Posted by Episode 11
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「祭りのあと」 (Matsuri no Ato)
“After the Festival”
Recap:
The aftermath of the confession continues with an extended party to celebrate the finishing of the festival. Peeps ain’t down with the new couple, so a little defending had to be done by Kazehaya. Later on, Sawako gets some alone time with Kazehaya after several people butting in like always, and finishes the night with an official confession by Kazehaya. Sawako wakes up to an incredible amount of reminders that it wasn’t a dream, and I d’awwed so hard. People at school still think it’s IMPOSSIBRU, and I DON’T BELIEVE, so Kazehaya continues pushing the fact that yes, they are a couple. Cliffhanger: Jealous bitches gonna bitch.
Impressions:
Pin knowing more about Sawako’s naiveness than Kazehaya was hilarious, especially since he’s such an ass about it. You have to admit, he’s incredibly good at manipulating Sawako to piss Kazehaya off, but that’s what makes it so funny. The whole marriage deal had me going so hard, I was actually surprised that Sawako knew what he was talking about, but I mean, you could never really know with her. From what we’ve seen so far, the marriage misunderstanding COULD actually be written to drag out almost exactly in the same fashion as their “likes” fiasco, and that seriously makes me shudder. I needed him to ask her out formally though, just as a “confession in writing” sense. It’s amazing how satisfying that was, just a simple, “will you go out with me” and a “yes.” Dammit KnT, see how low you made me fall to get some closure?
I almost forgot the class still wouldn’t typically approve of the relationship, so the entire school bugging out was annoying and a pleasure at the same time. Why? Because for what these two knuckleheads put us through, they deserve to be forced to state their relationship to everyone they even meet, let alone their entire school. On a more serious note, what does “perfect for each other” really even mean? Characters like Miura throw the statement around to convince the viewer that they’re made for each other, but personally, I think it’s just because they really really really really really really like each other. That and strawberry time. Whatever the hell that is.
Episode 12
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「大事な人」 (Daiji na Hito)
“Important Person”
Recap:
Our lead couple enjoys a little trashbag alone time, until interrupted by Pin like usual. Sawako realizes there’s some unfinished business with Kurumi, but gets intercepted by some jealous girls. They get told by Chizuru, one that has mastered the art of an unrequitted love, and Ayane hits it home. Sawako attempts to communicate with Kurumi, but fails to get much out, and leaves. Ayane gives a good talking to Kurumi as well, and what can I say, the girl is an expert at making other girls cry. Ryu confesses like an absolute bro to Chizuru, doing what Kazehaya and Sawako couldn’t do in an entire two seasons in several minutes. Sawako realizes how important this relationship really is, and later goes on their first date to the planetarium.
Impressions:
In my case, I would’ve thanked Kurumi, and would’ve gotten slapped in the process, so it’s a good thing Sawako kept her mouth shut. It’s true, thanking her might have been worse than apologizing, so there really was nothing Sawako could say, despite the fact that they both knew what they wanted to say. Communication is complicated hypocrisy sometimes.
Barring the closure near the end, this episode was absolutely great (and so was the previous). I’ve brought up the issue of the rest of the girls having an unfair fight against Sawako simply because love isn’t really a fair game to begin with. That said, the point brought up by Kurumi was that none of the girls even confessed to Kazehaya, so they did not deserve a chance to compete on the same level as Sawako. She then made more points, and then Chizuru and Ayane came in, and I was just mesmerized by how much sense was being made… Need I remind anyone again, this is what makes KnT so good for me.
There’s really not much to be said here here except me repeating how great this part was or how amazing the other part was. Kurumi and co. were really the last issues to be resolved, and with the exception of Ayane and Chizuru’s stories, which just weren’t part of the series because the manga is still ongoing, the ending was extremely satisfying (you’ll see this word a lot, just watch). Sawako crying and stating that she’ll treasure this relationship was quite powerful, as it’s quite amazing how a single sentence can provide such closure to an entire series. It was actually quite a revelation for me to realize that their (or any) single relationship was built upon the misery of dozens of others, but you can blame Kazehaya for that. And his victory cheer at the end, LOL. You deserve it bro.
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Final Impressions:
Do I like Kimi ni Todoke? I couldn’t say yes any harder. Do I like the second season? I might be a little hesitant, but.. yes, yes I did.
It’s a little odd to be making final impressions for this series, because I forget many things. I feel like it’s too obvious to be bringing them up, like an absolutely excellent and entertaining cast of characters, a humor that stirs up a riot at times, and an engaging relatable plot of self discovery, friendship, and love. It’s a shoujo series at its finest, and I don’t really need to drive the point home what the first season did already. So if you want to hear me gush about the series, you won’t see it here. Really, if you’re reading this and you haven’t seen either seasons, please give the first a shot.
