Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Jxbinha
Kimi ni Todoke is one of those romance anime that wins you over with its simplicity and sincerity. Sawako's journey from being misunderstood and isolated to slowly finding genuine friendships and learning how to express herself is incredibly heartwarming to watch. Her development feels natural, and seeing her gradually gain confidence makes every small victory feel meaningful.
Of course, the romance between Sawako and Kazehaya is the heart of the story, and their relationship is painfully adorable. Their innocence can also be a source of frustration sometimes—communication is definitely not their strongest skill—but that awkwardness is part of what makes their relationship feel genuine.
What I love most about Kimi ni Todoke, though, is that it never feels like it's only about romance. The…
Read at the sourcescarykitty84
Overall, Kimi ni Todoke is worth watching if you're looking for an adorable coming-of-age show with some great characters and memorable writing. It focuses on Sawako: a 15 year old extremely kind-hearted, but also pretty naive girl who has spent most of her childhood without friends due to some silly rumors her classmates spread about her. The story starts with her meeting popular male classmate Kazehaya and follows their slow but steady journey of romance. It's very much a high school glory days kind of show that I imagine older people in the workforce watch to reminisce about their own lives.
The main reason to watch this show is that the storytelling and writing is great and constantly leaves you wanting to know what will happen next. Quality cliffhanger endings are often and abundant.…
Read at the sourcejay_quelin
This is way better than Fruits Basket. No more useless trauma dumping, zodiac members, or endless backstories. This anime specifically focuses on a small cast of characters with excellent development. It's like Youth Spring Ride but with a better romance plot. Kimi no Todoke shines where Fruits Basket could not, and that's having (1) a compelling MC, and (2) good character development. Kuronoma Sawako is more than your typical "nice-girl" protagonist. Because of her long-black hair and awkward facial expressions, Sawako is often teased for looking like "Sadako" from 'The Ring.' However, the concept of 'bullying' is alien to her. Because she grew up without any friends, any form of teasing from her peers just comes off as positive acknowledgement. Being the black sheep in the class causes S…
Read at the sourceLilithSaya
I watched this anime last year i think, and it was one of the most silly, yet beautiful school like, romance anime I have seen. i love the character Sawako Kuronuma, and how she grew. She overcame every obstacle and gain condiments.
She clear every misunderstandings and gain some friends.
I love how over time, she became confident in herself and spoke up whenever there was a misunderstanding. And i like how her relationship with Shota Kazehaya slowly develop.
I wish there could've been more seasons.
If I am not mistaken there is a k-drama, I haven't watched it, but I think I will, just to see how different it is from the manga and anime.
Read at the sourcereveriehina
One of the most beautiful romance anime I have seen is "Kimi ni Todoke." The thing that stands out about this show is its natural representation of friendship, love, and self-discovery. Unlike other shows with many twists and turns, this one is unique because of its sincerity.
I adored the principal characters and how their relations progressed throughout the show. All interactions seemed important, but especially those little bits where all emotions were shown to their full potential. The anime perfectly portrays the feelings associated with making new connections with people around you.
This art style is gentle and cute, fitting perfectly into the cozy world of this show. With its great music, it evokes feelings of nostalgia that make every episode a pleasure to watch.
What I love abo…
Read at the sourceyashiruu
This anime is perfect if you are looking for a light and relaxing show with a touch of high school romance. The story centers on Sawako, a girl who has been avoided by others since childhood, and Kazehaya, one of the most popular students at their school. The combination of these two characters may feel quite mainstream, but it still works as an enjoyable formula.
Personally, I enjoy anime with a slower pace like this. The relationships develop gradually, allowing the story to build emotional depth over time. Beyond the romance between the main characters, the presence of their friends also adds a dimension of friendship that feels very characteristic of high school life.
There are a few scenes that stayed with me. One of them is when Sawako falls asleep on the stairs and Kazehaya quietl…
Read at the sourcecunoung
Kimi ni Todoke is basically Komi Can't Communicate if Komi was ostracized and bullied her entire life by rumours she's a supernatural entity, before a bland puddle deep pixie male lead allows her to grow & be her true self. A true self that's an oblivious sweetheart who's actually incredible at everything outside of social interactions & the heart; despite being socially inept, bullied & degraded her entire life outside of her home.
She can either be fun, sweet & unaware or frustrating & unbearable based on the frequency of her tropes & character traits in conjunction with the current arc. She can also latch onto you connecting to your doubts & mentality, it's all up to the viewer's life experience.
