Kimi ni Todoke (Reaching You) is one of the few school romance animes that I like. It was introduced by a good friend of mine, advertising it as a really nice series.
The story features Sawako Kuronuma, dubbed as her school’s Sadako because of such an introvert and too distant personality. She’ll do anything for the convenience of others but they just find her weird and scary. People always apologize to her instead of thanking her. Still, she always does her earnest to help and lessen other people’s burden.
There’s only one person in her class who sees Sawako differently, the ever-popular, friends with everyone guy, Shouta Kazehaya. He actually has this secret little crush on her since their first day of high school. Kuronuma, on the other hand, sees Kazehaya as someone she wants to be like. She envies how he manages to always be cheerful in front of everyone.
The story revolves on Sawako’s journey as she begins to gain true friends and gradually gets rid off her Sadako image with the help of Kazehaya.
The thing about this kind of story is it’s always interesting to see how the popular guy gets attracted to such an ordinary but probably the sincerest girl in the campus. And what makes Kimi ni Todoke special is it’s Kazehaya who tries his hardest to get Sawako’s attention. He was the first one to crush on her. Sawako doesn’t see him as a man but merely just an idol whom she wants to admire, at the beginning of the series. And I find that little twist really cute.
I’m actually not fond of purely school romance anime like this but indeed, this series is one of the few exceptions. It’s cute. It’s funny. It’s nice.
Also, Sawako reminds me of a friend who also loves this series. She has mentioned before that she was kind of outcast during her high school days. And that’s why she loves our company. That friend is one of the most genuine and brightest persons I know. You can really compare her to Kuronuma. I hope more and more people will be able to appreciate her kindness. I’m actually more of a shy type person too so I may not be the one to say this but I just wish for her to meet her Kazehaya-kun soon. 🙂
