Stream It Or Skip It: ‘From Me To You: Kimi ni Todoke’ On Netflix, About A Shy Girl And The Boy Who Helps Her Out Of Her Shell

Coming-of-age stories don’t always have to be raunchfests about people losing their virginity. They could also be about first love, new friendships, coming into your own, and/or growing as a person. The best shows of this type are instilled with good characters to make up for the lack of conflict. A new Japanese series, based on popular manga and anime series, is an example of this.

FROM ME TO YOU: KIMI NI TODOKE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A massive cherry blossom tree. Two students walk towards it; a voice says, “We met under the cherry blossoms on the morning of the school entrance ceremony.”

The Gist: Sawako Kuronuma (Sara Minami) has always been shy and deemed a little “creepy” by her classmates; she gained the nickname “Sadako” in fourth grade, because she looked like the girl from The Ring, and it stuck.

Now, as a high school freshman, she wants a fresh start. She has hope when she encounters Shota Kazehaya (Oji Suzuka) under that tree. But as the year has progressed, her creepy reputation continues, and most of her classmates stay away from her. Everyone except Kazehaya, who is also the most popular person in the class.

On the day before the summer break, the teacher looks for volunteers to help him set up simmer school. Sawako volunteers, but Kazehaya stands up for her, saying that she volunteers for everything. In the garden, she sees one of her few school friends, who is in another class, and Sawako tells her that she finds Kazehaya “refreshing.” Shota overhears, and she tells him that it’s a compliment. He asks her if she’s going to the class’ “test of courage” that night; she’s surprised by his invite and agrees to go.

Sawako overhears two girls saying that she should be the ghost during the test of courage. To their surprise, Sawako volunteers. She wants to be helpful, and she knows her reputation will scare the living daylights out of her classmates. She does a great job, and when Kazehaya comes down the path, he even gets scared. The two open up to each other, and she even sees some of the quirks that the supposed “perfect” Kazehaya has.

During the last day before the break, Kazehaya again stands up to his classmates and defends Swako. She finds out that his interest in her goes well beyond just being someone who’s nice to everyone.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? From Me To You: Kimi ni Todoke is based on a manga and a 2009-11 anime series of the same name.

Our Take: It feels like From Me To You: Kimi ni Todoke is going to be a mostly-sweet coming-of-age series about a girl who comes out of her shell and finds friends and love, and we’re completely OK with that. Between the performances of Suzuka and Minami and the atmospheric visuals in the rural town where the show takes place, the series wants to put you on a cloud of good feelings for a dozen episodes.

Does that mean there won’t be conflicts? Of course not. Sawako and Kazehaya aren’t going to dive into their relationship right away; there will be roadblocks, including a student with a history with Kazehaya. There will be misunderstandings. There will be the notion that it’s tough for Sawako to open up. So there will be a lot of story to examine before what is likely going to be a happy — or at least a satisfying — conclusion to the season.

What we also look forward to seeing is the friendships that Sawako, to this point a person who has mostly been alone, makes along the way. That’s not an insignificant part of the story; usually, high school is a time when people like Sawako retreat even further into their shells, so to see a story where supportive classmates actually get to know and like her will be refreshing.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: We start hearing Kazehaya in voice over, saying that the feelings he felt for Sawako grew through the year, and “I hope that someday it reaches out from me to you.”

Sleeper Star: The first episode is so dominated by the characters of Kazehaya and Sawako, that it was hard to point out anyone else that stood out.

Most Pilot-y Line: The voice over of Sawako seemed to be intrusive, but then when it switched to Kazehaya at the end of the episode, we understood its purpose better. Hopefully, the voice over gets reduced as the season goes on.

Our Call: STREAM IT. From Me To You: Kimi ni Todoke is a sweet coming-of-age show that has two fine lead performances and great visuals.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.