Kimi ni Todoke 3rd Season

Is this a review? Is this my ramblings while high? Did I enjoy this season? Yes. Yes to all. This season covers the arc where I dropped the manga 10 years ago. In manga form, to young ol' me, this was too much unnecessary drama for the sake of making the story longer. I gotta say, the medium added a lot in terms of watchability. In this instance, I was able to read the characters, what they were thinking, the stage of life they're going through, the type of people they are a lot more. It made it so much more enjoyable, it was cute. I re-watched the whole show during the pandemic, and season 2 is still the series' biggest blunder. I hope it'll remain that way if this gets another season.

Few anime go as long between seasons as this one. In the time between season 2 and season 3, the landscape of anime romances has changed a lot—partly due to the influences of this series. As much as I could talk about the legacy of Kimi ni Todoke, lets get to season 3 itself. While the hard work of becoming a couple was resolved in season 2, this season was Shouta and Sawako trying to discover what that means. While they come to terms with that by the end of the season, you could argue that the real focus was the deepening ties and relationship re-evaluation between Chizuru and Ryuu. We already knew about Ryuu's feelings, but now Chizuru was made to starkly and painfully reflect over her relationship with him and it's evolution over the years. This dynamic is the near-highlight of the season. And then we get to Ayane. If Gimai Seikatsu thinks that they have anime's saddest gyaru, Ayane here was trying to give her a run-for-her-money. Her ongoing issues with her self-esteem was given much-needed help by season two's ensemble darkhorse turned (male) hero of this season Kento Miura who was the only person capable of getting through to Ayane (well...almost the only person). As Shouta was in his feelings for most of the season, Kento stepped-up as the only sane male character in the show. Shouta was really out of it in this season as he seemed to not understand how to cope with just being the emotional support for Sawako and nearly destroyed their relationship out the gate before he gets some much-needed wake-up calls from some very unexpected places. This group went on shaky-ground this season, but all came out stronger than before. Getting back almost all of the original voice actors was a miracle and it really put me back into the series. The series music was good and always matched the mood of the show. Having the staff from the first two season work with modern equipment really makes a difference and I was always impressed that the composition of the series did not lose the aesthetic of the first two seasons. They could've gone for a more "contemporary" look given they had Netflix money to play with, but one always appreciates keeping the original manga's vision. I also noticed that because each episode was an hour, the story lines could be told in intersecting ways that we normally don't get in your usual thirty minute episode. All-in-all Kimi ni Todoke uses it's simple, to the point, but sincere storytelling to remind everyone why it is still the gold-standard of shoujo romance in the 21st century. Where other series have done too little or too much, it gets the recipe perfect. I hope they adapt the whole manga and the sequel, but until then I am happy with this.

I really like this fiction. Sawako is the kind of person I want in my life. Honda Tohru and Sawako are very special characters for me, I think their kindness reflects a really beautiful point of view. I've watched this anime many times, I've read the manga and I've enjoyed the new season even after all these years. I wish it was longer and we could see more of it, but it's better than nothing. If you are looking for a quality shoujo, Kimi ni Todoke is a good fiction. Shouta can be frustrating sometimes, he's really secretive and really stubborn, but it's nice that he eventually finds the right path. Even though he's a good person, sometimes I feel like Sawako deserves so much better, but since she chose Shouta, I've accepted it. I also love the friendships here, and I really enjoyed Ryu and Chi's relationship. It would be really nice to see it continue.

Kimi ni Todoke 3rd Season was a lovely continuation of a story I have always found incredibly comforting. After following Sawako and Kazehaya for so long, it was nice to see their relationship continue to grow and become more mature without losing the sweetness that makes the series so special. What I particularly enjoyed was that the season did not focus exclusively on the main couple. Seeing the other characters deal with their own feelings, insecurities, and complicated relationships gave the story more emotional depth. Some of the misunderstandings can still be frustrating at times—because, honestly, these characters really need to learn how to communicate—but that has always been part of the charm of Kimi ni Todoke. The atmosphere remains gentle, wholesome, and nostalgic, making it feel like returning to old friends after many years. It may not be a groundbreaking continuation, but it delivers exactly what I wanted from another season: more emotional growth, adorable moments, and plenty of reasons to smile. Score: 8/10

Absolutely incredible third season and easily the best season of the show - each couple is firing on all cylinders - kento really becomes likeable and a really nice genuine guy this season which is a good think since I hated him in season 2 - Ryu and chizuru are once again my standout tho they are just so incredibly wholesome and the slow burn it just so warm and fun to watch - the charachter development of sawako from where she began is genuinely outstanding and I’m sorry proud of the character she becomes and it is a joy to watch whereas Kazehaya really ticked me off this season - it’s as if he went backwards and everything he built had just disappeared - in the end tho all is well and all the pairs end up having a fantastic conclusion in the series - onto the manga now

