Kimi ni Todoke

is a romance shōjo manga by Karuho Shiina. It has been published by Shueisha in "Bessatsu Margaret" since 2006 and collected in 6 tankobon volumes as of May 2008. It won the 2008 Kodansha Manga Award for best shōjo manga.cite web | url=http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2008-05-13/32nd-annual-kodansha-manga-awards-announced | title=32nd Annual Kodansha Manga Awards Announced | publisher=Anime News Network | date=2008-05-13 | accessdate=2008-05-14]

Story

Sawako Kuronuma, called Sadako by her classmates for her resemblance to the character from "Ring", has always been feared and misunderstood because of her appearance. There are rumors that Sawako can see ghosts and curse people. But when her idol, popular boy Kazehaya, begins talking with her, everything changes. She finds herself in a new world, trying to make friends and talking to different people and she can't thank Kazehaya enough for giving her these opputunities. Slowly, but surely, a sweet love is blossoming between the two as they will overtake any circumstance or clear obstacles in their way.

Characters

Kuronuma Sawako [黒沼 爽子] (a.k.a. Sadako by classmates) is a shy yet honest girl who is in search of friendship. She is now making friends and talking to different people. She is grateful (and at first, worships) Kazehaya for giving her the opportunities to make these friends. She is close friends with Yano, Yoshida, Kazehaya and Ryuu. Yano and Yoshida admits that Sawako's 'like' to Kazehaya might be even more than Yano and Yoshida themselves. She is slowly opening up to the class. In the middle chapters she is revealed to have terrifying speedy powers when necessary during the soccer match. She is short due to the fact that her father is very short (160cm). At the first visit by Chizuru and Ayane to Sawako's house, Chizuru notes that Sawako's lips looks like her mother and mostly the other features looks like her father.
Blood type: O
Birthdate: 31th December
Height: 158cm
Weight: 44kg

Kazekaya Shouta [風早 翔太] is an outgoing and friendly classmate of Sawako. He is very popular in the school and previously in his middle school so many of the girls liked him that they formed a 'Kazehaya is everyone's' alliance to have a peace treaty between Kazehaya admirers, which led to the fact that now in the high school these characters attend to, in the girls there are more than half of Kazehaya's old middle school attending. Since the beginning Kazekaya is very obviously infaunted with Sawako. In chapter 17, Kazehaya admits (not to Sawako) that he likes Sawako. Sawako does the same (admits her love for Kazehaya (not to Kazehaya) in the same chapter. From when in the manga the school has started its second year, Kazekaya has started to wonder if Sawako actually likes him (as she didn't give him chocolates on Valentine's Day because she was too nervous). From then on he has seemingly become much more calm and shows his depressed (emotionless) face more often. In chapter 34, after getting confronted by Ryuu (influenced by Chizuru) and Pin, Kazehaya goes to Sawako. As a joke, Kazekaya's friends say "You (Kazehaya) like Sadako! Hahahaha", but Kazekaya, with a serious face, agrees; Kazekaya confesses directly to Sawako.
Blood type: O
Birthdate: 15th May
Height: 175cm
Weight: 60kg

Yano Ayane [矢野 あやね] is a close friend of Sawako. She is the arguably the most mature of the group, she has a boyfriend in college. In Hirumi's fake rumours, it is said that Ayane has played more with more than 100 guys in middle school. In their current high school, it is been said that Yano and Yoshida have pretty much authority in the year group. A trait of Ayane's personality is that she gives just enough information (like when telling Kazehaya what to do with Sawako in chapter 33) to leave them wonder. Although she is usually calm and collected, when it comes to Sawako feeling sad, she would be furious and attack the causer (Kazehaya most oftenly) with kicks and sharp words.
Blood type: AB
Birthdate: 3rd March
Height: 161cm
Weight: 47kg

Yoshida Chizuru [吉田 千鶴] is another close friend of Sawako. She is the tomboy of the group, and she even admits this when Ryuu calls them brothers, where she argues about who is the older rather than that she is not a 'brother'. In Hirumi's fake rumours it was passed around that she was a former Yankee. She is a close childhood friend with Ryuu Sanada, who is also the son of her favourite ramen shop. She went to Kazehaya's middle school as well. She has a crush on Ryuu's brother, Tooru. Chizuru is mostly only the slower side of things; she did not realise that Kazehaya liked Sawako (even though she and Ayane planned many events for them) until late in the series, after the 2nd year in their school has started.
Blood type: A
Birthdate: 1st June
Height: 167cm
Weight: 53kg

Sanada Ryuu [真田 龍] is also one of Sawako's new group. He is quiet most of the time and rarely talks, but still can communicate well with Sawako (as they both don't talk much anyways). He is a close childhood friend with Chizuru. In chapter 8 where the group had a hang-out in Ryuu's house, Sawako asked Ryuu if he and Chizuru were dating, he didn't answer but he smiled. He confirmed his love when in later chapters he confessed that he liked Chizuru to Sawako. He is also good baseball mates with Kazehaya back in middle school times together.
Blood type: B
Birthdate: 2nd December
Height: 179cm
Weight: 75kg

Arai Kazuichi [荒井 一市] is the temporarily homeroom teacher for the gang's class. He is nicknamed Pin and always is called that way (except Sawako who obeys the formalities and still calls him Arai-sensei). (The previous homeroom teacher had been said to be sick after he made Sawako, preferably Sadako, to do his work during the summer holidays.) He is a great fan of baseball as well as the school baseball team's coach. He used to be part of Kazehaya's father's league team, so he has known Shouta since when he was young. He had once said that he likes to 'interrupt' people. He had nicknamed Kazehaya and Sawako's found-beside-the-river puppy Pedro Martinez (a famous baseball person).
Blood type: B
Birthdate: 25th July
Height: 193cm
Weight: 88kg

Endou [遠藤] and Hirano [平野] are classmates of Sawako. After Sawako's opening up, Endou and Hirano were one of her first friends.

Kurumisawa Ume [胡桃沢 梅] is from Kazehaya's middle school. She has had a huge crush on him since the first year of middle school. She is extremely jealous of Sawako, which led her to spread fake rumours of Sawako's only friends (back then), Yoshida and Yano, using Sawako's name. In chapter 17 she finally confessed her love to Kazehaya but got rejected, as she herself had expected. Kurumi is always surprised by the naviety of Sawako, therefore becoming real friends, as well as rivals with each other. Originally being very friendly and sweet and had shown no bad faces to anyone in the year group, her personality changed drastically after she got rejected by Kazehaya. She become a person who honestly show her feelings as well as being cold to classmates. This is her true personality.

Sanada Tooru [真田 徹] is Ryuu's older-by-8-years brother. His first appearance is in chapter 20 and is Chizuru's crush since when she was young. Although he is Ryuu's brother and their face is similar (but Tooru's hair is longer) their personality is nearly opposite. Tooru resembles Kazekaya personality-wise; looks extremely refreshing, except much more mature. He lives 3 hours away from his parent's house and in chapter 20 he has come home to get married.

References

External links

*