But this second season? Kind of a thorn. Sure, the season started off well, but then the series decided to take a dip into the romance crutch of misunderstandings. You don’t know how disappointed I was, and still am, that Shiina Karuho (the mangaka) couldn’t think of a better device to bring the two together. It absolutely did not help that the misunderstanding was over semantics. Yeah, the motherload of all misunderstandings and probably most hated. Following that was a cycle of frustration with two people having no idea what to do, repeating scenes over and over again with no results. I think you’ll remember Kazehaya confessed to her face several times to no avail. Absolutely ridiculous. The mess of emotions were also never stated clearly by either character, so actions started to completely lose meaning, subsequently lowering my enjoyment of the show. I don’t know whether to point the finger to Production I.G. for possibly screwing up the clarity of the adaptation, or that fault still lies on Karuho.
Thanks to humor and brotastic supporting characters, I was able to endure through the frustration and make it through what I like to call “The Dark Ages of KnT.” Once the series was past this point, all the good things about the series quickly came rushing back, and the show was once again in its familiar groove. While it’s too bad that only lasted for the remaining two episodes, the series ended on a really strong point, with several moving final scenes, especially the last minute. There was just so much closure the series was able to bring with a few simple sentences that simply had me awestruck, so I’m sorry guys, but this series won me over again.
From the start, I had thought a second season with only twelve episodes couldn’t possibly be enough. Sitting here now, I disagree, twelve episodes was more than enough. It’s funny, I’m not exactly sure if I’m satisfied because the ending was good, or because I’ve just seen enough of Sawako and Kazehaya’s fumbling around (lol), but I’m not too sad if they don’t make a third season (unless someone tells me something amazing happens). I may read the manga, I may not, all I know is, Sawako and Kazehaya are together, they’re happy, I’m happy, life is good.
Okay, maybe I’m a little sad. ;_;
yay. great series.
want more of chizuru and ryu.
Very very good series. I don’t normally partake in drama/romance/comedy/slice of life type animes but this just had that special cast of unusual (and unusually fitting) personality types that just made KnT so damn good.
I know what you mean about being happy and sad. It was a good wrap up. Possibility of a 3rd is there (or at least an OVA. All depends on how the manga is going about) but regardless, it’s sad when a season finishes.
It’s just sitting there, like now what? I’m like this for most any series. Once it ends it feels like the whole life and world of the story is just over. Without knowing for sure there’s going to be continuations, it just feels like its the last of this adventure.
I don’t know. I just hate finishing series off. I love the anticipation of waiting for the next episode (except for Mahou Shoujo Madoka. 2 weeks was way too long). Now that its over, it just seems like “something” is missing.
no more kimi ni todoke. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Seriously though, through rough times, frustrating times, good times, and happy times, Kimi ni Todoke gave me a roller coaster of emotions that no other series this season (except Madoka maybe which my jaw always drops by the end of the episode) did and I considered that a good thing.
This was a great series. Possibly one of the best romantic animes ever made. I still liked it even during the Dark Ages of Misunderstandings. Was fustrated like everyone else but that was part of the story. If you want to know what happens next then click the spoiler Show Spoiler ▼
Great series :O Realy loved it.. Pin was the best character in the show. when the scenery was acward and so on pin got there and used “his comedy” :))))
No kiss at all :O no kiss 🙁 kiss 🙁
No kiss?
And here i was hoping for sexy time 😛
It ended just like how I wanted it to be.
Now can we get a spin-off series Kimi ni Todoke Ryuu and Chizuru version please?
Seconded. I definitely want another season with Chizuru and Ryu.
I really really really wish there would be a spin off for Yano !! I like her so much ! Do you think she’ll get with Pin (can’t wait for the manga to focus on her already !)
i guess there will be ova to end chizuru and ayane story too
orz it ended… I’m going to miss
NamikawaKazehaya-kun T-TKazehaya’s victory, indeed! I couldn’t imagine him expressing it any other way because damn, that’s Exactly how it feels!! 😀
Was it just me or did Pin throw trash at Sawako and not notice because he was all over Kazehaya..? >:1
ps. I’m a little depressed too. ^^’
Time to Watch this!!! ^_^
Sawako’s confrontation with Kurumi was actually what I expected from her. Remember back when Kurumi’s plan blew up in her face? Sawako did a similar thing: just stating the facts to Kurumi. Others would have gloated or apologized but Sawako was doing what she thought was the right (honorable) thing to do. Face your rival and tell them directly what happened.
