kimi ni todoke - story

Manga: Kimi ni Todoke


Alternative Titles


English: From Me to You

Synonyms: Reach You, Reaching You

Japanese: 君に届け


Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: May 25, 2006 to ?

Genres: Romance, School, Shoujo

Authors: Shiina, Karuho (Story & Art)

Serialization: Bessatsu Margaret


Story:

Sawako Kuronuma, called Sadako by her classmates for her resemblance to the character from The Ring, has always been feared and misunderstood because of her appearance. There are rumors that Sawako can see ghosts and curse people. However, despite her appearances, she is a sweet and timid girl who longs to be able to make friends with everyone and be like everyone else. When her idol, popular boy Kazehaya, begins talking with her, everything changes. She finds herself in a new world, trying to make friends and talking to different people and she can't thank Kazehaya enough for giving her these opportunities. Slowly, but surely, a sweet love is blossoming between the two as they will overtake any circumstance or clear obstacles in their way.

Characters:

Sawako "Sadako" Kuronuma (黒沼 爽子, Kuronuma Sawako)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

Age: 16

Blood type: O

Birthdate: 31st December

Sign: Capricorn

Height: 158 cm [5'2"]

Weight: 44 kg [97 lbs]

Life philosophy: "Do one good deed each day."

Sawako is a shy yet honest girl who is in search of friendship, but her resemblance to horror film character Sadako and Sawako's modesty and her tendency to shy away from correcting people of misconceptions prevent her from doing so, to the point most of the school believed her name was in fact Sadako. Thanks to Kazehaya's kind and open nature, she is able to gradually open up to her classmates, and talk to different people. Her modesty towards friends is so strong that Yoshida has to tell her point-blank, in Vol. 2, that "Did you know? Without realizing it ... we were already friends!" With help from Kazehaya, Yano and Yoshida she gradually begins to make friends. She is grateful (and at first, worships) Kazehaya for giving her the opportunities to make close friends, which come to include Yano, Yoshida, Kazehaya and Ryu. Yano and Yoshida admit that Sawako's 'like' to Kazehaya might be even more than Yano and Yoshida themselves. She is rather short, in part because her father is as well (he is only 160 cm tall) and is surprisingly fast (to the point some people believe she is teleporting) which is revealed during a soccer match at the school's sports festival. During Yano and Yoshida's first visit to Sawako's house, Yoshida notes that Sawako's lips and figure looks like her mother's and most of Sawako's other features resemble her father's. A running gag is that she seems to take what people say seriously as well as over-analyze a situation, which tends to scare the people around her when she is deep in thought. When Kazehaya practically confessed right in front of her that he likes her, but she believes it was a misunderstanding and that he was just saying he doesn't hate her. However, after having everything cleared up they officially start dating, though this only brings up rumors that she somehow used black magic to get him.

Shota Kazehaya (風早 翔太, Kazehaya Shōta)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa

Blood type: O

Birthdate: 15th May

Sign: Taurus

Height: 175 cm [5'9"]

Weight: 60 kg [132 lbs]

Life philosophy: "Be guided by the truth."

Kazehaya is Sawako's outgoing and friendly classmate, and is Sawako's sweet and friendly friend. He is so popular that during middle school, so many girls liked him that they formed a "Kazehaya is Everyone's" Alliance in order to maintain some level of peace among his admirers and more than half of these girls now attend the same high school. Kazehaya has held a long standing interest in Sawako and admits (though not to Sawako) that he likes her (He gets jealous easily), unaware that she feels the same for him.[6] During their second year of high school, he begins to wonder if she actually likes him after she does not give him chocolates on Valentine's Day, not knowing that she had been too nervous to give him any. He seemingly becomes calmer and shows a depressed and expressionless face more often. However, after being confronted by Ryuu (influenced by Chizuru) and Pin, Kazehaya goes to Sawako as his friends jokingly remark that he likes Sawako; however, Kazehaya takes the remark seriously and agrees, subsequently confessing directly to Sawako.[7] However, after Sawako's misunderstanding of his confession, he believes she rejected him. However, as of chapter 41 was finally able to confess his feelings to Sawako and are officially dating.

Ayane Yano (矢野 あやね, Yano Ayane)

Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro

Blood type: AB

Birthdate: 3rd March

Sign: Pisces

Height: 161 cm [5'3"]

Weight: 47 kg [104 lbs]

Life philosophy: "Beautiful."

