FINAL THOUGHTS: Kimi ni Todoke Second Season

After an extremely frustrating first half, the series almost redeems itself by finally moving the relationship of the main characters to the desired end.

I almost dropped this series. Kimi ni Todoke Second Season is one of those shows that creates conflict where there shouldn't be and makes you want to scream at your monitor because the characters are.... well, not exactly stupid but they do the most stupid things, like missing to elaborate a certain point and by doing so create a misunderstanding that fosters even more misunderstandings until everything becomes so convoluted that everyone becomes depressed and wallowing in drama and misery, when all of this could have been avoided if they.just.fucking.TALKED. Properly. Lengthily. Without the 'ums' and the 'ers.'

It's a good thing Production I.G. made this show -- they of the big studio budget. The quality of the production is beyond par. Excellent, in fact, even if everything else isn't. I haven't seen the first season but jute assures me that there's no visible downgrade with the value at all, and I have to say, I agree. Kimi ni Todoke is one of the most beautiful shoujos I've ever seen. Granted, I haven't watched many, but still. And the BGM is excellent as well, neither too distinctive as to take away from the show nor too subdued as to not be noticeable. I don't pay much attention to the OPs or EDs of anime -- any anime for that matter -- but I guess this series' offerings fit the bill.

The story itself is lightweight. Nothing extraordinary about first love in a school setting. What does stand out is the character of Sawako. A girl who is so earnest, yet so traumatized (lol) by a bad childhood nickname, that she is misunderstood by her classmates just as frequently as she misunderstands them. It takes a boy like Kazehaya, a talking-walking-Mr. Popular, and fierce friends like the wise-talking Ayane and hopeless tomboy Chizu, to finally get Sawako out of her shell and interact normally with her classmates.

And then there's love, although that I kind of don't want to talk about, because I see it as the downside of this show. Kazehaya and Sawako's love story might be sweet but it is also the most awkward I've ever seen and painful to watch. Not to mention frustrating. I'm at least grateful that they decided to resolve their relationship at the end of this season so that there's no doubt now that the two are girlfriend and boyfriend.

In conclusion, Kimi ni Todoke Second Season is a fine, lightweight shoujo romance. The characters, especially the main ones, are well-developed. The side characters don't really feature much, although there was that one bit at the end that really surprised me. Really? Those two? Never saw it coming. (Are you talking about Ryu x Chizu? They're my OTP of this fandom - jute.) But the focus is really on the main characters and their budding relationship.