Anime
Kimi ni Todoke Reached My Soul: Sawako-chan is so SawayaKYAA~
I doubt I can churn out any coherent posts for Kimi ni Todoke until I get this out so before anything else, let me just say…
Sawako-chan is so moeeeee~!! SawayaKYAA~
*ahem* Now where were we?
refreshing drink in your refreshing anime. *ba dum psh*
Sawako is one of the most refreshing shoujo protagonists I’ve seen in a long time (literally and figuratively), alongside Kyoko-sama of Skip Beat. She shares a bit of that Kyoko-ptimism, made lite-r and less exaggerated, which can either be seen as (1) not as comedic and lulzy, or (2) more realistic, down to earth, and just overall moe~~ (and can appeal to a more diverse group of audience)
issa-sa’s pretty much covered what makes Sawako awesome compared to other shoujo heroines *cough*Kotoko*cough* and why she ROCKS. I mean, where in the world of shoujo manga have you seen a girl who doesn’t let her world revolve around one guy, whose actions are driven by the noble desire to become a better person each day of her life? Not an ordinary sight, I should say.
After hearing the sentiments of eternal and Kiri, however, I feel the need to further elaborate on this refreshingness feeling, which I owe mostly to the pile of shoujo dung crap I’ve exposed myself to throughout the years. I guess I’ll deal with that in another post, and back to the topic we go.
It’s a rarity, to see a character with this balance of gentleness and strength in her, after which I didn’t want to barf at how inauthentic or unreal it seems. And if we were to argue on the realism vs. unrealism aspects of this series, I’d say the emotional realism is definitely there. As if crying as I watch each episode isn’t enough proof. Feel free to disagree if you must you apathetic orcs!
Belldandy and ota-Haruka might come to mind with the mention of “gentle but strong characters”, but these two girls strike me off as a little too idealistic, bordering on being nothing else but wish-fulfillment characters. And in the department of pathos, they fail hard, especially the latter. Yes I know, I wrote a worship-post dedicated to Haruka-chan before, also how she touched the otaku in me, but that’s mostly me filling the emotional gaps in the show, or feeling empathy despite the cheap emotional plot devices (scenes thrown simply to make you go ‘awww’, for a brief period of time, because what follows is a chock-full of pantsu). Sawako, on the other hand, touches my soul like no other, and when she gets to you, she really gets to you. Rose-colored glasses out, Sawako’s in, and she WINS. Feels like I’m comparing apples and oranges here, so uhh whatever.
In any case, I’m definitely on the same boat as Yoshida with regards to Sawako:
this sums up how I feel with every episode
Gotta wonder how Sawako grew up to be that pure and innocent despite her environment. How to raise up such a child, teach me~! It’s highly possible if one has a good upbringing, I guess, growing up with a warm & loving family and community. Because otherwise, it’ll be very very difficult, especially with all the negative influences right around the corner. Either way, having managed to ROW ROW FIGHT THE JUDGMENTAL SOCIETY (while retaining one’s goodness, humility, integrity, etc.) is certainly admirable.
Edit: Looks like animewriter’s got the answer to this one.
While Onani Master Kurosawa shows us how it’s like to get trapped inside your own narrow stall of introversion — introverts gone bad — Kimi ni Todoke shows us the ideal side of things. What happens when, despite everything around you — judgmental bitches and assholes who talk about you behind [and in front of] your back and form their own perception of you based simply on unfounded rumors, not the least bit compelled to even question if the said rumors are true — you remain brave and optimistic, level-headed at all cost, able to understand where people are coming from when they treat you the way they do (both positive and negative), and continue to persist in breaking down all those walls that distances you from the rest of the people? You get the feel-good and refreshing Kimi ni Todoke (or simply Sawako) as a resullt.
Sawako is, without doubt, as bluemist says: a genuinely angelic human being. She’s such a brave & pure-hearted innocent girl, and I can’t help but cheer her in her Naritai Jibun quest. Her greatest dream is, let’s just say, a lot like OMK’s Magister (in fact she is a Magister in the making, or more like Magister is her Naritai Jibun)…
People have built walls around them to shun the very existence of Sawako, but here she is, striving to bring down those goddamn walls. Sawako just wants to open up her heart and make friends with everybody, even with freaking bitches and fags who badmouth her. Truth be told, those stupid judgmental people don’t deserve whatever Sawako’s trying to do for their sake, like “No Sawako, you shouldn’t care about these lowlifes because they don’t know how to appreciate beauty (inside and out) even if it’s right in front of them!” Pearls before swine, so to speak. But Sawako is Sawako, and she won’t stop at nothing until she’s able to reach out to just about everyone.
I’m so glad P.I.G. is working on this, viva la Production I.G.!! So happy to see a shoujo adaptation get this treatment.
ghostlightning has already given us a glimpse of that P.I.G. magic at work, and the rest, you’re gonna have to see for yourself. To see is to believe and all that jazz.
But enough talk… Kimi ni Todoke is awesome. Highly recommended. I can only hope it’ll Reach You too.
P.S. I will do everything I can to blog this regularly, or semi-regularly. I failed at Cross Game, must not fail this time around. 絶対！ *shakes fist* Will find a way to balance watching/blogging this, and studying for JLPT1, on top of work.
