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ThePatches

  • Sillver Spring, MD
  • Joined Jun 11, 2009
  • 41 / M

Story

In the spring of 2010, Kimi ni Todoke charmed many viewers with its floral visuals and stunning performance by Mamiko Noto as Sawako Kuronuma. Like a rarefied picture of high school romance, the series drew out the bittersweet anticipation that comes from not knowing how your crush feels about you, and turned it into a kind of delightful torture--for viewers who were into that kind of thing. Sadly, the second season didn't understand that a heart (and attention span) can only handle so much tension and tried to cram in too many extra episodes before giving us sweet, sweet resolution.

As season two gets underway Sawako seems in a good place. She’s gone on a date with the ever-cheerful and quick-to-blush Kazehaya and seems to have weathered the machinations of Kurumi. So, the stage SHOULD be set for sloppy make-outs and episode after episode of gooey fawning, right? Not really. Instead of trudging forward and exploring a developing relationship, Kimi ni Todoke Season 2 backpedals from the first installment, retreating into the same painful pattern of misunderstandings that shaped the prequel. As a result, the first half of this series plays out in a painful exercise of “been there, done that” that seriously stretches Sawako’s credibility as a character.

Luckily, as time grows short near the end, the best parts of the cast (no, Kent, you are not included in that group) press the two leads towards the conclusion for which all of us have been waiting. These final episodes capture the hand-wringing anticipation of high school romance and showcase the nuggets of sincerity hiding underneath the overblown melodrama. In the end, however, the show drags out too little content to be worthy of its twelve episode run, regardless of the warm feelings that Kimi ni Todoke brings forth.


Animation

Production I.G.’s sparkles are back in force as the second season makes use of the same decorative flowers, bubbles, and stills to highlight key emotional moments. The vivid color palette and detailed school backgrounds also return, all of which make this series easy on the eyes. Lastly, charming shifts between chibi and realistic characters once again forms the cornerstone of the show's humor and helps the animation retain a manga-seque senseibility

In a small twist, this show seems to feature more silhouette shots than its prequel, which draws attention to the characters' odd appearances. Their small, smooth noses and bulbous lips conjure the appearance of humanoid dinosaurs (I didn't believe it until I saw it, but look for yourself).


Sound

Once again, Mamiko Noto animates Sawako through an extremely nimble performance that anchors the cast. Sliding from saccharine highs to throaty lows suits the wild emotions of the series just fine and ensures that even as her character development stalls a touch, the show’s lead remains entertaining. Following Noto-san’s, example, the rest of the cast delivers in the same strong turns that set them apart last season.

"Sawakaze"--the opening theme--conjures the same intimate kindness of the first season's opening and the fits--despite it's electric instrumentation--with the collection of piano-based incidental music that adorns the each episode. The simple themes suit the pastel visuals well, conjuring a sense of idyllic high school life. Sadly, the ending, which is named after the series, feels a bit too stuffed with schmaltz. While this sits with the show's melodrama, it lacks the endearing sincerity of the prequel's ending number.


Characters

Sawako remains much the social cripple and Kazehaya the insecure nice boy. These roles worked fine in the first season, but threaten to flatten the leads when they’re locked in their holding patterns in regard to each other. While the protagonist does learn from Kurumi's machinations that she has a group of sincere and steadfast friends, she remains overly concerned with Kazehaya's reputation and continues to clam up in the face of misunderstandings. This character trait serves as the entire force behind the plot, but that seems a weak excuse when viewers are treated to an indentical set of anxieties in this show as what we saw before.

As a result, it falls once again to the antagonist to create some sparks and forward motion. Kurumi spices up the proceedings in season one, and her scheming pushes Sawako to examine her feelings for Kazehaya. After her confession, the blonde rival slides into the background requiring this season to produce a new catalyst in the form of Kento Miura. Where his predecessor has an solid motive, considerable cunning, and the delicious voice of Aya Hirano, Kent relies heavily on whimsy and mystery. Not a terribly strong combination. Since he lacks malice and refuses to reveal any goals whatsoever, his actions never rise above annoying meddling. The kind of hatred he inspires comes from his underlying uselessness instead of anger at any deliberate harm he does to Sawako. In this case, a deep snow or power outage would have proven a more compelling villain.

