Kimi ni Todoke 5
Posted: October 15, 2010 Filed under: Kimi ni Todoke Leave a comment »Karuho Shiina – Viz – 2010 – 12+ volumes
This volume moves the focus away from Sawako after the revelations from last volume are finished (“I have a rival! I have romantic feelings for Kazehaya!”) and moves on to focus on her two friends, Chizu and Ayane, and their romantic exploits.
Ayane’s boyfriend hangs out in the background of the story, but is so far the most disturbing thing that has happened in this series, which is worth noting. She occasionally comments that he’s annoying and sense obsessive texts all the time, and that she needs to break up with him. After vowing to do so, she shows up at school the next day with a bandaged face, saying that he hit her and then tried to get back together with her again. Ayane isn’t the type to take crap, so that’s not going anywhere (except into creepy stalker territory if he comes back), but it was a fairly dark note in an otherwise very happy series.
Chizu is about on the same level as Sawako, relationship-wise. We found out recently that her friend Ryu has a crush on her, and after making it sound like Chizu has a crush right back, we find out that she’s… in love with another, with the potential to make the situation very sticky. It gets a little heart-wrenching, seeing the misunderstandings between Ryu and Chizu leading up to the end of the volume, and Ryu’s confession comes just a moment too late, when Chizu is finally in the arms of her crush again. It’s a bittersweet moment, and hard to take for the normally stoic Ryu.
There’s also an adorable scene where Ayane and Chuzuru go over to Sawako’s house and meet her parents. I think my teeth rotted out of my head.
You know, this series is almost like the other side of We Were There. Where that series rings true to adolescent life in a lot of ways, it’s all about the depressing stuff, whereas Kimi ni Todoke perpetually looks at the bright side while being just as true-to-life. Sawako’s a great character to have in front in a series like this, and it’s amazing how well she’s treated by those around her. I love its positive attitude, and just how sweet its little moments of discovery can get.
