The manga adaptation is back yet again, this time in the form of a live-action drama with upcoming stars and adorable chemistry. “From Me To You,” tells a story of kindness in a soft, easy-to-watch lighthearted drama with a lot of misunderstandings, love, and cuteness. Amongst all the fact paced content of today, sometimes something cozy is needed as a boost of energy.
Spoilers Ahead
Season 1 Recap: What Happens In The Show?
“From Me To You” or “Kimi ni Todoke” follows Sawako, a freshman in high school who is misjudged by her peers as a scary and gloomy girl who wants no friends. She’s mislabeled as Sadako, the ghost of the popular Japanese horror franchise “The Ring,” because of her gloomy appearance. Sawako, though, is a very kindhearted girl who wants to help her classmates and takes on all the odd jobs that the teacher asks for because she doesn’t have anything else to do and also because her classmates don’t want to do them.
Shota Kazehaya, a classmate of hers, notices Sawako’s kindness and doesn’t like how everyone treats her. He’s the first person in the class to call her by her name and actually even speak to her. Kazehaya and Sawako had a brief meeting before starting school, near a cherry blossom tree. Their interest in each other began right then. With Kazehaya’s attention, the other kids start to talk to Sawako too. Sawako aspires to be peppy and popular like Kazehaya. She thinks he’s being nice to her because he is that way with everybody, but in reality, Kazehaya has some deeper feelings for Sawako. Still, he helps her break out of her shell, and soon she has new friends: Ayane, Chizuru, and Ryu. Sawako is extremely thankful for her new friends. Soon she realizes how special they are and why it is so important for her to mingle at school.
Kento, a new student in class, also shows interest in Sawako. In demeanor he is even more peppy and outspoken than Kazehaya. Kento’s blunt persona is very attractive and Kazehaya begins to get jealous of his interactions with Sawako. Although Sawako doesn’t realize it, she starts to spend more time with Kento than Kazehaya, making him even more envious. Kazehaya then chooses to tell Sawako his feelings but because she’s unable to express herself, he misunderstands that she has only admiration for him and not ‘love’. Sawako finally realizes her feelings for Kazehaya too, but she has some obstacles to overcome. Firstly, to be able to actually express her feelings rather than not being able to talk to her friends. Secondly, another girl named Kurumi in the grade likes Kazehaya and doesn’t want him to be with Sawako. Kento is supportive of Kazehaya even though he too had romantic feelings towards Sawako. But, with Kento out of the way, Kazehaya and Sawako are still unable to get together.
After some misunderstandings and a year of hard work and friendship, Sawako is able to confess her true feelings for Kazehaya. She needed all her friends and even Kurumi and their teacher’s assistance to truly understand what she needed to do. Finally, Kazehaya is thrilled to hear Sawako’s confession and they begin to date. But, that isn’t their happy ending. Of course, there will be a myriad of issues along the way and for Kazehaya and Sawako, the biggest one is how to bloom their love. Kazehaya wants to go slowly but he feels uncontrollable when he’s with Sawako. She isn’t able to understand why he begins to distance himself from her and uses up her courage to ask him about it. He isn’t able to tell her the truth and Sawako is devastated. Finally, when she cries to him about how she’s feeling and calls him a liar, he is able to tell her the truth (how cute!).
Ryu has feelings for Chizuru, but she likes his older brother, Toru. Toru returns home with a fiance and crushes Chizuru’s dreams. Ryu is able to comfort her. After a long wait, he confesses his feelings for her but doesn’t expect anything in return. Slowly but surely, Chizuru realizes she likes him too! In the two years of high school, the kids all get really close. Finally, it is time to decide their future and what they will do after high school. Sawako’s first thought is to avoid going out of town so she can remain safely with her friends and family. Although she is the smartest kid in the grade, even training her classmates to do better, she’s afraid to head out.
Ayane, on the other hand, wants to go to Tokyo and see the world. Kazehaya, after having a tough time with his father, finally gets his approval to study sports coaching and then take over his father’s business. Chizuru chooses to stay behind and work at the ramen store, and Ryu is going to play collegiate baseball. Ayane doesn’t have the grades to go to the school she wants to at the beginning of their senior year, but with hard work and the cheering of her friends, she’s able to finally make it. But in her time in school, she has had bad experiences with love and doesn’t want anything to do with it anymore, but she, unfortunately, falls for their teacher, who is the only person who actually cares for her, even giving her a scolding when she needed it. The teacher, of course, rejects her brutally so that she is able to move on and learn to cherish herself.
‘From Me To You’ Ending Explained – Does Sawako Go To A National University?
From being called Sadako, the ghost, to being part of class events and even practically tutoring her entire class, Sawako’s life turned 180 with Kazehaya’s entry. A little kindness goes a long way as we see through Sawako’s story. After contemplating hard on what to do, Sawako is able to make a decision for herself after realizing that she will always have her friends at home. She decides to be a teacher because Kazehaya encourages the idea that she can teach, and she finally sees it too. She chooses to go to Sapparo, ultimately leaving everything behind. Kazehaya assures her that the distance will not change anything between them, and in the end, she believes him. Kurumi realized how nice Sawako was too. They both wanted to go to the same university, but Kurumi was afraid of failure. She asked Sawako to help her study, and Sawako agreed. Finally, they all got into the universities they wanted to go to, which is amazing, but this also meant they would all go their separate ways. Ryu promises Chizuru that they will be married after he graduates; Ayane says she will visit from Tokyo; and Kazehaya gives Sawako a promise ring.
The kids worked hard to reach their goals, and even though they had to make sacrifices, ultimately, they were all extremely happy with what they got from it. When it comes time for Sawako to leave, Kazehaya, who is late to the station, gives her a parting letter. Before the train closes, he calls her by her first name for the first time after her freshman year, telling her he loves her dearly. She says she loves him too. In the letter, Kazehaya tells her that he will always love her. Sawako always expresses how impactful Kazehaya’s presence has been in her life, but now she knows that she has been just as important in his. He explains how he has changed with her help and has also placed the key to his new apartment in the envelope so that she knows she can come back to him anytime. After some time has passed, Sawako returns from college and meets Kazehaya in front of the same cherry blossom tree in the spring. The show ends with them walking off into the distance together, giving us the happy ending they deserved!
