Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 15

by Shiina Karuho, 179 pages

Chizu doesn't know how to act around Ryu since he told her how he feels, Sawako doesn't know how to act around Kazehaya since the school trip to Okinawa, and Ayane doesn't know how to act around Kento since he comforted her after her breakup.

Ryu and Kento both make declarations (one loud and to the point, one quiet and subtle) that leave their companions wide-eyed and speechless (and the reader woo-hooing!).  Meanwhile, Sawako's getting gentle advice from Kento and will hopefully do her best to buck-up, be honest, and clear up any misunderstanding between her and the one she loves.  Karuho once again does an excellent job of giving equal time to her equally deserving supporting cast.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 14

by Karuho Shiina, 170 pages

The class trip to Okinawa is well underway and the kiddos take in the sites and snacks and enjoy the warm weather.  They also take in a lot of time with each other.  Everybody splits off during free time: Sawako and Kazehaya take a little craft class together, Ayane pushes the curfew envelope with her new boyfriend, and Chizu and Ryu run around with nonstop-talking Joe.  (And their loud, wise, man-child teacher Pin predictably chases after the hot tour guide.)  But under the surface, dynamics are changing.

Aw, poor Ayane!  She sees love, requited and otherwise, all around her and wants to know what it feels like, too.  She just doesn't see the potential in the shoulder she's crying on.  What's Chizu going to do with her new knowledge?  Personally, I'd like to see deadpan Ryu lose his cool just a little, but it's fun watching his perpetual calm make shout-first-think-later Chizu crazy.  And I get so happy and anxious watching Sawako and Kazehaya go from nervously cozy with one another to ridiculously self-consciously awkward.  Hee!  and D'oh!  Don't stress, kiddos, you'll figure it all out eventually.  :)  So good, so good.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 13

by Karuho Shiina, 171 pages

This time it's Sawako's turn to meet Kazehaya's family! Also, the gang enjoys a day at the beach and then later sets out on a (potentially eventful) school trip to Okinawa.

Ha ha, Kazehaya's family are a hoot, especially his dad, who's as protective as Sawako's but with a lot more confidence. He's like a benevolent drill sergeant. :) One of the things I love about this series is how much attention is given to the supporting characters. This may be Sawako and Kazehaya's story first, but they don't travel their paths alone and those at their side get the development they deserve. Another reason to appreciate this series is the way it takes standard manga tropes and makes them fresh and unpredictable. The beach episode is nice partly due to the ways it deviates from the usual manga "beach trip" scenario. And the school trip looks to be going the same route. What's going to happen next?!

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 12

by Karuho Shiina, 179 pages

At last...Kazehaya meets the parents!

Oh, my goodness, the adorableness here is just too much (in the totally best way possible). Sawako's mom is cool, but her worried, protective dad gets almost as much giggly sympathy out of the reader as his shy daughter and her new, earnest boyfriend. Sweetness.

This volume includes a cute side story relating how Ayane and Chizu got to be friends. More sweetness! Also, giggles.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 11

by Karuho Shiina, 176 pages

Everybody's dealing with the new understanding between Sawako and Kazehaya. Friends and rivals contemplate their own positions and love lives (or lack thereof) while the main couple nervously, but happily, tiptoe down their new path.

"Ulterior motives!" Hee hee heeeee. So cute. Now the lucky reader gets to watch these kiddos adjust. And it's also nice to see their friends have not been forgotten amidst all the starry-eyed romance, as the writer reminds us they all have their own interior existences to explore and share.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 10

by Karuho Shiina, 176 pages

Sawako spills the beans! At least, the ones she can manage to put into words. Now it's up to Kazehaya to make sure they're finally on the same page.

Hee! Public confessions are a hoot! Especially when your friends and classmates keep reenacting them in order to better appreciate and understand it all. The warm-fuzzies and laughter make this series one of my favorite escapist reads. It's so embarrassingly silly, but that's what makes it so sweet. :)

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 9

by Karuho Shiina, 171 pages

A well-meaning interloper misreads Sawako and Kazehaya's relationship, compounding their misunderstandings and self-doubt. Will these two dense kiddos ever stop talking at cross purposes?

Following setback after setback, could forward progress actually be afoot at last?! All the tension-building and reader-teasing up to now has been frustrating but, surprisingly, in a happiness-promoting sort of way. The reader doesn't feel like she's being tweaked around by an author putting off a story-ending resolution; rather, she thinks all the baby-steps and hard work to get there will just make the payoff that much better and that there'll be more for the characters to learn and experience on the other side. That said, she's pleased as punch that she may be about to find out what that other side looks like. :P *crosses fingers* Go, Sawako!

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 8

by Karuho Shiina, 165 pages

When another boy, the easy-going Kento Miura, starts paying a lot of attention to awkward Sawako, Kazehaya's jealousy and impatience could either finally bring them together or push them apart.

Aw, Miura's a nice guy, if a little dense when it comes to interpreting Kazehaya's motives. Between him and Pin, their obnoxiously wise homeroom teacher, the gang have got no shortage of relationship counselors at hand. But if these two are going to accomplish anything, they're going to have to do it themselves.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 7

by Karuho Shiina, 175 pages

Sawako's friends give her and Kazehaya's potential relationship a helping hand at New Year's, but when Valentine's Day rolls around will Sawako be able to take a first step toward him on her own?

Oh, the social implications of Valentine's chocolates in Japanese culture! What does it mean to receive them? To accept or reject them? Which ones are "obligation" chocolates and which ones carry the giver's true feelings? Poor kiddos! They're so confused. More, please!

Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You: Volume 6

by Karuho Shiina, 178 pages

As their friend suffers through heartbreak, Sawako and Ayane don't know what to say to help her, so they just stay by her side waiting till she's ready to vent. And sometimes that's the best thing a friend can do.

One of the things I like about this series is that as important as Kazehaya is to Sawako and her development, more often than not he plays more of a cheerleading than an advisory role in her life. She doesn't need him to tell her to do the right thing, but she may need him to point out to her that she's already doing it. Because she trusts him, she learns to trust herself, and that makes her even stronger.

Kimi ni Todoke: Volume 5

by Karuho Shiina, 185 pages

Ryu's birthday is coming up and Chizu can't wait, but not just because she wants to see him open the present she bought him. As Yano breaks up with her possessive boyfriend and Kurumi finally accepts Sawako as a rival for Kazehaya, unvoiced and unrequited feelings take center stage.

Sawako learns that friendship and love are both complicated as she examines her own heart and observes those of the people around her. The reader can sympathize, as she thinks she wants everything to work out a certain way, too. But reality rarely fits so neatly into our expectations, and Sawako, being the open-minded, loving person she is, chooses to be ok with that and do what she can to support those closest to her, whatever happens.