Sawako's existence: a pure, unspoiled girl, gifted with a charming, near heartbreaking innocence is the most outlandish element of Kimi ni Todoke. The rest of the cast - whether it is the perceptive Ayane or the manipulative Ume - demonstrate traits expected from people, adolescents especially. But Sawako doesn't. Her boundless appreciation for the simple things she experiences, whether that's dinner with friends, karaoke after school or eating lunch in the company of others could easily become tiresome; however her plight is so utterly genuine and her reactions so heart-warming that it overrules the presence of obvious genre tropes and raises a pang of guilt for not believing her character could exist outside of fiction.

Sawako Kuronuma hasn't experienced the best of school - her isolation from her peers was neither self inflicted nor maliciously enforced. Upon entering high-school however, the affable Shota Kazehaya - who effortlessly makes friends and interacts with people - catches her eye. Sawako envies his personality, but when out-of-the-blue he comes to speak to her one day, her whole life changes as classmates become close friends and she begins to enjoy a more fruitful school life. The change is not without its tribulations though: jealous rivals for Shota's affections attempt to sabotage Sawako's prominence in his eyes and the burgeoning affection she feels for him leads to a number of misunderstandings. As the school year draws to a close, Sawako wonders if she will be able to let Shota know just how much he means to her.

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Understating Kimi ni Todoke would be to say that it is saccharine: one cannot help but grin moronically at the continuing quest of Sawako Kuronuma to ingratiate herself with her school mates. Afflicted with the curse of rumour, she starts the series alone and subject to spurious tales of bringing curses upon those that slight her and it is only through the attention of the affable Shota Kazehaya that she is able to propel herself from quiet and alone to quiet with friends. It's deftly done, especially in three episodes, and with at least two thirds of the series remaining the story is sure to evolve well.

Beginning at the start of the summer holiday, the set up is perfect for a "Grease" style tale of warm-weather romance and inevitable school alienation. But the story defies expectations and skips ahead to the following term, awkward greetings and new teachers in tow. From there Sawako succeeds in making friends and, if the fourth episode preview is anything to go by, at least one enemy: gaining the affections of a popular figure was always going to raise someone's ire. It is a simple story well told and it is the pace and legitimacy of the characters, especially the painfully adorable Sawako, that shoot this otherwise slow burner well-above it's more sedate contemporaries.

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