Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me to You) is an anime available to watch on Netflix. It discusses the world of an alienated student, Sawako Kuronuma, and how she makes friends and finds love. Kimi Ni Todoke currently has two seasons available to stream. Here’s our review on Season 1:
Season 1 Summary
As a student, she is often nicknamed Sadako, a character from a horror movie, and is believed to be an evil witch. While she expects to stay invisible and invoke fear in others all her life, her entire world changes when she meets Shoto Kazeyhaya, a social magnet who is determined to help Sawako make friends. At the same time, she meets her two future best friends, Yano and Yoshida, as well as another friend, Ryu.
Within the first season, Sawako goes through a series of tribulations and misunderstandings–a very commonly used word in the show–with her friends like rumors as well as another jealous student, Kurumi, who is revealed to have liked Kazeyhaya since middle school. From Sawako’s interactions with Kurumi who disguises herself to be Sawako’s friend, she begins to realize her own concealed romantic feelings for Kazehaya.
Kimi Ni Todoke Season 1 Review
Let me just say, I enjoyed almost every moment of this show! (…Excluding when Kurumi was there…heh).
While this show tackled the generic romantic dynamic of the shy girl and bubbly guy, I felt that it was executed amazingly! In every moment of this show, I was rooting for their relationship. I liked how the two of them were healthy together and, with their shared experiences, both had something to learn. The way Sawako was constructed as a character left space for exploration within herself. Even Kazeyhaya, who seemed to have his whole social life figured out, had a lot to learn about himself and his own feelings, making the two characters seem both realistic as high schoolers and as people in general.
Sawako’s ability herself to change and make friends was truly inspiring and made the show a worthy watch!
Her friends, Yano and Yoshida were both amazing as well. Yano had her own objectives and exploration with love and what she consistently referred to as her maturity, leading her to be able to help both Yoshida and Sawako. Yoshida, on the other hand, had her own romantic worries with Ryu’s older brother which are resolved through their interactions and through Ryu’s help.
Their development as characters and the way they helped and protected Sawako made them extremely likable characters who, due to having their own inner conflicts, fit into the show and its themes. Their common hopes as high schoolers help the viewer connect with them and understand them, leading to a sense of realism in the show.
The cinematography and style of this show were definitely unique and something that attracted me immediately. I loved how the characters were portrayed with their different emotions and the emphasis and change in style when drawing some of the other character’s smiles like Sawako and Kazeyhaya. I felt that the coloring in these scenes was especially expertly chosen, shaping the emotion of the viewer to go along with the characters which heightened the sense of engagement and deeper connection with the reader.
My only trouble would have to come with pacing and how slow it felt the show went. While yes, a slow progression is realistic for a high school, it felt a bit toooo slow for the show. At some points, I would even speed up the playback speed just to get past a certain plot point that was stressed for too long. While this wasn’t really too much of an inconvenience, it definitely got a bit annoying at times and made me stray away from the show. While I loved this show and the characters, this was definitely something that made it a bit unlikeable.
Overall, I really liked Season 1 of this show and am excited to see the next season! The two seasons are already out on Netflix so I would encourage you all to go give the show a watch and to stay tuned for our season 2 review!
Rating: 7/10
★★★★★★★
Stay tuned for our review of Season 2 of Kimi Ni Todoke coming soon!
Freinds keep bugging you about watching Demon Slayer? Check out our article here:
Want more DZSH with you? Sign up for our newsletter today for fun games, updates, and more!
