Kimi ni Todoke
Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You is a Japanese shōjo romance manga by Karuho Shiina. It was published by Shueisha in Bessatsu Margaret from 2005 to 2017 and collected in 30 tankōbon volumes. In 2008, it won the Best Shōjo Manga award in the 32nd Annual Kodansha Manga Award. The series was also nominated for the first Manga Taisho awards in 2008. Two anime adaptations of Kimi ni Todoke were aired in Japan, produced by Production I.G. The second season of the anime was announced in Betsuma Magazine, began airing in Japan on January 4, 2011 and lasted for 12 episodes. A live action film adaptation was released in 2010 starring Mikako Tabe and Haruma Miura.
Plot
The story takes place in Hokkaido. 15-year-old high school freshman Sawako Kuronuma—dubbed Sadako by her classmates for her resemblance to the character from The Ring—has always been feared and misunderstood because of her appearance; rumors around school report that she can see ghosts and curse people. However, despite her ominous appearance, she is actually a sweet and unassuming girl who only longs to be helpful; she has been shunned for so long that the idea of making friends has become foreign to her. When a boy, the popular boy Kazehaya, begins talking with her, everything changes. She finds herself in a new world, making new friends and talking to different people, and she can't thank Kazehaya enough for giving her these opportunities. Slowly, but surely, a sweet love blossoms between the two as they overcome circumstances and obstacles that stand in their way.Characters
; Portrayed by Mikako Tabe; Portrayed by Haruma Miura
; Portrayed by Natsuna Watanabe
; Portrayed by Misako Renbutsu
; Portrayed by Haru Aoyama
; Portrayed by Arata
; Portrayed by Mirei Kiritani
;Tomoko "Tomo" Endo and Eriko "Ekko" Hirano
;,
;Shino
;Chigusa Takahashi
;Yagi
;Mogi
Media
Manga
Originally planned on being a one-shot to be compiled in her previous work, Crazy For You, Shiina decided to expand the story and make it into a full series. It has been running in Japan in Bessatsu Margaret since the September 2005 issue of the magazine, with 29 compiled volumes as of November 13, 2017. Shiina took a break starting in the March 2009 issue to have a baby; serialization resumed in the October issue. With the release of the September 2017 issue of Betsuma, on August 12, 2017, Kimi ni Todoke entered its final arc. The series is licensed by Viz Media for an English-language North American release. The manga ended in November 2017 and the final volume was released in March 2018.Light novels
Kimi ni Todoke has been adapted into two series of light novels in Japan released by Shueisha, one under their Cobalt imprint and one under their newer Mirai Bunko imprint. Sixeen volumes have been released in the Cobalt imprint series; the first was released on August 1, 2007 and the last on December 25, 2015. They were written by Kanae Shimokawa, who also novelized the Nana movie and Yūkan Club. Thirteen volumes of the Mirai Bunko version have been released; the first on March 1, 2011 and the last on June 5, 2015. They were written by Kanako Shirai. Both series were illustrated by the author of the original, Karuho Shiina.A separate volume, also by Kanae Shimokawa, was released on September 11, 2009. The volume took the place of the manga in Bessatsu Margaret magazine while Karuho Shiina took a break due to her pregnancy; it contains the story of Kazehaya and Sawako's first meeting, before the events of the manga.
