This story is so fucking cute.

Kimi ni Todoke is a romance created by mangaka Karuho Shiina, for being her second ever full length manga (amidst many other one shots), this story in particular really struck me. After watching the anime and absolutely killing me with it's slow burn romance, its super cute and funny characters, and whisking me away in the little moments, I can say that truly, Kimi ni Todoke is one of my favorite in romance stories.

What really sets this manga apart from most other romance manga, anime, and even shows on television, is the slow build up of feelings from both our main character, Sawako, and her love interest, Kazehaya. I mean SPOILER!!...

Spoiler, click to view

but it took them a whole season for Sawako to admit she had feelings in the first place!

Usually, when shows do this, it just annoys me since sometimes it's so obvious. Though with this story, it's so much more endearing, you can tell they're both figuring out things about one another and how they really feel. It's calm... the manga pulls you in with it's innocence and almost teases you with each chapter..._ love takes time, just one more chapter! _ You just end up more and more at the edge of your seat every time they even graze each other in the hallway or catch each other looking. You wait and wait... and then boom!! Something happens that's big and impactful and your heart just!! Aaaaaaa... It warms you up like tea or hot chocolate on a really cold night! TvT

Furthermore, you also have Sawako's trusty friends, Ayane and Chizuru! When I say this trio is one of the cutest girl friend groups... Ayane is a cool, flirty type, though she has trouble in her relationships, she's the one to rely on in the love department. Chizuru is the boyish, goofy character that is charmingly air-headed at times. I see myself most in Chizuru from the way she acts in the manga and how she chooses to handle a lot of the situations in the story!! She's like the protective friend in the story in the way she protects Sawako physically in the story, as where Chizuru takes care of her emotionally the most! Till even the very end of the story, they're always there for each other when it matters most, and seeing their relationship synergy is so so so sweet and endearing. I will always long for a friendship like they have!

The other relationships in the story are pretty nice too! Though there was one in particular that struck me odd... I'm still torn about what I think about it but, here goes. Spoilers from now on!!

Spoiler, click to view

At the very end of the manga, Ayane breaks up with Kento, which by the way is a TOTAL fucking sweetheart, I felt so sad about it... but I understood she maybe didn't feel it with him, although it do be a lil unfortunate. What really struck me as a little like... ???... was her crush towards the semi young teacher, Pin?? Pin is a very obnoxious and confident person. For the whole manga he had been looking for a girlfriend, poor guy, and would always act so silly when he knew there was an event where girls HIS AGE were going to attend! It'll ease your mind when I say he did in fact shut her down when she confessed (which is crazy that she even had the crush in the first place) and normally didn't lead her on until the end of the story when the mangaka sorta needed a moment between them to happen? The moment I'm referring to mostly is when he waited for her to come tell him about the test results, which honestly I understand why a teacher would wait a lil bit because clearly Ayane was stressing about it for the longest time, so being there to congratulate her for it does add up! But waiting as long as he did was like oooookay.. I see you were also just wanting her to come out with it!! He definitely did not seek a relationship with her at any point though until Ayane blurted something previous, recent to the exams, about her not being a child anymore and then running away suspiciously after, lol.

I suppose Ayane always had liked older / more mature guys, and it was always hinted in the story that they were a little tad bit closer than the rest, though I never thought she'd actually confess or develop any sort of feelings. It's my only (≖_≖ ) moment in the whole manga, though I figure I should say my piece about it since I was thinking a lot about it after finishing the story.

Then, my last thought about Sawako and Kazehaya... the ending where they finally... do the deed? I wasn't sure how I felt about it, I think it was done well in the sense that it wasn't shown at all and only really heavily hinted at, though Sawako was so innocent throughout the entire story, so seeing it happen was like... too much maybe? Or too fast even? I'm unsure still how I feel about it but it was still a nice conclusion! So it won't harshen how I feel about the manga in general!

And onto my final thoughts! I loved this story with all my heart, there were very very few parts that were a little too slow, though all in all, it lead to one of the sweetest conclusions. All the teasing to finally come to a relationship was so worth it! (And not just with Sawako and Kazehaya!) The art, the captivating story and plot, the timing, adorable characters, and the conclusion all lead me to believe this is one of the cutest stories you'll read. My faith in true love truly has been rekindled and I am so PROUDD of Sawako and her friends! Definitely a big recommend if you love sweet, innocent, loving stories that will leave your heart bursting at the seams!

RATING: 89