So season three of this show dropped after a long time from the original two and it seems to be a wrap up of the show with ending at Christmas, which is a great time and all the characters stories being tied up in a nice little bow which is nice when you spend almost 20+ hours watching the show. That being said for what it was it was good. I enjoyed it and made me realise I might have been a bit too harsh on the last couple of seasons. Because this was actually good. Apparently, season four might be coming because it hasn’t covered the manga, but I’m not sure that was just a quick Google so we will have to see it might be a movie rather than a season but I also wouldn’t be surprised if this was the end of the story because of how it finishes and ends all the stories Overall, it was good. I enjoyed it more than the other two seasons so that’s good. In my opinion this season definitely saved the show in my opinion. 7/10

When I rewatched the two prior seasons a couple of years ago I found the story to be too frustrating a lot of the time, so I was curious to know what I was going to think about this 3rd season. I’m glad to say that this season was so much fun and it’s such a faithful adaptation to the manga, it was impressive. The animation was incredible all the way through, seriously amazing af. I hadn’t seen such quality given to a romance anime in a loooong time. The story is as lovely as I remember reading the manga, tho I had blocked all the annoying parts. Kazehaya is such a moron this season, which is sooooo frustrating after that incredible first chapter. The reason for him being such a moron is so dumb and I find it even insulting tbh. I love him, but good God, his behavior during most of this season is unbearable. I love that Kuronoma on the other hand shows some growth, I’d say it’s even a realistic amount of growth given that she’s a teenager and it’s been only months since they started dating. I found her behavior a lot more enjoyable than in past seasons. The stars of this season are Chizuru and Ryu (my favorite couple of the series) and, although sadly with not much screen time, Ayane and Kent. I cried during episode 3 which is focused on Chizu and Ryu and I wholeheartedly believe the studio made a great job adapting their childhood story. The voice actors did a tremendous job. I loved the scenes of child Ryu a lot in big part due to his voice actor. I was worried I would get disappointed since I haven’t been enjoying the latest aired shojo anime, but I’m so glad to see it’s just a matter of quality of the works being picked up for adaptations (and the quality of the adaptations themselves). Aaah I wish we got more stories that were as good and heartfelt adapted into anime!!

Surprisingly enough, I was not as thrilled as I thought I would have been at the news of a new season for one of my most beloved manga adaptations... I refused to believe that a new season, made so many years after the original anime release could live up to the original. This one proved me wrong. The art style especially cought my eye!! You can really tell that they tried hard to recreate the old art style, and i think they did a great job!!! The nostalgic feeling I had while watching this new season brought so many memories of how wonderful the manga was, and made me want to reach for it again!! Very grateful for this reminder of my love for Kimi ni todoke!!!

Solid and wholesome like the previous two. The fact that Studio I.G. maintained the same exact artstyle after 13 years is impressive. Please note that there's only 5 episodes because each episode has a 1 hour runtime, and because Production I.G. partnered with Netflix on this one. Season 3 of Kimi ni Todoke continues to define Kazehaya and Sawako's relationship. However, it does so at a snails pace (you'll understand why). For me, I think this season has a more serious tone to it. Chibi comedy is still there, but they're less intertwined with the drama and heartfelt moments. I don't know. It feels like this season is slightly less funnier compared to previous ones. However, it makes up for it with the dramatic scenes and emotional moments. And is it just me, or did Kazehaya's Japanese VA change? Kazehaya's voice sounds a bit different here. I'm glad we get to see more development in Chizu and Ryu's relationship. This season also focuses more on Ayane's character. Despite the 13 year gap, the artstyle didn't change much (possibly just an HD facelift). Overall, this season retains a lot of what we loved about Seasons 1 and 2. I think my only nitpick pertains to the overall pacing of our MCs relationship, and how Kazehaya can be a dumbass sometimes. I swear, Kazehaya's overthinking is the reason why this part of the story dragged on for five episodes. Then again, it's all part of Karuho Shiina's writing. I can't wait to see what Season 4 has in store.

Honestly, I disliked the first two seasons, but as a completionist, I still forced myself through them. (first world problems, I know) When season 3 came out, I hesitated to watch it, and I didn't plan to at first. However, after seeing the high reviews, and having some time on my hands, I decided to give it a chance. And I'm glad I did. The pacing of the story feels much better than before. The first two seasons feel like a slog to watch through even at 1.5x speed, but this season feels just right. I don't feel like it is wasting the viewers' time with anything pointless. There are some moments where I felt tense, and I genuinely can't wait for the next episode after each. The drama of the previous seasons felt manufactured, like they were begging you to cry and feel bad for Sawako. This season was different. The characters felt more like real humans with real emotions. Not melodramatic caricatures. This might seem harsh, but I don't actually think the previous seasons have a bad story. It was just told in a cliche, predictable, and robotic way that I feel like it is following a template (I won't go so far to say it is AI generated). It was the pinnacle of "mid". On the contrary, this season feels like what peak high school romance should be, it reminded me of the feelings I got when watching Dangers in My Heart, Kaguya-sama: love is war, and Saekano (underrated show by the way). I liked Sawako more in this season than in the previous. I didn't dislike her before, but she is so much better than before. The other characters also got a chance to shine, except for Kurumi (somehow I liked how bitchy she was in the first two seasons). I imagine she must be unpopular among viewers, so I understand her getting only one scene of screen time. Anyway, I can't think of anything else to say. Thanks for reading my unstructured freeflow yapping. tl;dr: if you dislike the first two seasons, give this a chance still, you might not regret it.