After trying to study Japanese for awhile, I came to the conclusion that the frustration we have at the constant misunderstandings are partly related to the nature of their language. Japanese may find this culturally and linguistically a more understandable situation than outsiders do. The words usually used for like and love are the same so you start from an issue of ambiguity. The tendency to not explicitly state who or what you’re talking about (relying on context) is another. Kazahaya must also be the shyest “Big Man on Campus” I’ve ever seen. When Pin has to tell him to explicitly ask her out you know the kid is messed up.
The whole marriage proposal thing almost made me scream, but when Sawako admitted that she was just fantasizing I realized that she had actually matured in a major way. The last few episodes showed a subtle but amazing character change in her. The same girl but suddenly more sure of herself.
Since I didn’t know they were going to have a second season I read the manga that followed after the first season so I was aware of some of the things that happened before I was the anime. One thing I was disappointed with the last episode was how little time was given to the first date. After what they put us though we deserved to see a whole episode centered around the date.
bear makes an important point here, and why this show will likely appeal a lot more to home audiences than it will to foreign ones. There’s a lot of ambiguity in the Japanese language, which makes this kind of situation very plausible in Japanese life. Personally, I believe the mangaka was trying to make a point here: to be clearer with your feelings. There’s usually a lot of these little ‘life lessons’ in manga/anime targeted towards younger audiences. You must keep in mind that this show and its corresponding manga are targeted towards the younger teenage girl audiences.
The anime adaption of the Kimi ni Todoke manga is probably the most faithful adaptation of manga to anime I have ever seen. The whole misunderstanding bit played out pretty close word to word/scene to scene as the manga. What we read in the manga was what was said/seen in the anime, Production IG didn’t mess with it at all.
At this point in the Manga, there’s not enough content to consider another TV season. The anime ends off at a partial look at Chapter 46 of the manga (the end of Volume 11). The manga is currently sitting at chapter 56 (first chapter of Volume 14), waiting for chapter 57 in the next issue of Bessatsu Margaret (Betsuma), due out the 13th.
There would be about enough content for another 12 episode season after volume 14 is finished, so it would be possible as early as the Winter 2012 season if they do decide to continue its anime adaption. That decision likely wont happen until after the DVD release of season 2.
Show Spoiler ▼
I tend to forget that these shows have target audiences, and may not be “appropriate” material to be judging on a certain harshness level. The fact that a large sum of anime is pretty much targeted to a lower age market than myself, makes me wonder if some of these shows should even get criticism, or at least, to what level of.
good end, that last sentence was perfect. BUT ON ANOTHER NOTE, i cant help but smirk to myself on how “FANTASTICAL” this series has been, TRUE i can’t dispute the fact that love occurrences like these happen in real life, but ohh lawdy what a streeeeetch, and that whole scene with ayane giving those girls the “polite” business HAHAHAHAHAHA! yeah, like that would have went down like that!……but for what it was, it was great! a sparkle-ly rosy colored ride. thanks for sharing pimpin
I agree with Kiragii (nice post, btw. glad to see the recap section make flesh) that the 1st season was more enjoyable then the second. but the way I see it, not having S2 would have been too cruel on viewers of S1, who deserved a conclusion. This view on things was reinforced by S2 having only 12 episodes – the story needed an ending, and that’s basically what S2 delivered. So I don’t have any quarreles with S2 being noticebaly less entertaining than S1. But in retrospect, I would have been fine with a few OVAs getting us there (like OreMouto is doing now) without dragging the misunderstandings so long.
Yeah, chuck away episodes 2 to about 8 and you’ll have the best anime of the season in my opinion lol (depending on how Madoka finishes of course ;D).
One thing I did miss from the first season was the range of looks Ayane gave Sawako. Especially the last arc of that season when Sawako and Kazehaya went to the shrine together which really brought out the smile and all.
12 episodes is definitely enough, though if they got rid of the few episodes in between and look further at the love relationships of the supporting characters I would have been more happy 🙂
Seconded.
More focus on the relationships of other concerned characters instead of stretching the dark time of all the misunderstandings so long, should have been great.
And I strongly agree with Kiiragi’s complements to KnT S1. Yes, I was surprised many a time with realizing that I had learned so much from all the self discovery, friendship and love in this show.
It couldn’t be helped if Production I.G. were to stay faithful to the series. The manga up to that point just didn’t have the supporting character’s development, but that’s why it’s still ongoing.
Great series, of course there was times when it was frustrating to watch but I couldnt be more happy with the end result.
