And here’s to friendship, I guess
I’ve not been exactly filled with an overwhelming urge to write anything lately. In all honesty I’ve not been watching much either. There’s something about the time of year that makes evenings slip past and leave me with no time to watch, read or write a thing before I have to get ready for the next day.
Maybe it’s a surprise that Kimi ni Todoke is one of the few shows I’m currently following: there isn’t much that’s compelling about it. It doesn’t scream “Watch me!” It’s shoujo, it’s derivative, it’s uneventful…the flipside being, it’s undemanding and easy to digest on a regular basis when my get-up-and-go has got up and left.
Part of my recent bout of hiatus disease can be attributed to a bit of this and perhaps too much of this. Plus the peculiar after-effects of finishing Kara no Kyoukai, which left me so overwhelmed I was left feeling like I’d seen everything I’d ever want to see. Even so, I’m still enjoying Kimi ni Todoke.
The KnK connection is amusing in a way because Sawako’s character shares the same VA with Fujino Asagami; as our heroine speaks nervously and matter-of-factly of her social exclusion I couldn’t help but think about how the last time heard Mamiko Noto’s dulcet tones she was wrenching bridges in half. 0_o
I have a bad track record with shoujo romcoms though – something I’ve come to call the Kare Kano Curse. Ever since I was subjected to That Ending I’ve never found a similar show that hit the spot and brought me over to the idea that this sort of series isn’t gender-specific. Toradora! came close but Kimi ni Todoke is a refreshing and unusual take on the formula to, well, it’s kept my interest so far, hasn’t it?
The episodes I’ve seen so far see Sawako come out of her shell and learn – belatedly, which is what makes the story’s premise so sad – how it feels to have real friends. The core of KnT is about just that for me: the heartwarming nature of friendship. For all the gentle comedy, looming clouds of rabu rabu triangles and the tense moments of misunderstanding it’s a portrayal of good friends spending time together and getting along.
If it is indeed from the high school shoujo romcom stable it also carries the innocence and leave-your-cynicism-at-the-door of Hidamari Sketch and Aria. Perhaps this is why it doesn’t matter that the teenage characters and the issues they face are irrelevant to me: it has an iyashikei streak that leaves the viewer with a wonderful warm fuzzy feeling. The trivial nature of the plot points don’t give the narrative much weight – it’s a fairly forgettable show that’s just there. At the time though it’s a great way to unwind after a long day…and who doesn’t need a bit of brightness and warmth at this time of year?
One particular element that KnT shares with these shows is that rose-tinted notion that, even though there are bad people out there it’s all fine because there are enough good people around you to pick you back up. Yano and Yoshida show understanding and compassion that isn’t always found even among those you may know well…but that’s the point, isn’t it? That’s what real friends do. The kind of attitude we either aspire to or wish we showed to those closest to us.
That is to say, it may or not be that people like Sawako meet friends like these in the real world. It’s beside the point because KnT feels to me as less of a realistic fiction piece and more of a light, warm and fluffy piece of escapism; many girls would probably agree that boys of that age are rarely as grown-up and pleasant as Kazehaya is. From what I’ve been told we’re not much better as we get older, either. orz
There’s a romantic element to the Sawako/Kazehaya dynamic in that she obviously has quite a crush on him and it seems he feels the same way about her; although the romance is remarkably underplayed in favour of a more platonic angle. Again I suspect the message behind the series is one of a deliberately idealised portrayal of the warmth of friendship and how things will somehow turn out okay in the end.
There are misunderstandings but rather than stew away or snowball into catastrophes of angst they get resolved. There’s that issue of the mystery girl waiting in the wings but for the time being the whole affair still has that feelgood element buoyed up by outstanding character chemistry and direction that gets the little things right.
Sawako is shown to be a fundamentally good person but receives nothing from those around her; partly through overcoming her fears and partly with her friends’ help she now has some of the happiness that she deserves. Yes, everyone is so damned nice and friendly to the point where it bears little resemblance to reality, but every now and then I want to experience a world like that.
There isn’t much else to say about it, really. A shortish post, but easing back into it gently, etc.
This is the only one I’m (mostly) keeping up with lately for the same reasons (I fell behind on Cross Game, though I’ll be happy when I get a chance to catch up). Your post made me realize that it’s more similar to Fruits Basket than to something like Kare Kano (beyond the Kurumi=Motoko evident in the latest arc — I don’t think that’s a spoiler — did you ever finish Fruits Basket?)
That’s strange. I find sitting down to some anime more appealing when the world outside is cold and grey.
While I love some warm and fuzzy in my anime I’m not sure I’m so crazy about it in this show, but I have some hope for it. Sawako used to be too passive. Oh, it’s nice when she made a friend, but the endless “They LIKE me!” scenes grated on my nerves. True, she’s always said out loud what she believed (though it takes her forever to spit it out), even when confronted by angry girls in the bathroom, but she came off as a victim needing rescue in that case. But in the past few episodes she’s shown a little more gumption while remaining her (admittedly appealing) self. The nervous talk between her and Kazehaya in ep14 finally showed us a girl who has gained some confidence along with her innate kindness. And I’ve always liked her voice.
