A thorough analysis of the emotions and appeal of the first season of "Kimi ni Todoke"!

Kimi ni Todoke - Detailed review and recommendation of the first season

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

October 6, 2009 - March 30, 2010

Nippon Television: October 6, 2009 to March 30, 2010 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Tuesday 24:59 to 25:29

Chukyo Television

October 23, 2009 to December 18, 2009 (Episodes 1 to 9) Every Friday 27:21 to 27:53

January 6, 2010 to April 7, 2010 (10th to 25th episodes) Every Wednesday 26:10 to 26:42

Sapporo Television November 11, 2009 to May 19, 2010 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Wednesday 25:34 to 26:04

Fukuoka Broadcasting System November 29, 2009 to May 23, 2010 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Sunday 25:20 to 25:50

Yomiuri TV

December 21, 2009 - January 4, 2010 (1st - 3rd) Every Monday 26:47 - 27:17

January 11, 2010 to June 21, 2010 (4th to 25th episodes) Every Monday 26:20 to 26:50

Nippon TV Plus

April 16, 2010 to October 1, 2010 (1st to 25th) Every Friday 24:30 to 25:00

October 8, 2010 to October 15, 2010 (1st to 25th) Every Friday 25:30 to 26:00

Hiroshima Television October 19, 2010 to April 27, 2011 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Tuesday 25:04 to 25:34

Gunma Television December 9, 2010 to June 2, 2011 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Thursday 19:30 to 20:00

Kids Station October 13, 2011 - April 5, 2012 Thursdays 23:00 - 24:00 *Closed December 29th and January 5th

Fukui Broadcasting October 2, 2013 to April 9, 2014 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Wednesday 25:30 to 26:00

Chiba Television Broadcasting November 19, 2014 to January 6, 2015 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Monday to Friday 18:30 to 19:00

■Broadcasting station

Nippon Television Network, NTV Plus, Kids Station

■Frequencies

23 min

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 25

■Original Story

Karuho Shiina

■ Director

Hiro Kaburagi

■ Production

・Production/PRODUCTION IG

・Production/"Kimi ni Todoke" Production Committee (DN Dream Partners, Nippon Television, VAP, Shueisha, Production IG)

■Works

©Shiina Karuho/Shueisha/"Kimi ni Todoke" Production Committee

■ Story

Kuronuma Sawako is feared to have psychic powers due to her gloomy appearance, and is nicknamed "Sadako." Sawako has become accustomed to being avoided by those around her, and admires Kazehaya Shota, who treats her without prejudice. Through her interactions with Kazehaya, who encourages Sawako to change herself, as well as classmates Yano Ayane, Yoshida Chizuru, and Sanada Ryu, Sawako slowly breaks out of her shell. This is a school youth story that carefully depicts the process in which the pure Sawako experiences many "firsts," such as friendship, love, and the heartbreak of rivals and friends.

■Explanation

A touching coming-of-age story about the growth of the pure-hearted girl, Sawako. Due to her gloomy appearance, Kuronuma Sawako is feared to have psychic powers, earning her the nickname "Sadako." Sawako has become accustomed to being avoided by those around her, and she admires Kazehaya Shota, who treats her without prejudice. Through her interactions with Kazehaya, who encourages Sawako to change herself, as well as classmates Yano Ayane, Yoshida Chizuru, and Sanada Ryu, Sawako slowly breaks out of her shell. This is a school youth story that carefully depicts the process in which the pure-hearted Sawako experiences many "firsts," including friendship, love, and the heartbreak of rivals and friends.

*Quoted from Production IG official website

■Cast

・Sawako Kuronuma/Mamiko Noto

・Shota Kazehaya/Daisuke Namikawa

・Chizuru Yoshida/Yuko Sanpei

・Ayane Yano/Miyuki Sawashiro

・Ryu Sanada/Yuichi Nakamura

・Ichiichi Arai/Yuki Ono

・Kurumizawa Ume/Aya Hirano

・Yoshiyuki Arai/Takuma Suzuki

・Maru/?

