Manga Review: Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You, Volume 30, by Karuho Shiina

Rating (Out of 5): ~4.5

Publisher: Shojo Beat (VIZ Media)

Release Date: December 2018

Volumes: 30.

Spoilers?: Light.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 29.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sawako “Sadako” Kuronuma is the perfect heroine…for a horror movie.

With her jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor, Sawako “Sadako” Kuronuma always had trouble fitting in. But her whole life changes when she befriends the most popular boy in class, Shota Kazehaya. Can love trump her cursed life?

Kazehaya and Sawako have finally graduated from high school. When Sawako goes away to university, will their relationship withstand the distance? And what will become of their close group of high school friends? Kazehaya and Sawako’s quirky story about love and life concludes in the exciting final volume of Kimi ni Todoke!

Review:

There are a lot of goodbyes in this volume. They're graduating and going off in their new directions. Yano first, and then Chizu's being left back home. Kazehaya moves into his own apartment, where he gets to learn to take care of himself. And then it's Sawako's turn, off to Tokyo for university.

The middle of the volume features Sawako visiting Kazehaya at his new apartment. It's a big step for both of them, as they are alone for pretty much the first time. And it goes longer than either of them intended, but it was necessary. Especially when they have to part ways soon. It's a very sweet moment, and very well done.

This series ends really well, on a good note without being too cheesy (or ending with a predictable wedding—though that might have been okay in this instance), but I don't think I would have ever been ready for this series to end.

I would be just as happy to follow them all through college, and to get to see more Sawako and Kazehaya interactions, and see Chizu learn how to run the restaurant and wait for Ryu to come home, and Yano to fall in reciprocated love for the first time.

I just love everything about this series, and I will never be ready to say goodbye to it. But, despite that, I will agree it ended at a good point, and it did it well. It didn't go too long, for sure.

I hope that something else of Shiina's gets picked up for print, because I would love to see what else she's written.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!