Kimi ni Todoke

Sawako Kuronuma is just like any other high school girl who wants to make friends and be popular. The only problem is that she bears an ominous resemblance to the Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl Sadako from The Ring! Because of her reputation, people are not only terrified of her, but small dogs even bark in fear at her presence; in fact, the only person in school who will talk to her is the lively class hottie, Shōta Kazehaya. As the pair spends more time together, Kazehaya slowly begins to bring Sawako out of her shell and soon their feelings for each other develop further. Though with her crippling insecurities, lack of social skills, and a series of cruel rumors and misunderstandings, it seems that Sawako's dream of a normal life won’t be quite so easy to obtain.

Ultimately, a very touching story about liking people for who they are without trying to change them.

Kimi ni Todoke (君に届け, lit. Reaching You) -- officially translated as From Me to You -- is a Shōjo Romance manga series by Karuho Shiina, published in English by VIZ Media. In the original Japanese, it was published by Shueisha in Bessatsu Margaret from 2005 to 2017 and collected in 30 tankōbon volumes. In 2008, it won the Best Shōjo Manga Award in the 32nd Annual Kodansha Manga Award. The series was also nominated for the first Manga Taishō awards in 2008.

An anime adaptation directed by Kaburagi Hiro (Eastern order) and produced by studio Production I.G began airing October 6, 2009 on Nippon TV and concluded March 30, 2010 with Episode 25 "New Year". The second season was announced in the November 2010 issue of Betsuma magazine and aired in Japan from January 4th to March 30, 2011, lasting 12 episodes. Both seasons are now licensed in North America by NIS America.

In addition to the original Manga and its Anime adaptation, there have also been two Light Novel adaptations of Kimi ni Todoke, both published by Shueisha. The first, written by Shimokawa Kanae, began its original run August 1, 2007 and concluded in December 25, 2015 with 16 volumes. The second, written by Shirai Kanako, ended the same year with 13 volumes. There was also the 2010 live action Film starring actress Tabe Mikako as Kuronuma Sawako (aka "Sadako") and actor Miura Haruma as Kazehaya Shōta.

Tropes used in Kimi ni Todoke include:

• Alertness Blink: Every so often.
• Almost Kiss^[context?]
• Alpha Bitch: Yuka and her friends from Class A.
  • Also, on a more personal level, Kurumi, though she becomes a Lovable Alpha Bitch later on and even ends up defending Sawako from Yuka and her friends.
  • Yano may also count, but she's more of a Lovable Alpha Bitch, considering she's on Sawako's side and is even encouraging her to open up.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Sawako's confession to Kazehaya in Season 2 Episode 9.
• Anime Accent Absence: Averted in the weirdest way. Sawako has a habit of giving herself and Kazehaya American accents in her Imagine Spots.
• Armor-Piercing Slap:
  • Ayane's (then) older boyfriend slaps her when she suggests that they break up.
  • Kurumi slaps Kent when he suggests that he goes out with Sawako so that Kurumi could have Kazehaya for herself.
• Beach Episode: Chapter 51, even though Chizuru was the only one who wore her swimsuit; the rest came in their school uniforms.
• Beautiful Dreamer: Kazehaya sits near Sawako and finally manages to say her first name while she sleeps on the staircase during the sports festival afterparty.
• Because You Were Nice to Me^[context?]
• Best Her to Bed Her: In Chapter 51, Ryū was the only guy able to defeat Yoshida in arm-wrestling and "won" her for a romantic walk along the seashore.
• Beta Couple: Chizuru and Ryū fill that role, though Chizuru didn't notice it yet until recently.
• Betty and Veronica: Sawako and Kurumi for Kazehaya, Kazehaya and Kento for Sawako.
• Be Yourself: Arguably the point of the story, and not in a heavy-handed way. Sawako makes friends and wins Kazehaya's affection by using her natural gifts and personality, not with the aid of makeovers. Not that makeovers are a bad thing, as Sawako finds out on New Year's Eve.
• Birds of a Feather: Subverted by Kazehaya and Kurumi. Even though many students (Sawako included) feel that they suit each other, Kazehaya only thinks of Kurumi as a friend while Kurumi pines an unrequited crush on Kazehaya.
• Bishie Sparkle: Sawako's world is filled with this, as well as Love Bubbles and flowers. Even the Japanese tankōbon covers have these.
• Brick Joke: Chizuru inadvertently causes things to become awkward between Sawako and Kazehaya by telling Kazehaya that he was the most distant person from Sawako. Ayane eventually finds out that it was Chizuru who caused that awkwardness when she (Chizuru) blurts it out by mistake while watching Kazehaya ask Sawako out formally at the beach from afar.
• Brother Chuck: Shino, the girl who gave Sawako her nickname, is never shown again after Episode 6.
• Bumbling Dad: Sawako's father, who along with his wife are both a Doting Parent.
• Character Overlap: The cousin that Sawako mentions in the New Year's episodes, Eiji Akahoshi, is a character from the mangaka's previous series Crazy for You. The fanbook has a short crossover chapter where he visits her family after her first date with Kazehaya.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Hirano and Endō have actually witnessed Kurumi spreading out those rumors about Sawako in Chapter 2 of the manga. This information is enough for Chizu and Ayane to confront Kurumi.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: Kurumi uses every indirect attack in the book - slander, threats, manipulation - to pry Sawako away from Kazehaya. Against someone as innocent as Sawako, it's like kicking a puppy. Sawako's kindness, however, severely unnerves her, and all her plans backfire spectacularly when she only ends up bringing Sawako and Kazehaya even closer.
• Clip Show: One about Kurumi's crush on Kazehaya as she shops for Valentine's chocolate opens the second season of the anime.
• Color Failure^[context?]
• Completely Missing the Point: One of Sawako's defining traits and a main point of comedy -- being honest to a fault, she assumes everyone else is as well and takes everything literally without hearing any of the pretext behind it. Thus, she thinks Kurumi is flattering her when Kurumi writes down her name in the "Bastards Who Call Me Ume Note".
• Continuity Nod: Lots of it.
• Covers Always Spoil: The cover of the manga's tenth volume pretty much spoils the fact that Sawako and Kazehaya become an official couple in that volume. Not that anyone wasn't expecting it from the get go, though.
• Cross-Popping Veins: Especially Kurumi, when Sawako refuses to take her bitchiness as something other than good intentions.
  • Kazehaya also prone to this when he's angry or jealous (or both).
• Cute Shotaro Boy: Tōta Kazehaya.
• Cuteness Proximity: Ryū with Maru.
• A Day in the Limelight: Kazehaya in Chapter 44.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Ayane and Chizuru, Hirano and Endō, and Kurumi all appeared as unnamed sketchy background characters before receiving proper names and personalities.
• Epic Fail: Kurumi attempts to make Kazehaya think Sawako and Ryū are an item. It ends with Kazehaya and Sawako walking off together, with Sawako realizing her feelings for Kazehaya, who in turn asked her out. Pin then came to where Kurumi waited for Kazehaya to come back, and, thinking Kurumi was going to confess to him, rejects her just as Kazehaya came back. The guy then promised to "not say anything". Ouch.
  • Kurumi will never get Kazehaya even if she's Umerella or Snow White Ume and Sawako is the evil Stepmother/Queen.
• Everyone Can See It: Everyone can see Sawako and Kazehaya's feelings for each other. Acknowledging it, though, took some time for most of them.
• Precious Puppies -> Big Friendly Dog: Maru-chan.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Well, you can't call Sawako "evil," but still...
• Fade to Black^[context?]
• Family Business: Ryū's family runs a ramen shop. Kazehaya's family runs a sports equipment store.
• First-Name Basis: A very Serious Business. Sawako finally calls Kazehaya by his first name "Shōta" in Chapter 53.
• Five-Man Band^[context?]
  • Sawako - The Heroine, of course.
  • Kazehaya - The one who acts most individually and has the rest of the team scheming "against" him most often.
  • Chizuru - The Big Guy.
  • Ayane - The Smart Guy.
  • Ryū - The Chick... Yes, that does sound hilarious, but given the calming and not-so-active role he's usually playing... Also subs for the role of The Smart Guy, when the rest of the band is too busy with feeling to actually think a little.
  • Kento - Sixth Ranger
    • Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Sawako, Yano, and Yoshida.
• The Foreign Subtitle: Viz is releasing it under the full title Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You.
• Four-Girl Ensemble: Kurumi may not really be a part of the friends' circle, but the important female characters in the series fall into this:
  • Ayane - the mature one.
  • Chizuru - the tomboyish one.
  • Sawako - the quiet one.
  • Kurumi - the popular one.
• Friend to All Living Things: Maru instinctively liked Kazehaya and hated Sawako.
• Gecko Ending: The Live Action Adaptation is basically the first season with a slightly different ending.
• Girl Posse: Complete with bullying in the toilet.
• Good Is Dumb: Not actually dumb, but extremely naive in the case of Sawako and Kazehaya, the author even comment on creating a "guy who is so nice that he's dumb."
• Good Parents: From what we can see, the main characters' parents are doing a really good job.
• Happily Married: Sawako's parents.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: It's not easy to find a scene where Ayane and Chizuru aren't side-by-side.
• Hold Me: Episode 21.^[context?]

Chizuru: Comfort me, Ryū.