As for the love interest, he's your average pixie that lifts the depressed & loner lead i…
Read at the sourceayumiin
I might be a little biased when I talk about Kimi ni Todoke, because it has always been one of my favorite shows, but I think that is part of why it feels so special to me. On the surface it looks simple, almost too familiar, yet the way it tells its story feels incredibly gentle and honest. Sawako is not someone who needs to transform into a different person to be loved. She is kind, awkward, and misunderstood from the start, and the beauty of her journey is watching her slowly believe that those qualities are not weaknesses.
The pacing is soft and patient, and that patience gives every emotion room to exist. Nothing feels rushed. Friendships grow naturally, misunderstandings feel human, and the romance between Sawako and Kazehaya is quiet in the best way. Kazehaya’s kindness never feels…
Read at the sourceunseen_habitt
At first, I thought an older anime like this would feel stiff or cringey, but Kimi ni Todoke still feels surprisingly good even when watched today. The old-school vibe actually makes the whole experience warmer.
What impressed me the most is how smooth the character development is. Nothing happens out of nowhere—there’s no sudden “we’re dating now” moment when they’re still confused about being friends. Their relationship grows step by step, naturally and quietly, and every little change feels meaningful.
And the male lead? He’s such a green flag. He likes her, but he never forces anything. He doesn’t push Sawako to make their relationship progress fast, but he also doesn’t back off or get insecure. His attitude hits the perfect balance—polite, gentle, but still cool. The way he treats S…
Read at the sourcechocomoonpie
I really want to like this anime. LIKE I REALLY WANT TO LIKE THIS ANIME, but I can't lie to myself.
I think Sawako is a lovely main character, and all the characters have their own charm, EXCEPT Kazehaya, the love interest. BOY you done bored me. This guy is so boring and such a wuss, and I swear even the animation team felt that way too, because at some points this guy was drawn like a side character.
The real highlight was the friendship, because every damn time romance was at the forefront, some terribly roundabout misunderstanding would happen. I'm not saying misunderstandings don't happen in real life, but man, the characters take an astronomical amount of time to resolve their problems. Like any romantic action will take 5 episodes. Sawako gotta spend an episode thinking about it,…
Read at the sourceNinHaA
Kimi ni Todoke was the anime that introduced me to the shōjo world, haha. It’s the kind of show that anyone who enjoys this genre should watch at least once, it’s not a rule, but it’s definitely worth having on your completed list.
Sawako is such a sweet character, cute, kind, and a bit too innocent but that’s exactly what makes her so special. Normally, I get a little frustrated with characters like that, but with her it just works. It feels like being that way was meant for her. She completely won me over and kept me excited to see what would happen next. Every character gets good development throughout the story, especially Sawako and Kazehaya.
The art is beautiful and pleasant to look at, and the soundtrack fits the atmosphere nicely, even if it’s not particularly memorable. The stor…
Read at the sourceNiiice_4mL
This show is very Adorable,I like the premise and find the main character super relatable. Even though, at times the lack of knowledge of social cues can be a little ridiculous and the slower pace will be a detriment to some, I found that it kept me engaged and all very endearing. The characters are written so well that even when they decided to branch off the main plot and focus on some of the side characters i was still engaged and excited for the next episode. The weakest character for me though was sadly the main love interest, in my opinion he came off as rather bland at time, but the show spends so much time praising him. I kinda wish they gave him more personality or maybe more screen time actually interacting with people. Otherwise it can feel like the only reason he's great is cau…
Read at the sourceRaiusu
I’ll be honest the first half of this season was a very slow burner that picks up about episode 14 I do think everything could’ve been pushed into 15 episodes rather than 25 but the last 10 was good enough for me to enjoy the rest of it after feeling like I’m forcing my way through the beginning
I know this is an old show and there’s now new seasons so I’m hoping that they’re gonna continue the way season one ends very similar to my feelings on clannad
Too far to the show though or when it was made and it being one of the first of its kind it’s a very good job though I feel bad for people for waiting 10+ years for second season but luckily I don’t have to I’ll be watching season two and hopefully it will be just as good or better
Overall, just about 7 out of 10 because of the second h…
Read at the sourceSpikeykoaLa
You folks were feasting back in the day with this are you kidding me? Puts the next 15 years of romance shows to shame. Characters, CUTE. Romance, CUTE. Animation, CUTE. Voice acting, CUTE. Backgrounds, LOVELY. I may be a long way out of high school at this point but that doesn’t mean I don’t remember how it felt. All the hemming and hawing and all the things that seem like obvious layups falling completely flat because you’re just thinking too damn hard about everything. Kimi ni Todoke captures it perfectly and has such a positive spirit about friendship and romance that I just can’t help but love it.
