I’m a white american so this review is lacking cultural context.

I can’t believe I read the first volume of this four months ago, it feels like just a few weeks. I fell right back into the story, which is high praise for a plot that’s this lowkey and accompanied by art this generic. I think Kimi Ni Todoke is extremely cute most of the time and, aside from the fact that it’s absurd thinspo, is probably a good read for tweens who are figuring out how to navigate intense relationality. the characters are generally kind, and the conflict is caused by groupthink and misunderstanding more than cruelty or stupidity. Kimi Ni Todoke promotes clear communication, mutual adoration, and meaningful boundaries. Sawako, Yoshida, and Yano are all sweet girls who have my heart, and Kazehaya is actually a good standard to hold boys this age to. he is polite, thoughtful, and values-driven. he demonstrates a lot of empathy. it’s nice to see boy characters written like this as models for friendship/affection, instead of guys like, I don’t know, Sonic the Hedgehog (? not sure what I’m thinking here, other than that Sonic is the quintessential shitty guy for a girl to be crushing on and he feels very middle school).

all this said, I probably won’t read past this volume. the art is dated and not very good, and there are long sections where it’s not clear if a character is reflecting/thinking or if there’s dialogue being exchanged. I’m perfectly happy letting these characters live in my head as they are; I don’t feel the need to see how things are different by volume 30. I’ll be on the lookout for something with this energy that is better to look at and easier to navigate.