• Holding Hands: Chapter 48.^[context?]
• Hot Mom: Sawako's mother is quite attractive for someone her age. Chizuru's mother isn't bad-looking either, though she shares her daughter's over the top facial expressions. Ryū's mom, in turn, looks like gender-bent Tōru and definitely gets the prize, though we only get to see her in flashbacks (but by that time she's already a mother of a high-schooler, just like Mrs. Kuronuma and Mrs. Yoshida in the present).
• Ignored Confession: In the last episode of season two of anime Ryū confesses his love to Chizuru. Further in the manga, in chapter 57, they have a conversation in which they both act as nothing like this has ever been said. One must remember, though, that Chizuru took his confession as a platonic one and not romantic.
• Imagine Spot: A lot of them, mostly from Sawako. And they are all ADORABLE.
• Intimidating Looking Guy Hot Wife: In terms of looks and personality, Shōta seems to take on more from his mother than his father. His mother and Pin, though, think otherwise.
• Just Friends: Sawako and Kazehaya, and Chizuru and Ryū. The latter two are just a little more convincing.
• Just the Way You Are: One of the best features of the series as a whole is that Sawako is constantly rewarded for being herself, and not having to change to please anyone.
• Kissing Discretion Shot: Subverted in Episode 5 of the second season. Chizu was asking Ryū to help her with the problem that she made worse for Kazehaya. Ryū was even well aware that she was going to ask him something.
• Letting the Air Out of the Band^[context?]
• Like Brothers and Sister: Chizuru and Ryū claim to be like that. Yes, no gender-related doubts; as long as she can be the older "brother," Chizuru is fine.
• Loners Are Freaks: As it turns out, all three girls were outsiders before befriending one another. The most obvious example is Sawako, but Chapter 50 reveals that before Chizu and Ayane became friends, Chizu felt like a loner for always known as One of the Boys and Ayane was somewhat alienated for Urban Legend Love Life.
• Lonely Together: Parodied and invoked with Joe in regards to Ayane, she complies only due to the situation she's in.
  • Recent chapters suggest Kento and Ayane are heading this case too, her comforting him when he's visibly hurt by how lovey-dovey Sawako and Kazehaya is, and vice versa when Ayane broke due to her inability of finding true love, he deliver a heartwarming Cooldown Hug.
• Love Bubbles^[context?]
• Love Epiphany: Sawako gets one in Episode 13 with some help from Kurumi.
• Love Triangle: Ryū, Chizu, and Tōru; Sawako, Kazehaya, and Kurumi; Kazehaya, Sawako, and Kent.
• Luminescent Blush: 2nd Season's Episode 9 was full of them because of Sawako's Love Confession.
• Missing Mom: Tetsuko Sanada.
• Name's the Same: The 1st season's opening theme, the 2nd season's ending theme, and the live action movie's theme all share the same title with the series.
• Nice Guys Finish Last: Pretty much completely subverted as Kazehaya gets the girl. Subversion could also apply to a few others in the series.
• Not What It Looks Like^[context?]
  • Kurumi happens to be "refused" by Pin in front of Kazehaya, who earlier walked off with Sawako after confronting her. The fact that Pin himself is convinced she was confessing to him doesn't help.
  • In the manga, when Pin sees Ayane with a swollen cheek (after having been slapped by her college-age ex-boyfriend for suggesting to break up), he automatically assumes a guy in the class did it.
  • When Kazehaya stumbles upon Sawako crying and Kent holding her by the arms, he assumes the worst out of a very confused Kento, who was just trying to comfort Sawako.
• Obligatory Swearing: Here. Somehow it's hard to imagine Kazehaya saying "fuck." It's more likely just in the translation, though.
• Oblivious to Love: Basically the definition of Kazehaya and Sawako's relationship for a good duration of the manga and the entirety of the anime's first season, despite their feelings being mutual. Also applies to Chizuru when it comes to Ryū. But it's an enjoyable torture for the series audience because the next step feels much, much sweeter as a result.
  • Mostly Sawako though. By the time the New Year's Eve episode rolls around, Kazehaya is dropping anvil-sized hints that he really likes Sawako.
• Off-Model: Near the end of the first season, only Sawako has footprints in the snow. Some fans have jokingly interpreted this as Sawako completely imagining Ayane and Chizu.
• Official Couple: Sawako and Kazehaya, and everyone can already see it from miles away. Ultimately they confess their feelings for each other.
• Overprotective Dad: Sawako's father.
• Pair the Spares: Either Pin/Ayane & Kento/Kurumi, or Pin/Kurumi and Kent/Ayane.