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24 comments for “Kimi ni Todoke Reached My Soul: Sawako-chan is so SawayaKYAA~”
Trackbacks
- THAT Animeblog » Kimi ni Todoke – 03: The Saintly Sawako and the Cravenly French Doll
- The Scrumptious Anime Blog | Atashi ni Todoke: Revving Up the Engine With a Little Paradigm Shift
- The Scrumptious Anime Blog | Kimi ni Todoke: From Around The ‘Sphere to You
- THAT Animeblog » Kimi ni Todoke 04: An Otome’s Doubt
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I think Yoshida is awesome as a character device… It allows us as viewers to anchor our feelings for Sawako. Yoshida’s over the top reactions, being as unrealistic, makes us acknowledge what’s actually real for us as we watch Sawako power her way through her world.
Yah I was gonna say, Yoshida (the tall one, right?) is my favorite. At first, I was like “oh shit she’s another Suguwa mighty bully bitch”…but she encouraged Sawako! That was bbawwwww ;_;
Kazehaya is so much more moe, imo.
But I do love Sawako’s character. She’s naive sometimes but smart enough to know when she’s being rejected, and strong enough to take it in stride.
Chizu Yoshida – Shorter, earthlier hair. Cries of compassion.
Ayane Yano – Taller. Longer pinkier hair. More cynical and worldly.
This anime isn’t piling up on exposition as much as I was afraid it would after the first remarks in the restroom. But I admit I had to look them up in ANN to cross-reference the dynamic duo.
I really like the premise of this series. It’s much more interesting than the generic shoujo romance.
It’s so much better at this point than most shoujo for having a non-typical heroine, a love interest that actually reciprocates right off the bat, and the glorious Production I.G. visuals. And she’s developing a nice support team right away too with Yano and Chizu. I’m curious as to how Ryuu will fit into the picture though.
And thank you for SawayaKYAA~, it’s my word of the week, if not of the month
Sawako is one of the few girls that I’d actually feel guilty defiling in my mind.
@ghostlightning: THIS. Awesome side characters are awesome
@lelangir: That reaction during the “Please let me be the ghost!” scene was totally unexpected, and yes, BAWWSOME
@Misu: Kazehaya’s moeness is of a different ‘level’ methinks. I faint/swoon at his “minaide hazukashii!” antics, while I go KYAA at Sawako’s awesomeness
@Author: I had difficulty distinguishing the two at first, their names at least. But for the purpose of putting Yoshida’s name on this post, I now remember them lol
@Yi: I’m currently having issues with the term ‘generic’, and while I do understand
@EO: That’s a feel-good series for you~ and I like it that way. Had this been some other dark shoujo series we would’ve seen the loneliness dragged on for who knows how long, and it won’t be after bouts of conflicts would she be able to gain a true friend.
haha, no need to thank me for SawayaKYAA~ will be more than happy to see you use that!
@Shin: does your heart throb when you see her? omg could it be… LOVE?!
Kazehaya makes me go KYAAA too
(Sawako X Kazehaya for SaiMoeCouple 2009!!! XD)
*ahem* You know what else is awesome about Sawako? Her character is so pure and noble to the point that I kinda want/have to go “TsK, how unrealisti-” but then I see her moe pure heart and I just can’t bear to say anything bad about her at all
Actually on second thought Yoshida is taller than Yano (see the scene in the forest).
ALL the characters in this show are all such nice people. ;__;
I like what you said about emotional realism. As you know, I already talked (extremely briefly) about my thoughts, but I think we’re all pretty much in agreement. Suffice to say it’ll be one of the best shows of the season.
Sawako just wants to open up her heart and make friends with everybody, even with freaking bitches and fags who badmouth her.
LOL. I guess they aren’t showing the super harshness of school life yet. I do enjoy her strive, really seems to go along with that drama Makeover (Nobuta wo Produce), but I feel there’s generally more quality in this story’s premise.
@issa-sa: SaiMoeCouple?!! WANT!
We’d need a group of rabid fangirls for that hahaha.
I’m on the same boat with you on Sawako
@Author: yup, and I can only hope you got that from watching the first ep?
@ETERNAL: AMEN.
@Ryan: if they show us any more of that school-life harshness then we’ll get LIFE as an end result, so uhm, let’s hope it stays this way!
I really need to see more currently airing anime but my computer died so it’s a lot harder. I might have to wait a while before I can see this, but from this post I can see this show has a lot of merit. I haven’t seen Skip Beat either, so it’s a dilemma.
Moe that appeals to both genders is always good, less pandering that way.
@Jacob: watch what you want, at your own time and pace, don’t watch stuff out of pressure, that’ll suck the fun and enjoyment out of it, sort of. Kimi ni Todoke breaks the gender and target-audience wall, like other Shoujo Series Worth Watching
I know you wrote this entry a while ago, but it really deserves this: THANK YO SOO MUCH for writing this. It made my day. Literally.
I agree with everything you said and more. Plus, you mention one of my favorite shoujo heroines (Kyoko) of all time as well. Glad to know there are so many other people appreciating Sawako too. I loved her from the manga so to have anime bloggers love her too is just 
Awww, you’re most welcome! For the love of Kimi ni Todoke~ X3
After 5 episodes, I have finally decided I love this. I’ve become such a cynic when it comes to shoujo, but Kimi ni Todoke has won me over. I don’t think I’m gonna even try to blog it anymore because criticizing something so refreshing will just make me cry.
PRODUCTION IG ftw!
@jeanniex1: it’s Sawako, tsk. We’re weak against her