Anime
Atashi ni Todoke: Revving Up the Engine With a Little Paradigm Shift
Oh my beloved chamomiles, how you make me remember love~
As much as I hate to admit it, my reaction to watching Kimi ni Todoke is nothing out of the ordinary. I bet you guys have seen it coming, “Oh she’s a shoujo fangirl, and she likes Kimi ni Todoke. So? Isn’t that what fangirls do?” But much like the series itself, which (I’m sure people could ‘objectively’ agree with this, take away those rose-colored glasses first) isn’t anything groundbreaking, I thought, well, I’m not exactly here to exceed whatever expectations or do anything groundbreaking [in blogging/fangirling over this], right?
Something need not be groundbreaking for you to appreciate it, enjoy it, and love it. And no don’t give me that “I already know what’s going to happen from the start till the end of this series” bullsh*t because you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. Search deeper, and you will find out what makes this a cut above the rest. Who would be so willing to dive in and actually get on with this quest: that is the question.
The moment you start labeling things as generic (in the negative sense of the word) and grow weary at the sight of scenes which you have “already seen a million times before”, it can only mean either (1) you’ve realized how much it sucks compared to how you’ve seen it before, now that you’ve become more knowledgeable about your taste, or (2) you’ve become numb and/or jaded that you no longer see the beauty that it once had.
In Kimi ni Todoke, we have a terribly misunderstood girl, who longs for nothing else but to break the walls-of-misunderstanding that’s keeping her from opening up to people and allow them to see her in a true light. We follow her throughout this Naritai Jibun Quest; she gains friends in the process — her support group — and somewhere along the way she realizes that her feelings of respect and admiration for the guy she looks up to is… something more. And they fall in love~ Not exactly the kind of premise that would instantly grab your attention once you hear it (except if you’re a shoujo fan of course), and yes, you’ve probably heard this story elsewhere, and you already know how it’s going to end etc etc.
But if you’d only take the time to dive in and discover this series for yourself, you’ll realize that there’s more to this than how I so uninspiredly described it. Not groundbreaking, but special; not the kind that would WOW you (I’d disagree with this because I was WOW-ed, but I’m afraid I’m biased, so…), but would thug your heartstrings nonetheless. Unless of course you’re like a certain grumpy blogger with a heart of stone (in the words of Author).
The true beauty of Kimi ni Todoke lies within, in the subtle moments which makes this series shine above others. moritheil also said something along these lines before:
“…if you’re talking about love, sometimes it’s the little things that make us realize we love someone or something.”
“Enjoy. Small. Things.”, as Ryan says.
In the end, I wasn’t able to pinpoint exactly what sets Kimi ni Todoke a cut above the rest. But rather than unsettling, I find this exciting. I’m drawn to this series far more than the rest of the Fall offerings, and up until now I’m still trying to find out exactly why. Perhaps it’s because of those special moments, or perhaps, something more. Either way, I’m just gonna have to continue watching, continue to be touched, until I find the answers. Yay for more excuses to continue watching this gem~
At one point, you’ve got to stop comparing what you’re watching with other animes (especially for purposes of proclaiming one to be better than the other) and simply appreciate it and love it for what it is, savor all its moments for what they’re worth. The same goes for love and relationships isn’t it? You can’t just benchmark and go on scrutinizing how the guy in your current relationship is better or worse than the guys from your past. It could very well be a sign that you still haven’t gotten over the past and have yet to completely let go. You might fall into the trap of using guys for rebound purposes if that’s the case, missing out on the bigger and more beautiful picture of it all.
Aaaand let’s end this post before we stray off any further from the topic. Here’s to hoping Kimi ni Todoke will be able to reach a whole lot more people 
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7 comments for “Atashi ni Todoke: Revving Up the Engine With a Little Paradigm Shift”
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I don’t know where to start…
“how you make me remember love” … oh chamomile … it has returned! I didn’t even notice really.
benchmarking love and “using guys for rebound purposes” … I lol’d because I had nearly forgotten about such things.
K, so.
