Kimi ni Todoke (officially translated as From Me to You, more literally as Reaching You) is the story of SawakoKuronuma, whose resemblance to the horror movie character Sadako has made her a social outcast. Being outcast from a young age has made her socially awkward, which only makes her more of an outcast, so it's all really a vicious cycle.The actual inciting event of the story proper is the beginning of Sawako's friendship with Shota Kazehaya, the most popular guy in school. Unlike 99% of other "most popular guy" characters, Kazehaya is genuinely nice, and has feelings for Sawako, despite her loner nature. As they get to know each other better, Sawako forms an ever-expanding network of friends, yet she and Kazehaya never seem to realize they like each other in the same way.Ultimately, a verytouching story about liking people for who they are without trying to change them.The ongoing manga has been adapted as a 25-episode anime series that started airing October 6th 2009, and the notable voice actors are listed under their characters in the character page. The second 12-episode season continues the story. There's also a light novel adaption and a live-action movie adaptation that was released on September 25, 2010. Both seasons are now licensed in North America by NIS America.
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 All Along - Sawako; rather than changing her appearance in any tangible way, she's very beautiful when she smiles genuinely, as opposed to forcing herself (which just comes off looking really creepy).
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.
Bechdel Test: Most of the female characters pass. Interestingly, had the test applied to men, it is not entirely certain wether the male characters would pass.
Best Her to Bed Her - In Chapter 51, Ryuu was the only guy able to defeat Yoshida in arm-wrestling and "won" her for a romantic walk along the seashore.
As of Chaptter 70, Kent and Ayane finally become this.
Betty and Veronica - Sawako and Kurumi for Kazehaya, Kazehaya and Kent 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 tankubon covers have these.
Bishounen - Kazehaya, and the female side of the school is very aware of this. Ryu and Kento also count.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing - Kurumi acts sweet and nice to gain Sawako's sympathy, then tells her to keep her hands off Kazehaya. She gets better.
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.
Character Development - Sawako's character development is the main point of this series.
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 Endo 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.
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".
Early-Bird Cameo - Ayane and Chizuru, Hirano and Endo, 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 Ryuu 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.
Extreme Doormat - Sawako, at least initially. Part of her Character Development has to do with mustering enough courage to not agree to things she cannot go along with. Thus, Kurumi gets a big surprise when Sawako flat-out refuses to help hook her up with Kazehaya out of her own feelings for him.
Actually not really- Sawako may come off as an Extreme Doormat, but part of her charm, at least to Kazehaya, is that she's always enjoying whatever she's doing. She doesn't do things because she feels forced, she does them because she likes being helpful. Exemplified early on in the manga when Yano jokingly suggests she learns how to tell scary ghost stories and Sawako is *sparkling* with excitement. She's got the looks, she's got the aura, she might as well do it right.
Flash Step - Sawako apparently learned how to do this while being taught football (or soccer) by Kazehaya. Though it's been established that she's very fast from doing daily jogs.
Girl Posse - Complete with bullying in the toilet.
Good Bad Girl - Ayane. Aside of her mentioned older boyfriends, in a series in which holding hands is Serious Business, she's quite casual about kissing a guy she barely knows.
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.
Heel Face Turn - Kurumi earns a heartwarming redemption in later chapters, when she defends Sawako from a bunch of girls jealous of Sawako's relationship with Kazehaya.
Heroic Self-Deprecation - Without the heroic part, but on a scale of 100, Sawako has a self-esteem in the single-digits.
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. Ryuu's mom, in turn, looks like gender-bent Tooru 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).
It's Personal - Played for laughs, when Ayane's hostility towards Kurumi seems exist equally because of the latter's beautiful skin as well as because of hardships she's given to Sawako.
Kent reconciles with the fact that Kazehaya and Sawako are a couple, but he is depressed when he sees them having fun together at the beach in Chapter 51.
Just Friends - Sawako and Kazehaya, and Chizuru and Ryu. 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 Ryu to help her with the problem that she made worse for Kazehaya. Ryu was even well aware that she was going to ask him something.
Last Name Basis: As of Chapter 53, Sawako has yet to call Ryu by his first name
Like BrothersAnd Sister - Chizuru and Ryuu 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.
Recent chapters suggest Kent 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 Triangle - Ryu, Chizu, and Tooru; Sawako, Kazehaya, and Kurumi; Kazehaya, Sawako, and Kent.
Love You and Everybody - Sawako tends to innocently declare her "love" for her friends, which made her "confess" to Ryuu. He didn't misunderstand her, but Yano and Yoshida were shocked for a moment.
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 Guy - Kazehaya. Atypically for shoujo, he's the main character.
Nice Guys Finish Last - Pretty much completely subverted as Kazehaya gets the girl. Subversion could also apply to a few others in the series.
No Social Skills - Sawako's social skills are poor in the beginning...
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 Kent, 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.
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 Ryuu. 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.
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 Small Name, Big Ego 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.
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 shoujo frills. Hell, one of the first times Kurumi grabs Sawako's hands, an entire flowering bush sprouts behind the former.
Ship Tease - Combinations of the 'spares', ie. Kent/Kurumi, Kent/Ayane and Pin/Ayane get some moments. With the exception of Pin/Kurumi, which's been humourously 'sank' early in the story.
Shipper on Deck - Sawako ships Ryuu and Chizuru. Meanwhile, her friends ship her with Kazehaya.
That Was Not A Dream: Sawako will sometimes put notes near her or her diary to remind herself that everything amazing that happened the night before actually happened.
Theme Tune Cameo: A variation. In the anime's first Christmas episode, Joe sings the opening theme's B-side, "Uchuu Ryokou", for karaoke.
Trademark Favorite Food - Chizuru's obsession with ramen stems from her childhood love, whose family owns a ramen shop.
Trickster Mentor - Ayane has sprinklings of this; That is, intentionally tricking or being outright mean to Sawako, but purely for the sake of helping her and Kazehaya out.
Chizuru to Tooru and Ryuu to Chizuru, at least for now.
Kurumi to Kazehaya, though "middle-school-hood" rather than childhood.
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 (Ryu's father) and Youko Kuronuma (Sawako's mother)
When She Smiles: Two things can happen when Sawako smiles, depending on whether the smile is forced or natural: either it comes out as The Unsmile, or everyone watching gasps in awe.
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.
Woman in White - Sawako wore a white dress to play the role of the ghost during the test of courage.
Wrong Genre Savvy - Pin really lost the way to his sports Shounen series. Yoshida and Ryu may have been heading there too.
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