, it serves as a perfect example of a character who not only suffers from her own crippling social problems but always seems to find herself back at square one. Although you find yourself laughing at the situations she gets into, it is often very hard to watch her fruitless struggles if you have any empathy for her at all. Even though WataMote tries to end on a somewhat hopeful note, Tomoko's future is far from clear, and that is because through the entire season she lacks the one key ingredient that Sawako has in spades: a support system.
Enter Shouta Kazehaya and friends. I have heard Kazehaya described as a "Gary Stu" and as with other opinions about this show that I feel are misplaced, I can understand why. On the outside he appears to be the perfect guy: attractive, outgoing, kind, popular, and sure of himself. Those first four traits are undeniable, but that last one is put into doubt more and more as the show progresses. Shouta doesn't always say the right thing, or give the right impression, or understand every situation - and it leads to many confusing situations for him and Sawako both. The beauty of it all is, despite first appearances, that Shouta needs her just as much as Sawako needs him. And it's everyone that needs to come to this realization, not just Shouta but Sawako as well, along with their classmates, and you too, the viewer.
Along the way you get to meet a handful of side characters who are fleshed-out nicely and make a major contribution in moving the story along. As in life, some are quick to be friends with Sawako, and some aren't. Many of them start out as straight-up antagonists, but just as we learn new things about Sawako and Shouta along the way, there is much to appreciate about the ones who throw a wrench into the works, even deliberately. No one here is one-dimensionally cruel just for cruelty's sake. And again in a true reflection of how life actually works, many important lessons can be learned from those who are most critical of you.
It must be noted that "Kimi ni Todoke" makes all its points without beating your head over it. It avoids overusing symbolism, constantly repeating character exposition, and characters going into tearful hysterics every few minutes that afflict other titles such as "Your Lie in April." Also unlike "Your Lie in April," there's not this sense of impending doom that settles over the entire proceeding. Even during the setbacks, "Kimi ni Todoke" remains positive which makes for a comfortable watching experience.
From a technical standpoint, Production I.G. did a fine job of incorporating the original character designs from the manga source material. The animation quality is good, and actually improves slightly as the season progresses. The soundtrack is quite good too, especially the opening and ending vocal tracks of which instrumental versions find themselves woven into the episodes on occasion. The voice performances, as is to be expected nowadays, is top-notch with well-established talent taking up the roles of main characters and side characters alike.
In summary, if you are one to appreciate a good romance story, then I cannot recommend "Kimi ni Todoke" enough. If I have any criticism of it at all, it lies in the fact that for now we only have the two seasons to watch these characters grow and flourish. I am hopeful that since the manga is still going as I write this, we may get to see them again on the small screen for a third season, or maybe even the big screen as a one-hour movie that double features with something else. Sawako and Kouta deserve that much.
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Jul 11, 2017
Kimi ni Todoke
(Anime)
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Social isolation, like many afflictions dealing with the mind, is a cruel mistress. It robs you of precious moments before they can even form, even as you take a perverse sense of comfort in its cycle of self-harm. You fail to reach out to others, convince yourself that you deserved to fail, and then fully expect to continue to fail. Without the tools to change your behavior, in fact, you won't even realize the overlying problem at all, because this *is* your normality, having felt this way for so, so long.
As an outsider looking in, this can be a frustrating process to watch. Why doesn't ... |
