First Impression: Kimi ni Todoke, Season 3

Sometimes a first date is more than just a first date. For Kazeyaha and Kuronuma, it’s the culmination of the feelings that have been developing and growing between them for many months. In fact, on their date, Kuronuma even gives Kazehaya gifts related to her history of pining for him—a strap to match the one he once gave her (to which he admits that it wasn’t just a “gift exchange” sort of present but something more special), a knit cap to replace the one her dad assumed was for him, and Valentine’s Day chocolates that she “wanted to give him, but couldn’t.” But as big as this step is for these two, the first date is just the first; there are both milestones and challenges ahead as they seek to discover what it means to be a good girlfriend and boyfriend respectively, and as they (duh duh duh!) meet one another’s parents!

Season three of Kimi ni Todoke is finally here! But does it live up to the previous two seasons, which I’ve always considered the peak of shoujo anime? Well, not at first it doesn’t. The first date between Kuronuma and Kazehaya is in all honesty a little boring. I couldn’t help but also feel that Production I.G. was trying too hard to evoke the emotions and tone of the original series. It had me worried. Is this sequel coming to us too late? Can we really just not go back home again? And now that the Kuronuma and Kazehaya are together, is there no longer going to be that angst that helped make the first two seasons so good? Thankfully, in this extra-long episode (it’s about two-and-a-half episodes in length, as are all the season three episodes), it’s only the first 15 minutes or so that feel off; the rest drop right into place very quickly. The pastel backgrounds, lens flare shots, soft orchestral soundtrack, and maybe most importantly, super-deformed transformations of Kuronuma all begin to feel right as the story moves on from the flashback style opening to progressing more naturally. Once the pacing issue is resolved, boy does episode one ultimately deliver! It conveys the beautiful sentimentality that the series is known for, not only through the budding relationship between the leads but also through their meetings with the parents. Just as I recently did with the Kimi ni Todoke spin-off, I quickly remembered that this series is adapted from a great manga, whose writer won’t lead us astray. Neither will Production I.G., the staff, and the wonderful cast, led by the incomparable Mamiko Noto (and the amazing Xanthe Huynh in the English dub) as Kuronuma. The season appears to be a winner, and it’s going to be so much fun to see how Kuronuma and Kazehaya develop their relationship and as others presumably progress theirs as well. The entire season—five episodes, all between 63 and 73 minutes long each, and a sixth that functions as a short recap of the series—are already available on Netflix.

Kimi ni Todoke season 3 is available to stream on Netflix.

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