"You brought color to my life"
I've been in love with this story since 2011 and first things first - the original manga is far superior, so please please go read it!!!
But anyway, anime did a great job, it is soooo beautiful, it's a ray of PURE SUNSHINE, literally a roll of happiness and harmony that slowly covers you head to toe, with amazing visuals and voice actors. It sends the most kind and self-reassuring message, all characters are captivating and the music is astounding - I've been listening to its openings and endings for years now.
This is a story about real character development, about finding the strength to develop your own voice, to power through, to grasp the life you truly deserve - and never letting go of it. The story about pouring your heart out without expecting anything in return; of outgrowing a love that is detrimental; of distinguishing between what you really want and fleeting emotions; of learning the universal truth that it's all about the timing but if you have just enough luck left - you turn your head and see that your happiness is still waiting right beside you, while you've been looking the other way this whole time.
For those who know nothing about the plot: remember how everyone is scared of Sadako from The Ring? Now imagine Sadako is suddenly sitting in your classroom - silent, long dark hair, paralysing eye gaze, watering some poisonous plants in the school's backyard... But if you pay just enough attention you'll learn that's actually Sawako, whose name no one remembers, who's very shy, always nervous about doing something inconvenient, and has a habit of planting medical herbs. But no one has any idea... no one but the nice guy she helped on the first day - the actual center of attention. It's a universal understanding that they are from two different planets, Sawako knows that better than anyone, so how can they possibly approach each other even though they desperately want to? That's how it all begins.
You will laugh, you will cry, you will sit on the edge every time any character tries to reach another with the words that have been burning in their throat for weeks, you'll be over the moon seeing them finally smile - and you'll love every character, even those that a simple story would deem as "evil rivals".
Everyone in this story is three dimensional, layered and powerful. Everyone has their own share of heartbreaking moments - and they are all so true to life, so beautiful, so familiar that your own heart skips a beat more and more with each episode. The title of your favourite character will most likely be reassigned several times throughout the series (and maaany times if you read the amazing original manga, for me it has finally settled on Ayane).
And if you ever feel lonely or sad, you can always go back to this story and remember that there is still hope and you can still feel all the emotions you thought were already lost for you.
Thank you, Kimi ni todoke, for always reminding me of how I felt when I was 15. I love you so much.
(P.S. Yanopin forever)