The show is pretty caught up to the manga now… the chapters come out slowly… but…………
If anything I really think they should make a 3rd season of sorts that would focus more on Ayane… I’ll not talk about why but all I can say is read the manga lol…
Awww why does it have to end ? :C
Awesome series though :’)
great series, very nice, i want more of thist XDDD well thanks for the picture and resume :3
Yes, yes, yes! They’re finally going out with each other. Oh my gosh that was a hard season to deal with, with all the mistakes in perceptions. Overall, loved this season, along with the first. One of the best romance animes ever! (second to Clannad).
I loved this brutaly honest and heart warming serious. This what Japanese Anime is all about the true meaning and slice of life feeling.
With the season ending, it has kindling my inerest back to manga which I stopped reading. This series and previous season has really been an heart warming yet serious life issue animes. I truely felt connected to the characters and their problems. The humor equaled the sadest moments. The brutaly honest world of people without confidence really showed and it made fall deeper in the anime. I cant praise it enough. It very similar to Boku ga Ita which I also like and in some sense also felt very similar to Honey Clover.
It has left me question will there be OVA or specials. I know the movie is good but is there one more SPARKLE.
Thank you Kiigiri for you post. I loved reading your post. I think we need more anime like this for spring season.
The blame for “The Dark Ages of Season Two” can be placed squarely on the shoulders of the mangaka; you shouldn’t blame Production I.G. for that. All they did was faithfully (for the most part) follow what had already been published.
What had already been published was a really good shoujo manga that started to bog down in places because the author made some really annoying plot decisions to just prolong the inevitable. It’s the main reason why I wasn’t particularly looking forward to watching this season as it was airing, because I *knew* I would get really irritated and want to throw things at the viewing appliance… but I did it anyway. Kudos to Production I.G. for great work.
It’s still a good manga and a good show… just… annoying in bits. But overall worth reading/watching.
Too bad you didn’t cap Chigusa’s awesome Diagram Full of Win on the blackboard. That was hilarious.
And there’s nothing like Strawberry Time. Best euphemism of the season. XD
It was mostly Japanese so.. 😛
great great series,i love it,i am really gonna miss it so much
sawakoxkazehaya is one of the best couple ever..
third season plz…
Episode 11 was just so dazzling to watch; it was like waiting for a beautiful flower to bloom and when it does you are in a long awe. Kazehaya and Sawako became the cutest couple for me in no time. This episode just reconfirmed it again times ten folds. For me when they were teased as being a couple and Kazehaya restating his feelings for Sawako to everyone again made this series sweeter than ever. It’s also funny to see Pin help Kazehaya in a way that it’s entertaining for himself and for me.
Episode 12 is a good place to stop for a break. It gave me closure just as much as Season 1 did. Even though it focused on Sawako’s previous problems more than it should focus on the couple’s direction to a happily ever after. I would have actually raged about it in the other way if it weren’t for that great epilogue. I couldn’t have pictured their first date any other way – perfection. I was all moe for another hug from Kazehaya but I still prefer if it was a kiss at the end of a date. But that might be too fast for them both since they just recently held hands.
Oh and about Ryu’s sudden confession I’m amazed that Chizuru got it so quickly; it’s all good.
Second season is a bit better because of the quality of the art in production (if you know what I mean). My overall impressions for this anime will always be 100% awesome puppy love & innocence. I think this time I can’t help it now; I have to see what happens next in the manga then. KnT forever in my top anime list. It has been a treat to watch and comment about it. Lots of love (lol).
OMG Ryuu confesses?!?! *happy dance* I have to watch this ASAP. I’m so glad I’m not the only who wants a spin-off (or something) devoted to Ryuu and Chizuru…Yano as well, I like her too.
The screenshots won’t enlarge
Fixed.
Do they ever call each other by their first names? I really wanted to see that.
i really enjoy this series although it was not on my list of anime to watch and i probably would not have follow it if i didn’t saw the first episode.i still have not seen the first season but it’s on my list of anime to watch
they never kissed…
i frickin hated ayane the last episode…
Joe ftw! Thats it!
Ahhh what a great two seasons…. And the whole fist-pump thing Kazehaya pulled on his bike? It was animated so that it reminded me of Miyazaki. Awesome? I think so. Brotastic Ryu is brotastic
It has been a very entertaining story line, it is kinda the opposite to what I’ve seen of “Kare Kano” (His and Her Circumstance) where the female lead is totally the opposite and is wearing a mask of false personality in the public view to be praised for her actions. Eventually changing in liking the male lead character of the story!
I’m gonna read the manga and see if they extend where the story goes in the end! Not sure where a 3rd season could go really in my point of view, but anything could be possible haha