・Tomomi Endo/Miho Miyagawa

・Eriko Hirano/Masayuki Makiguchi

・Takahashi Chigusa/Yurin

・Shino/Oki Kanae

・Nonohara Ayako/Sasaki Nozomi

・Minako Kojima/Miho Miyagawa

・Shin Mikami/Yasuaki Takumi

・Kana Nakatani/Aori Nose

・I/Masayuki Makiguchi

・Camellia Ayana/Camellia Ayana

・Aki/Furukawa Sayuri

・Dream/Haruka Nagashima

・Yuka/Yu Sugimoto

・Toru Sanada/Wataru Hatano

・Haruka Katayama/Tomoe Hanba

・Souichi Jonouchi/Mahiro Yamanaka

・Keisuke Ando/Nobuaki Kanemitsu

・Masanobu Hamasaki/Yasutoshi Tokumoto

・Toshio Nakanishi/Takahiko Sakakuma

・Takayuki Tanaka/Nobuaki Kanemitsu

・Genji Sanada/Naoya Uchida

・Tota Kazehaya/Miho Miyagawa

・Aono/Wataru Hatano

・Sawako's mother/Kishiro Sakurako

・Sawako's father/Takashi Matsuyama

・Hitomi/Yurin

・Megumi/Masayuki Makiguchi

・Lena/Miyagawa Miho

・Yoko/Haruka Nagashima

・Taisho/Futamata Kazunari

・Tochan/Kenyu Horiuchi

・Kamasan/Takuma Suzuki

Chizu's mother/Makiko Omoto

・Jounouchi's Mother/Miyagawa Miho

・Jounouchi's father / Takahiko Sakakuma

・Amaazake Auntie/Takami Umeda

・Tomofumi Tanizawa

■ Main staff

・Original work: Karuho Shiina ("Kimi ni Todoke" / serialized in Shueisha's "Bessatsu Margaret")

Planning: Suzuko Fujimoto, Mitsuru Oshima, Takashi Watanabe, Mitsuhisa Ishikawa

・Series Composition/Tomoko Konparu

・Character design and chief animation director: Yuka Shibata

・Art director: Yusuke Takeda

・Color design: Izumi Hirose

Director of photography: Hiroji Tanaka

・3D CGI/Atsushi Sato

Edited by Daisuke Imai

・Sound Director: Tomoaki Yamada

Assistant Director: Norihiro Naganuma

・Music/SENS Project

・Color design assistant/Mayumi Sato

・2D Works/Nishitani Tomoe, Yamazaki Makiko

・Photography management: Hiroki Takagi

・Editing Assistant/Ishida Momoko

・Editing studio/Jay Film

・System Management/Junichiro Aki

・Video editing/Sony PCL, Manabu Kamino, Satoshi Ishii

・Character setting cooperation: Akiko Nakamura, Hitomi Sato, Hitomi Hasegawa, Reina Igawa

Art setting cooperation: Yoshiyuki Takayanagi

・Recording adjustment/Hata Shoko

・Sound assistant/Motoyuki Shinjo

・Sound effects/Aki Yokoyama

・Sound Production: Kisuke Koizumi (Jinnan Studio)

・Recording and adjustment studio/Jinnan Studio

・Music producers: Kazunari Sengoku, Yuji Ueki

・Music cooperation: Nippon Television Music, Bop

Public relations: Keisuke Mukai, Yukihisa Aso, Noriko Shimizu

Web production: Koji Morinaga, Toru Kasai, Ayako Omori

Assistant producers: Mikiko Kobayashi, Tomohiro Shindo

Planning cooperation: Nippon Television (Naoki Suganuma, Takahiro Sato), Clutch Players (Shinichiro Arimura)

・Production Desk: Sato Megumi

・Setting Production: Taku Yonebayashi

Producers: Toshio Nakatani, Hiroyuki Okino, Manabu Tamura, Takeshi Wada

In cooperation with Shueisha's "Bessatsu Margaret" editorial department, Kazuyuki Masuda, Masaru Sasaki, and Mariko Ikeda

・Animation Producer/Tetsuya Nakatake

・Production/PRODUCTION IG

・Director: Hiro Kaburagi

・Production/"Kimi ni Todoke" Production Committee (DN Dream Partners, Nippon Television, VAP, Shueisha, Production IG)

■ Main Characters

・Sawako Kuronuma

Nickname: Sadako

Due to her gloomy appearance, she is called "Sadako" and feared, but she has a bright personality and is easily moved by small things. Her motto is "Do one good deed a day."

・ Shota Kazehaya

Nickname: Kazehaya

With her friendly personality and refreshing smile, she is popular in her class and liked by everyone. She is interested in Sawako, whom she met on the day of the entrance ceremony. Her motto is "The path of truth."

・Chizuru Yoshida

Nickname: Chizu

She is a big sister type, passionate and loyal. She loves ramen. She is childhood friends with Ryu. Her motto is "Eat only until you are 80% full."

・Ayane Yano

Nickname: Yanochin

A calm and collected straight man. He seems to have a lot going on in the romantic department. His hobby is the pursuit of beauty. His motto is "beautiful eyes and eyebrows."

・Sanada Ryu

Nickname: Dragon

His family owns a ramen shop. He's been with Kazehaya since middle school. He's a member of the baseball team. He does things at his own pace. His motto is "Actions speak louder than words."

■Subtitle

・episode.1/Prologue (2009/10/06)

・episode.2/Seat change (2009/10/13)

・episode.3/After School (2009/10/20)

・episode.4/Rumors (2009/10/27)

・episode.5/Determination (2009/11/03)

・episode.6/Friends (2009/11/10)

・episode.7/Saturday Night (2009/11/17)

・episode.8/Independent training (2009/11/24)

・episode.9/New Friends (2009/12/01)

・episode.10/Cooperation (2009/12/08)

・episode.11/Special?(2009/12/15)

・episode.12/Love Feelings (2009/12/22)

・episode.13/Love (2010/01/05)

・episode.14/Kurumi (2010/01/12)

・episode.15/Rival(2010/01/19)

・episode.16/Night Story (Compilation) (2010/01/26)