Thankfully, everyone else knows how to dance the dance, acting in the second season like a group of sophomores returning to school (see what I did there?). Chizuru and Pin, in particular inhabit their skins comfortably, blundering into the right or wrong actions with such unflappable confidence as to further endear them to the viewer. These developments act as salve against the painful possibility of stagnation that looms when Sawako ties herself up in knots about whether she can be more than friends with her crush.


Overall

Kimi ni Todoke Season Two still manages to delight the ears and eyes but overstays its welcome. By dragging out its meager plot allotment longer than believable and trying to make a villain out of a decidedly vanilla antagonist, this installment tarnishes much of the magic so adeptly conjured by the prequel.

6/10 story
7.8/10 animation
8/10 sound
6/10 characters
6/10 overall

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mkdirbob Aug 14, 2012

I'll just pretend the first like 8 episodes of season 2 never happened.

folie Jul 4, 2012

This show is sooooooooooo slow , just sooooooooooo slow , just like Kazehaya and Sawako , i'm getting annoyed of how dumb they both are. Also they should've  stopped doing those "chibi scenes" , the style is bad.

awpaperwings Nov 12, 2011

I have to say that I am happy where the first ended off. I don't think I will risk ruining that by watching this. 

babyeinstein12 Aug 28, 2011

You know, as much as I admire you, Patchy, I do have to disagree with this review. I felt that this season was far better than its predecessor. Perhaps it was because I watched this one such a long time after the first season (I let myself sufficiently forget, perhaps?), but I felt like this one addressed those issues of insecurity and desire with much more of its heart in its throat. What you complain about isn't false, but I feel like it's one of those things where Sawako and Kazehaya's relationship had to get worse before getting better. To me the progression of their relationship, if at times frustrating, was that much more engaging. The way Sawako and Kazehaya's ways of dealing with each other almost spiraled out of control, I thought this season quite impressively reminded me a bit of how sometimes the relationships we have in our own lives just don't make sense sometimes, but they do happen, and they do impact you a great deal personally. Sawako and Kazehaya's personal struggles here really highlighted to me the heart-wringing truth to the meaning of its title: "Reaching You." I also thought this season was a rare find for the shoujo genre as a whole, because it chose to look at this kind of "first love" from such a different perspective.  It told us that while Sawako *SPOILER ALERT* did end up getting the guy, she couldn't have achieved this simply by being herself and letting it happen, the way so many love stories tell us it should. We could even say, from a more "objective" point of view (a.k.a. Kurumi's), that Sawako didn't deserve to get him in the end. But that's the thing about love, isn't it? It's so much about timing; it's about people who help you along the way; it's about changing yourself. DEEP BREATH. One last thing I was impressed with. When it was all wrapping up, the show spent time with those girls upon whom love did not bestow its <rather arbitrary> blessings. Kurumi learns to deal with the cold truth and come to an understanding with the fact that sometimes, even if you try you will never get what you reach for. I really think a lot of Kimi ni Todoke 2 was a commentary on "first love" in general and how it can be both so transformative and so insensible. Anyway, if you're reading this now, I'm impressed with you. :D

HopeGrace Jul 10, 2011

It's funny, I realise all KnT 2's machinations in dragging out the melodrama, inserting a cliched antagonist in the form of Kent, the backsliding of Sawako's character development and her relationship with Kazehaya, and all the rather unreasonable misunderstandings, but I still loved it.  XD  I guess it's my kind of show, with all the melodrama and insecurities of a high school love.  And I loved the ending theme Kimi ni Todoke~

P.s.  It's 'Sawakaze' for Sawako and Kazehaya, not 'Sawazake.  =/