“I bet you guys have seen it coming”
It’s interesting that you mention it, because I haven’t been able to get a “stereotype” for you yet Jen. Each time you get behind a series, I don’t seem to make any connection between it and whatever previous series you were lovin’. Every new bump is just as interesting as the previous. So kudos there.
Other than the subtleties which provide a great overall effect, I can’t find a central focus for it’s awesomenass. For some reason, I just get a feeling. It’s like the feeling of Christmastime in the cold, and keeping warm inside, in bed, alone or not, but tender either way. It’s a sense of untainted cheer, not unbreakable, as the journey might be teary, but not depressing. Anti-depressing, Prozac. Not that any of us are depressed, but my level of cheer is elevated with this experience. I love this feeling. ^^
I’m high on smiling Sawako (esp. chibi-mode), these youngsters, the series, Autumn (the season)… rose-glass inducing. O_O
Simple series at the core, but puts me in a good mood.
Whoa srs bznz. I wouldn’t worry about people not appreciating this show, I think it’s becoming quite popular and if anything we’re on the precipice of overrating it.
I do think that it’s wonderful in its quiet way, and having not read the manga I don’t know if there will be any surprises plot wise — but I don’t really expect any.
Not to compare it directly to Aria, but only in the way that I couldn’t really tell how much of a world has been built until I stepped away and took it in… and it took a bunch of episodes to do that too.
In the mean time, I’m going to enjoy the little things this show gives us.
PFFF, who cares about being objective. From what I’ve seen everyone who enjoys Kimi ni Todoke likes it because its simple and lighthearted in a way that makes you feel warm and happy. Maybe almost even sappy.
The point is that some people are going to like that kind of thing and others aren’t. I’ve long learned to accept that people are different and like different things.
So put your rose-colored glasses back on, sister. Haters gonna hate.
@Ryan: I didn’t notice the chamomiles until I was looking at my screenshots! Oh boy is it totally relevant to this series too. Will have a post on that soon enough.
Thank you for the kind words, though I’m thinking the lack of stereotype for me could be a sign that I’m… lost D: Either that, or our readers are the ones who get lost because they can’t figure out what our blog is really trying to be lol. But I shall continue to blog…! for love…! oh but there is one stereotype for me though, and that is the love for internal monologues
…and the feeling more than enough~! The lack of an ‘awesomeness central focus’ only serves to make me want to watch more of this, and savor all those blissful moments that reaches me. I go SawayaKYAAA~ at Sawako too~ <33
@ghostlightning: srs bznz, wah noo @_@ Looks like I still don’t know how to clear up misunderstandings lol. This post is actually a reminder to myself, more than anything, hence the ‘atashi ni todoke’. Just thought I wasn’t looking at it the way I should be, since in my last post I just kept on comparing this with other series/characters.
Time to see what makes this really tick for me, without resorting to such comparisons, is what I want to tell myself
…and I really need to get myself into Aria… SOON.
@Misu: haha, and now I shall! I do want to level-up in fangirling though, and move beyond simply KYAA KYAA-ing
Find out why exactly I’m KYAA-ing, in a language which even non rabid fangirls could understand lol.
I actually have read the manga a while back because my otaku friend recommended it. It was refreshing as all are saying but I became bored with it. It has the same shoujo troupes but all reinvented or a toned down to a level very pleasant.
I guess P.I.G. involvement in this anime worked wonders for me. Though I know what is going to happen already, I eagerly await the next episode.
On the characters, I don’t find Sawako that all unrealistic. She is giving me the vibes of a Maria Clara Japanese Style. (So that should be Nadeshiko right, XD) I actually find Kazehaya to be the wish fulfilment character. XD…
@maAkusutipen: hurray for P.I.G.! ^^ Maria Clara Japanese Style, I like how you put it that way. Sawako is like a more moe Maria Clara though
And I agree with you on Kazehaya, that’s probably why I don’t really find him interesting, or not interesting on his own. He only becomes refreshing in our sight because of Sawako, apart from that, not much else.