・episode.17/Holiday (2010/02/02)

・episode.18/Chizuru's Love (2010/02/09)

・episode.19/Dream(2010/02/16)

・episode.20/Present (2010/02/23)

・episode.21/First Snow (2010/03/02)

・episode.22/Christmas (2010/03/09)

・episode.23/Two (2010/03/16)

・episode.24/Birthday (2010/03/23)

・episode.25/New Year (2010/03/30)

■ Related works

・Kimi ni Todoke 2ND SEASON

・Kimi ni Todoke Mini Theater Romeo and Juliet 3D

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1

・Deliver it to me

・Lyrics: Tomofumi Tanizawa

・Composition: Tomofumi Tanizawa

・Song: Tomofumi Tanizawa

・ED1

・Unrequited love

Lyrics: Chara

・Composer: Chara

・Vocals: Chara

Detailed review of Kimi ni Todoke - Season 1

"Kimi ni Todoke" is an anime series based on the popular manga of the same name by Shiina Karuho, which aired on Nippon Television from October 2009 to March 2010. The series was produced by Production IG and directed by Kaburagi Hiro. The 25-episode series was loved by many viewers for its touching story about youth and growing up.

Story and Themes

The main character of "Kimi ni Todoke" is a high school student named Kuronuma Sawako. She is nicknamed "Sadako" due to her gloomy appearance and is feared by those around her. However, Sawako is actually a bright, pure-hearted girl who is easily moved by small things. She wishes to change herself, and grows little by little through her interactions with her classmates Kazehaya Shota, Yano Ayane, Yoshida Chizuru, and Sanada Ryu.

The themes of this work are friendship, love, and personal growth. It carefully depicts how Sawako makes her first friends, falls in love for the first time, and encounters her first rival. Her growth resonated with viewers and touched the hearts of many people. In particular, the process in which Sawako breaks out of her shell and becomes deeply involved with the people around her realistically depicts the brilliance and suffering of youth.

character

Each character in "Kimi ni Todoke" is unique and leaves a strong impression on the viewer. The main character, Sawako Kuronuma, is charming with her bright personality that contrasts with her gloomy appearance. Her motto is "One good deed a day," and her attitude of trying to change herself by accumulating small good deeds every day is inspiring.

Kazehaya Shota is a boy who is popular with his classmates due to his refreshing smile and kind personality. He has special feelings for Sawako and is an important presence in supporting her growth. Yoshida Chizuru is a passionate character with strong sense of duty and humanity, and loves ramen. Her motto is "eat only until you're 80% full," and she values ​​a balanced diet and life.

Yano Ayane is a calm and collected straight man who has a lot of experience in the romantic field. Her motto is "beautiful eyes and eyebrows," and her hobby is the pursuit of beauty. Sanada Ryu is a laid-back boy who belongs to the baseball club and is the son of a ramen shop owner. His motto is "actions speak louder than words," and he is the type of character who shows his true colors through his actions.

Animation and Music

The animation of "Kimi ni Todoke" is a work that highlights the high technical capabilities of PRODUCTION IG. The beautiful character designs by Yuka Shibata, who was in charge of character design and general animation direction, faithfully reproduce the atmosphere of the original work. In addition, the background art by art director Yusuke Takeda also realistically depicts the high school and cityscape where the story is set.

The music is by SENS Project, and the theme songs are also memorable. The opening theme, "Deliver to You," was written, composed, and sung by Tomofumi Tanizawa, and features a gentle melody that symbolizes Sawako's pure heart. The ending theme, "Unrequited Love," was written, composed, and sung by Chara, and expresses Sawako's heartbreaking love. These songs play a role in further enhancing the emotions of the story.

Broadcast and evaluation

"Kimi ni Todoke" was broadcast nationwide, mainly on Nippon Television Network. During its broadcast period, it was highly praised by many viewers, and was especially popular as a coming-of-age anime. Viewers praised the realistic and moving portrayal of Sawako's growth and the relationships between the characters, and many fans were born.

A second season of this work was also produced, and related works such as "Mini Todoke Gekijo Romeo and Juliet 3D" were also released. These works were also highly acclaimed, further expanding the worldview of "Kimi ni Todoke".

Recommendation

"Kimi ni Todoke" is a touching anime series with themes of youth and growth. In particular, the story of the main character, Sawako, who wants to change herself, and her friends who support her, resonates with many viewers. The animation and music are also of high quality, deeply enhancing the emotions of the story.

Here are some reasons why I recommend this film:

• Realistic portrayal of youth: The portrayal of Sawako's growth, friendship, and romance is realistic and resonates with viewers.
• Attractive Characters: Unique and fascinating characters add excitement to the story.
• Beautiful animation: Beautiful animation that showcases PRODUCTION IG's high level of technical skill.
• Emotional Music: The opening and ending theme songs deeply enhance the emotions of the story.
• A wide range of related works: There is also a wide range of related works, such as 2ND SEASON and Mini Notification Theater.

I highly recommend "Kimi ni Todoke" to anyone who likes coming-of-age anime or is looking for a touching story. Experience the story of Sawako's growth, friendship, and love.