 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | KARUHO SHIINA | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 190 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 07/07/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 07/02/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
An unpopular girl without a friend in the world and the school’s top guy who is everyone’s favorite, are about to become the most unlikely couple in the heartwarming romantic dramedy Kimi ni Todoke. The manga begins with Sawako, a girl with straight black hair, pale skin, and with a frightening expression. Her likeness to a popular horror character did not go unnoticed by her classmates and throughout her life no one would befriend her for fear of being cursed or surrounded by ghosts or a number of other supernatural calamities imagined and heaped upon Sawako’s timid shoulders. The reality is that she is incredibly shy and socially inept. Her attempts to make friends are seen as expressions of anger or frightening gestures. She simply does not know how to bridge what feels to her like an impossible distance between how she is and what she wants. What she wants are friends. She longs to be happy and useful to others. Her kind heart is revealed quickly and reinforced throughout the story. One cannot help but hope for better times to come her way, and they do, along with unanticipated trouble, when the most popular boy in the school, Kazehaya, takes an interest in her. He is a truly considerate fellow who always thinks of others and often befriends those less fortunate. His passing kindnesses to Sawako help her open up a little and even make her first friends in fellow classmates Yoshida and Yano. Two girls that are interesting in their own right. Pretty soon she isn’t doing school chores alone anymore, and slowly but surely, others begin to realize that she isn’t the horror figure they believed her to be. Sawako is overwhelmed with gratitude and admiration for the boy who has given her this doorway to happiness. However, that soon tilts towards more. At first uncertain and confused, she comes to realize that she likes Kazehaya. Curiously, she has missed many and any sign that he feels the same way despite the fact that they have been prevalent throughout the story. Because he is kind to everyone, she quickly dismisses his attention to her as what he gives everyone and anyone, yet his reactions to her gratitude show something far deeper than mere friendliness. The more time they spend together, the more rumors fly. The more gossip that gets spread, the more interested parties decide it is time to interfere in Sawako’s climb towards happiness.
With school bullies on the horizon, the drama is about to begin. The manga so far has begun wonderfully as a shojo rich with sweet affection, heartfelt emotions, and characters that are as quirky as they are interesting. You will want to cheer for them throughout the tale even while laughing at the exaggerated eccentricities the imagination brings as the illustrations shows what the characters perceive.
The artistic style of the book may be unpolished and a touch rough, but it more than makes up for it with its clear affection for the characters, off-the-wall humor in the imagery during comical moments, and tender scenes. A personal favorite is when the “will they or won’t they” couple share a beautiful moment with a lost puppy. Also the manga offers a page of stickers for fans to enjoy and one of them is of the cute little puppy.
IN SUMMARY:
Kimi ni Todoke is a quirky new romantic dramedy well worth the read! |