Ayane is a close friend of Sawako. She is the arguably the most mature of the group and she has a boyfriend in college as well as having her ear's pierced multiple times. Initially the mangaka conceived of Yano and Yoshida as a pair, and in the first two chapters the two are difficult to tell apart. She then redrafted the characters, combing Yano's hair and styling it in a fashion that looks like a pony-tail. In Kurumi's fake rumors, it is said that Ayane has played more with more than 100 guys in middle school. In their current high school, it is said that Yano and Yoshida pretty much have authority in the year group. Perceptive and intelligent, a trait of Ayane's personality is that she gives just enough information to leave others wondering, thus forcing them to move forward, this as well as being able to figure out that it was Ume who spread the rumors and discovering that Sawako "liked" Kazehaya. Although she is usually calm and collected, she is easily infuriated if someone hurts Sawako and does not hesitate to attack the one responsible she believes is responsible (frequently Kazehaya) with kicks and sharp words. She's also fairly intimidating when angry, being called scary by Chizuru a number of times. As of Chapter 20 she broke up with her boyfriend, who had begun to become too possessive of her: calling her all times of the day, wondering what she has been up to, and the fact if she was with any guys. After she suggested they break up, he slapped her across the face. When he tried to apologize and ask her back, she realizes that the man she liked was not her boyfriend but rather, who he was when they started dating.

Chizuru Yoshida (吉田 千鶴, Yoshida Chizuru)

Voiced by: Yuko Sanpei

Blood type: A

Birthdate: 1st June

Sign: Gemini

Height: 167 cm [5'6"]

Weight: 53 kg [117 lbs]

Life philosophy: "Eat in moderation."

Yoshida is another close friend of Sawako. She is the tomboy of the group, and she even admits this when Ryu calls them brothers, where she argues about who is the older rather than that she is not a 'brother'. She can be very emotional at times usually seen humorously crying after a touching moment between her friends. She has a soft spot for innocent mannered people, so she takes a near instant liking to Sawako. In Kurumi's fake rumors it was passed around that she was a former Yankee, though Chizuru just takes the rumor as a means of scaring people off or as a joke for her friends. Chizuru is mostly on the slower side of things; she did not realize that Kazehaya liked Sawako (even though she and Ayane planned many events for them) until late in the series, after they started their second year of high school. She is a close childhood friend with Ryu Sanada, her neighbor, and she went to the same middle school as Kazehaya and Ryu. Because of this, Ryu's family regards Chizuru and her family as their own and vice-versa. She has a crush on Ryu's brother, Toru, since she was very young knowing the age gap between them. But when he visits with his fiancée, she realizes that he will only see their relationship as just siblings.

Ryu Sanada (真田 龍, Sanada Ryū)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

Blood type: B

Birthdate: 2nd December

Sign: Sagittarius

Height: 179 cm [5'10 1/2"]

Weight: 75 kg [165 lbs]

Life philosophy: "A man of action, not words."

Ryu is also member of Sawako's group of friends. He is the son of a ramen shop owner, owner of Chizuru Yoshida's favorite ramen shop. He is quiet most of the time and rarely talks, but still can communicate well with Sawako, as they both don't talk much anyways. He is a close childhood friend with Chizuru and does not deny having feelings for her, such as simply smiling when Sawako asks if he and Chizuru are dating.[8] He later confirms his love when he confesses that he likes Chizuru to Sawako. While his love is one-sided, he is very patient with Chizuru realizing that Chizuru probably won't like him in a romantic sense, at least not right away. He's more than willing to comfort Chizuru if she's depressed, though he would rather have her mad at him as he knows Chizuru can vent out her emotions better. Ryu and Kazehaya became friends when they were on the baseball team during middle school. Ryu also seems to like animals a lot; when Shota was going to walk "Maru", his adopted puppy, home with Sawako, Chizuru pulled Ryu away telling him he's going to walk with Ayane and her instead. While being pulled away from Shota's puppy, he cried out for it. In chapter 43, he casually tells Chiziru that he loves her and she reacts by saying "Don't say that so suddenly!".

Kazuichi "Pin" Arai (荒井 一市, Arai Kazuichi)

Voiced by: Yuuki Ono

Blood type: B

Birthdate: 25th July

Sign: Leo

Height: 193 cm [6'4"]

Weight: 88 kg [194 lbs]

Life philosophy: "I'm always right."

Arai is the temporary homeroom teacher for Sawako's class, taking over when the previous homeroom teacher became sick during the summer holidays while Sawako was helping him. He is nicknamed "Pin" and always is called that way, except Sawako who obeys the formalities and still calls him Arai-sensei. The reason he is called "Pin" is explained in the after-notes of Volume 1. Pin is a great fan of baseball as well as the school baseball team's coach. He used to be part of Kazehaya's father's league team, so he has known Shouta since when he was young. A loud and eccentric man prone to believing the silliest things, Pin apparently enjoys interrupting people. He had nicknamed the puppy that Sawako and Kazehaya found by the river "Pedro Martinez" after the legendary baseball pitcher. (Sawako suggested it be named "Maru", and that is its real name.) A running gag through the series, despite being a teacher he is prone to actions that are more suited to a teenager, such as eagerly running to the bathroom when he heard about a fight yet became depressed when Sawako and her friends were making up rather than fighting. He and Ayane tend to run into each other a lot, often bickering loudly as they walk away, though on rare occasions he will give her advice (though comically ends in him ruining the moment to praise himself). He also has a false impression that Sawako is an exorcist.

Ume "Kurumi" Kurumizawa (胡桃沢 梅, Kurumisawa Ume?)