Read at the sourceelumizu
From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke is a heartfelt coming-of-age romance about misunderstanding, self-confidence, and the slow process of learning how to connect with others. Instead of relying on dramatic twists, the story focuses on the quiet emotional growth of a girl who has spent most of her life misunderstood, and how a single act of kindness can gradually transform an entire world that once felt isolating. The story follows Sawako Kuronuma, a high school girl whose gentle personality is constantly overshadowed by her eerie appearance. Because her long black hair and pale demeanor remind people of the ghost from the horror film The Ring, classmates nickname her “Sadako” and assume she is strange or cursed. Rumors spread easily around her, turning small misunderstandings into exaggerated s…
Read at the sourceTheCompletionist
The wonderful world of high school. It can be such a minefield to navigate, especially if you’re a very shy and introverted student, but if you can surround yourself with good people and stick to your principles then you might be proud of yourself for everything you’ve accomplished, and you might even find love in the process.
This is pretty much the plotline of Kimi Ni Todoke where we look at the life of Kuronoma Sawako who often gets called Sadako because her appearance resembles the appearance of the girl character from the Ring movies. It’s because of this creepy name that many students have this opinion of her that she dabbles in mysticism and they don’t want anything to do with her because of her creepy appearance. However, you’ll find out that she is nothing like that and that she…
Read at the sourceAnimeExplorer21
Alright, so Kimi ni Todoke had been sitting in my watchlist for what feels like forever. I remember adding it years ago but every time I saw that it had 25 episodes just in season 1, I’d back off thinking, "Eh, I’ll watch it later... maybe next week." But after hearing about it again and again from friends who swore by its beauty, I finally said screw it — and dove in.
Man... I’m SO glad I did.
As someone who's watched over 120+ anime series by now (I know, I need help), Kimi ni Todoke honestly hit me in the same soft, emotional spot that Tsuki ga Kirei did. It’s got that rare, grounded feel. No cringey "accidental fall on boobs" scenes, no sudden love confessions in the rain after episode 2 — just a slow, delicate build of feelings, mutual respect, and actual communication. It’s how rea…
Read at the sourcekawaii_angelanne
- another case of "if i had watched this when it first came out, i probably would have enjoyed it."
- subplots felt longer than they had to be
- need to have a higher level of empathy for mc bc it's hard to not yell "just TALK to them"
- scenes w kayehaya made my heart skip a beat tho; he's a pretty good male mc
- nice to see the mc's friends have character; i hope yano will be further explored in the next season, but it was cool to see yoshida and her subplot (not for that long tho...)
- ill watch the next season...at some point...
Read at the sourceTheOnlyJack
I’m almost done watching all 3 seasons of this but it was hard to push myself through it, I seriously wonder why I didn’t just drop it. I get what the show is trying to show- our main character is deeply traumatized by how she was always treated as an outcast, “used to it” as she says, and it results in her not being able to build any connections and isolating herself even more. I get that this is a serious topic and they did really well at showcasing it realistically, but that’s the catch- it was triggering. Now I’m not the kind of person to complain about trigger warnings and I usually endure any uncomfortable content well enough, but the way she acted due to her screwed perspective on the world reminded me of my old self. Seeing her unintentionally self sabotaging all the time and the w…
Read at the sourceMarcyann
This text is a ChatGPT Portuguese-to-English translation, so there may be translation errors.
(The original review in Portuguese is included here as well.)
It’s a cute, fluffy romance anime. The protagonist is super shy, with about as much worldly knowledge as a door. Okay, fine. What really intrigues me about this anime is how *painfully slow* the events unfold. Romance doesn’t need to be this slow-moving. I watched 25 episodes of this anime, and my biggest question remains: does it really need to take *this long* for the romance to even start?
At some point, both characters already know they like each other—they really do. They even openly admit it to their friends. So why? Why drag it out so much before anything actually happens between them?
It’s hard to recommend this anime to som…
Read at the source