Cobalt Imprint Volumes
Mirai Bunko Imprint Volumes
Video game
Banpresto released a game for the Nintendo DS in Japan based upon the series on October 16, 2009, entitled Kimi ni Todoke ~Sodateru Omoi~. A second Nintendo DS game, also from Banpresto, was released in the Spring of 2011 under the title Kimi ni Todoke ~Tsutaeru Kimochi~.Anime
The first season of the Kimi ni Todoke anime adaptation aired between October 2009 and March 2010. A second season was announced in the November 2010 issue of Betsuma magazine. The second season aired in Japan on NTV on January 2011. Both seasons of the anime are produced by Production I.G. and directed by Hiro Kaburagi. The music is done by S.E.N.S. Project, with the opening sung by Tomofumi Tanizawa and the ending by Chara. NIS America announced at Anime Expo 2011 that they have licensed the first season of Kimi ni Todoke. They released the first season on DVD/Blu-ray on January 10, 2012, and released the second season later that year. NIS America later released the series from Volume 1 through Volume 3 alongside Natsume's Book of Friends seasons 1 and 2 on February 4, 2014.Live-action film
The February 2010 issue of Bessatsu Margaret, announced that a live-action film adaptation of the series had been approved. Mikako Tabe and Haruma Miura starred in the film, released in Japanese theatres on September 25, 2010 and directed by Naoto Kumazawa. The Live-action movie was released on Blu-ray and DVD on March 11, 2011.Reception
Manga
Volumes of the series commonly ranked in listings of top selling manga in Japan. All the volumes have been translated and published in English.| Volume No. | Peak rank | Notes | Refs |
| 4 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 1 | ||
| 6 | 2 | ||
| 7 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 1 | ||
| 9 | 1 | ||
| 10 | 1 | ||
| 11 | 1 | ||
| 12 | 1 | ||
| 13 | 1 | ||
| 14 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 1 | ||
| 16 | 1 | ||
| 17 | 1 | 6 weeks | |
| 18 | 1 | 7 weeks | |
| 19 | 1 | 4 weeks | |
| 20 | 1 | 6 weeks |
At the debut of the twelfth volume, all twelve of the current volumes were ranked on Oricon's list of 100 best-selling manga for the week. According to Anime News Network, Kimi ni Todoke is now the "shōjo manga with the most #1 books and the most books to sell one million copies since 2008" in Japan. The series was the third best-selling manga series in Japan in 2010, with 6,572,813 copies sold. As of the release of the 16th volume in May 2012, Kimi ni Todoke will have reached a total of over 20 million copies in print. In 2013, Kimi ni Todoke sold over 3.4 million copies, placing 11th on Oricon's best selling manga series for that year.
Anime News Network called the series "hands down one of the best new English-translated manga series of 2009" and suggested that everyone, not just shōjo manga fans, read the series. The first volume of the series was listed as a "Hot Fall Graphic Novel" for libraries in the teen section by YALSA. The series was also listed in the Best Comics for Teens category of the School Library Journal's Best Comics for Kids in 2009 list. Kimi ni Todoke has also been included on the American Library Association's list of 2010 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.
Live action
According to Oricon, the series was listed as 3rd on a list of titles that Japanese readers wanted a drama adaptation for. The live action movie adaptation opened at second place in Kogyo Tsushinsha's box office chart during its first week in Japanese theaters. The movie was number 3 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its first two days, earning the equivalent to US $2,770,613 on 285 screens.Anime
Many of the first season volumes have sold well in the first week of release to be ranked on the weekly Oricon Sales Chart for Japan's Animation DVDs.| Volume # | Sales Period | Copies | Ranking |
| 2 | January 25–31, 2010 | 7,449 | 19th |
| 3 | February 22–28, 2010 | 7,557 | 18th |
| 5 | April 19–26, 2010 | 7,136 | 17th |
| 6 | May 24–30, 2010 | 7,035 | 12th |
| 7 | June 21–27, 2010 | 6,613 | 14th |
| 8 | July 12–18, 2010 | 6,125 | 20th |
The second season of the anime was number one in a poll of Dengeki Online readers as their most anticipated anime series debuting in January 2011. Anime News Network reviewer Carl Kimlinger gave the second season 4½ out of 5 stars, saying, "This remains the finest series of its type since Lovely Complex, and the most beautiful since...well, I don't know when." Japanese viewers voted it the most enjoyable anime of the Winter 2011 season during a poll taken just before the season ended.
Works cited
- "Ch." and "Vol. " is shortened form for chapter and volume and refers to a chapter or volume number of the Kimi ni Todoke manga. Kimi ni Todoke manga volumes by Shiina, Karuho. Original Japanese version published by Shueisha. English translation published by Viz Media.