Voiced by: Aya Hirano

Blood type: AB

Birthdate: 16th September

Sign: Virgo

A girl who appears friendly and sweet to everyone around her, she has had a huge crush on Kazehaya since their first year of middle school; as a result, she understands his personality well, despite the fact they were never close friends. She dislikes her given name, Ume, because it sounds old-fashioned and prefers to be called her nickname, "Kurumi." She is extremely jealous of Sawako, which led her to spread fake rumors of Sawako's only friends at the time, Yoshida and Yano, using Sawako's name. Kurumi does not attend the same class as Sawako or Kazehaya. She eventually confesses her love to Kazehaya, but receives an expected rejection.[6] Because she is always surprised with Sawako's naiveté, Kurumi is able to be her true self in front of Sawako and regards her as a rival for Kazehaya's affection. Following Kazehaya's rejection, she becomes colder to her classmates, but is able to finally express her feelings and personality.

Kento Miura (三浦 健人, Miura Kento)

Blood type: A

Birthdate: 6th February

Sign: Aquarius

A student in Sawako's class during second year who sits next to her. When Sawako befriends Miura, Kazehaya becomes jealous of him as a potential rival for Sawako. He is interested in girls, particularly Sawako and tries to persuade her to give up on Kazehaya, suggesting that she is burdening him, because he believes that Sawako's feelings for Kazehaya are unrequited. His interference with Sawako and Kazehaya's developing relationship irritates Ayane.

Tomoko Endo (遠藤 朋子, Endō Tomoko) and Eriko Hirano (平野 依里子, Hirano Eriko)

Voiced by: Mayuki Makiguchi (Eriko Hirano), Voiced by: Miho Miyagawa (Tomoko Endou)

Endou and Hirano are classmates of Sawako. After Sawako begins to open up, Endou and Hirano become some of her first friends. Their nicknames are "Tomo" and "Ekko".

Chigusa Takahashi (高橋 千草, Takahashi Chigusa)

Voiced by: Yurin

A classmate of Sawako, Takahashi sits behind Sawako after the seating arrangements change for the third term of first year. She enjoys teasing Sawako and Ayane remarks that Takahashi is eccentric. She is in the same class as Sawako during their second year.

Yagi (八木)

A classmate of Sawako who sits next to her after the seating arrangements change during the third term of first year. He often consults on supposedly spiritual or occult concerns.

Soichi Jonouchi (城ノ内 宗一, Jōnouchi Sōichi)

Voiced by: Masahiro Yamanaka

One of Sawako's classmates, easily swayed by other people. He generally appears in the background. Jounouchi is very attached to Kazehaya, which usually results in him unwittingly interrupting conversations between Sawako and Kazehaya. At one point, he is rejected after confessing to a girl he liked and is comforted by Kazehaya. After hearing about how Yano broke up with her boyfriend, he sets his attention onto her.

Tōru Sanada (真田 徹, Sanada Tōru)

Tōru is Ryu's older brother by eight years and Chizuru's crush since she was young. Although he is Ryu's brother and they resemble one another, their personalities are nearly opposite. Tōru resembles Kazehaya personality-wise and looks extremely refreshing, except much more mature. He lives three hours away from his parents' house and returns home to get married.[9] He cares about Ryu and Chizuru a lot and loves Chizuru like a little sister. He calls her Chi because when she says it, it looks like she's smiling.

Yoshiyuki "Zen" Arai (荒井 善行, Arai Yoshiyuki)

The original home room teacher of Sawako's class. He and Pin have the same surname, but are not related. To distinguish between the two teachers Yoshiyuki Arai is called "Zen". "Zen" is an alternate reading of the kanji for "Yoshi". He seems to be afraid of Sawako and the rumors surrounding her as "Sadako". Because he is easily ill, students often believe that Sawako has cursed him. Arai is newly-wed.

Shino (詩乃)

Voiced by: Kanae Oki

The only link to Sawako's past, Shino was her middle school classmate and the only person who Sawako talks to as the series begins. Shino cares about Sawako and whether she is fitting into high school. She is a cipher, appearing only occasionally as a catalyst for Sawako's interactions with other people. Perhaps for story reasons, Sawako is too modest to consider her as a friend. Shino was the first to call Sawako by her nickname.

Anime: Kimi ni Todoke

There are 25 episodes of the shojo anime series Kimi ni Todoke, directed by Hiro Kaburagi and produced by Production I.G. The episodes are based on the Kimi ni Todoke manga series by Karuho Shiina. Series Compositon is led by Tomoko Konparu, with character designs being provided by Yuka Shibata. The Opening theme music, "Kimi ni Todoke," is by Tanizawa Tomofumi, and the ending, "Kataomoi," is by Chara.


Live Action Film


The February 2010 issue of Bessatsu Margaret (released in January 2010), announced that a live-action film adaptation of the series has been green-lit, with more information coming in the March issue of the magazine, along with a message from the author about the news. Mikako Tabe and Haruma Miura are set to star in the film, which is to be released in Japanese theatres on September 25, 2010 and will be directed by Naoto Kumazawa.

source: (google)