What kept me watching through the early episodes was Yano and Yoshida. They’re tough and more worldly, and a little scary if they don’t like you. In another high school drama they’d be the nasty characters who’d give people like Sawako distress. Here, for whatever reasons, they befriend the helpless girl! A bit unreal, maybe, but I don’t care. I’m glad they’re on Sawako’s side. They’re a great team. The show always livens up when they appear.
Kazehaya is a different matter. We see that he’s hiding big insecurities behind that smile of his, and I’m not looking forward to scene after scene of his angst when the story really focuses on him. That’s my prediction of future events.
I largely agree with you, Martin, it’s enjoyable in the moment, but will be largely forgettable after the end, I’m predicting. The difference between KnT and the typical iyashikei anime is that, despite the idealized portrayal of characters in that genre, they’re still very easy to connect with as people. I struggle to connect with Sawako and Kazehaya… at first I could rationalize Sawako’s inability to gauge social context in a given situation and behave appropriately as simply naivety due to social inexperience, but it’s been so overplayed in recent episodes that it just feels contrived. People seem to suspect that she may have Aspergers or something… I think they’re reading too much into it, and the author just wants to give us someone extremely innocent and naive and earnest to sympathize with. But it often feels so forced. As for Kazehaya, he’s pretty much become a cardboard cut-out. There were these little hints early on that there might be something more interesting lurking under the surface of his character, and these might turn into something later on, but right now, damn he’s a bore. Yano is the smart one. And, despite all I’ve said, I really really liked ep 15 (which I watched just a few minutes ago… I actually wrote the majority of this comment before watching the ep), since the characters and their emotions felt much more tangible than they have in other recent eps.
As for shoujo rom-com, I’ll second Fruits Basket. I’m also a big fan of Bokura ga Ita, but the comedy aspect is pretty light on, and it’s much more of a heavy-hitting drama, particularly later on.
Kare Kano set the bar pretty high, and sadly for me, made nearly all other shoujo unwatchable. Well, not like it’s a genre I seek out anyway.
I feel you, Martin. I come home from work, and either I don’t have time for anything, or I just plain don’t want to DO anything, but in any case nothing seems to get done. Still, we must persevere. I was worrying a little that you’d be one more person dropping off the blogosphere.
There’s an interesting post on Kimi ni Todoke that I think you should check out, because it also addresses the oddity of how just darn nice everyone is: http://animediet.net/anime-reviews/kimi-ni-todoke-8-9-hagiography
I didn’t watch past the first episode (couldn’t stand it– sorry!), but I understand this. It happened a lot in Card Captor Sakura, for example– those elementary school girls sure are pleasant and supportive of each other.
I find KnT to be a relaxing and enjoyable anime but by no means does it mine in depth inner teen psychology like Kare Kano, Marmalade boy, or even Fruits Basket did. What I’ve really been following is Sawako’s social growth even though at times her innocence and naivety (I don’t even think sixth graders are that innocent) even strains my patience.
I find Ayane, Chizu, Ryuu, Kurumi, and even Pin interesting, but I find Kazehaya to be like plain white rice. We get an insight into why Sawako likes/loves Kazehaya, but we’re given no idea why he’s attracted to Sawako; is it her looks, is it her personality, is it her innocence, or I could even buy that it was love at first sight, but we just don’t know.
To me the best episode of the series was episode 6 when Sawako finally decided to break free of her shell, and free herself from the past.
http://animewriter.wordpress.com/2009/11/12/kimi-ni-todoke-reaching-you-episode-6-review-outside-the-ruins-of-sawakos-wall-she-finds-friendship/
@tangle: yeah, I did finish Fruits Basket in the end. I quite liked it actually (although I need to read the manga and see how it really ends). I never got around to writing about it though…not that I’ve felt inclined to write about anything lately!
@Peter S: at the time of writing I’m as far as ep #12, and liking it a lot. There are some more misunderstandings and whatnot, but Sawako’s starting to open up and speak out a bit more, which is a welcome development. It’s also refreshing to see they’ve paid attention to developing the supporting characters too…looking good so far.
@Sorrow-kun: yeah, they may well be overdoing Sawako’s naivete if they don’t writer her out of that situation she was in initially. I actually expected Kazehaya to be the way he is, mainly because it’s a shoujo series so the male characters are a bit more idealised (the same can be said of female characters in moe shows I think). I followed Bokura Ga Ita for a while but in the end the male lead was such an ass it put me right off the whole thing; I felt annoyed that the girl was wasting her time and affections on him.
@kadian1364: same here. Toradora! and this both work well for me, but even now I still haven’t seen anything to match Kare Kano. Need to finish the manga so badly.
@2DT: thanks for the link. I often read Anime Diet’s posts but somehow that one slipped under my radar.
@Animewriter: I’m looking forward to Sawako’s full ‘break out’ from her shell, but what would really make it would be if we saw things from Kazehaya’s perspective. Again, it’s a rare development that makes the likes of Kare Kano special, but it would be welcome here too.