• Pet the Dog: In Chapter 45, when Ayane confesses that she doesn't believe she's kind (compared to Sawako and Chizu) because of how cunning she can be in front of Pin, she dreads another Ted Baxter lecture from a surprisingly quiet Pin, who instead stares at a candy Ayane gave him because he was whining about not getting one after the festival. Then, Pin literally pats Ayane on the head and reassures her that she is kind before walking up the stairs, leaving Ayane (and the readers) speechless that Pin could actually have a Pet the Dog moment.
• The Power of Friendship^[context?]
• Precocious Crush: Tōta appeared to be blushing a bit when he met Sawako.
• Recap Episode
  • Done halfway through the anime by the little old men Pin believes haunts his house.
  • The first episode of the second season, dubbed Episode 00, is a recap of the first season told from Kurumi's point of view.
• Relationship Upgrade: Well, finally.^[context?]
• Rousseau Was Right: Taking Kurumi out of the equation, this might be the single most optimistic view of teenage life you'll ever see. And even she comes around in the end, thanks to some Character Development.
• Scenery Porn: Starting with the opening.
• Serious Business: Sawako's dad is EXTREMELY serious about checking if Kazehaya is appropriate enough to be his daughter's boyfriend.
• Serial Escalation: The anime takes this to heart with its prevalent and spectacular use of Bishie Sparkle, Love Bubbles, and other stereotypical Shōjo frills. Hell, one of the first times Kurumi grabs Sawako's hands, an entire flowering bush sprouts behind the former.
• Shallow Love Interest: Mogi.
  • Which is arguably the point. Shallow Love Interest => Shallow Love
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Both Sawako and Chizuru look gorgeous after their respective makeovers.
• Shout-Out
  • "I'll write your name in the 'Bastards who call me Ume' Note."
    • Bonus points when you notice that Kurumi and Death Note's Misa Amane share the same voice.
  • Episode 00 saw the appearance of the Ume Note.
  • And of course Sawako's nickname Sadako.
  • The mini theater has Umederella Kurumirella with Sawako as both the Evil Stepmother and Fairy Godmother. Also Snow White Ume with Sawako as the Evil Queen with Gulliver Travels.
  • In episode 17, Ryū is seen with a hat that reads, RHCP.
• Sibling Triangle: Ryū likes Chizuru, Chizuru likes Ryū's elder brother Tōru, who is engaged.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Ryū and Tōru.
• Sick Episode: Episode 17. Except the person who got sick was Pin and Kazehaya ended up doing all the "couple-like" things for him -- only because he didn't want Sawako to do all of the "couple-like" things for Pin.
• Single Girl Seeks Most Popular Guy: Not only does the guy actually like her back, he's genuinely nice.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: One of the things that makes this series so refreshing to read
• Sleep Cute: Awwwwwwwwwww they were so cute sitting on that staircase ...
• Snow Means Death: For Tetsuko Sanada. Heck, it's what caused her death in the first place.
• Strawberry Shorthand: Strawberry time, anyone?
• Strong Family Resemblance: Tōru gets his looks from his mom.
• Super-Deformed: Happens a lot. And happens whenever Sawako gives off admiration or is shocked by something.
  • The Mini Todoke theater.
• Team Pet: Pedro Martinez AKA Maru-chan.
• Theme Tune Cameo: A variation. In the anime's first Christmas episode, Joe sings the opening theme's B-side, "Uchuu Ryokou", for karaoke.
• They Do: Tōru and Haruka Sanada.
• Third Option Love Interest: Mogi from Class B was this for Ayane.
• This Is Something She's Got to Do Herself: Sawako and her feelings for Kazehaya, at least according to Ayane.
• Three Faces of Eve: Sawako (the wife), Chizuru (the child) and Ayane (the seductress).
• Title Drop: By Kazehaya at the end of the first episode of the anime.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Chizuru's the athletic one, Ayane's quite prissy.
• Twice Shy: Take a guess.
• Unnamed Parent: None of the names of the parents shown in the series are revealed within the story. However, the anime's official blog reveals two of their names: Genji Sanada (Ryū's father) and Yōko Kuronuma (Sawako's mother).
• Visible Silence: Combined with Colour Failure when Chizu 'concludes', after Yano presents the evidence, that Kurumi likes Ryū. Uhh...
  • The combination mentioned above is once again shown when it's revealed that Chizu had no idea of Kazehaya liking Sawako.
• Visual Novel Shot^[context?]
• WAFF: Majority of the show is this.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?:
  • "Sawako, you have a call from a friend!!"
  • Chapter 51: "The beach is only fun if everyone goes!!!" Chizu definitely lost her way to the Shounen series. Or maybe it was a mecha anime.
• Whole-Chapter Flashback: Chapter 44 is a flashback within a flashback. Kazehaya flashes back to his point of view of the very first chapter. The end of his flashback reveals him hugging Sawako after her confession, the same scene shown in Chapter 39.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: Pin got lost on the way to his sports Shounen series. Yoshida and Ryū may have been heading there too.