Rumors start flying about Sadako’s new friends claiming that Yano’s been around the block and Yoshida’s a former gang member. And the source of all this tattle? Sadako herself! Will Sadako retreat to her former life as a loner because of a simple misunderstand?!
– Summary of Kimi ni Todoke Volume 2
Following the events that happened in Volume 1, this volume served to explore the truth in rumors spreading quickly around the school. Whether or not it is Sawako who spread the rumor, that is. I think readers would’ve already realized there’s no truth in the rumors about Ayane and Chizu. The rumors sparked a series of misunderstandings between Ayane, Chizu and Sawako, threatened to wreck Sawako’s newfound friendships.
That said, the four chapters in Volume 2 talked about friendships. Not just friendships between Ayane, Chizu and Sawako, but also Chizu’s friendship with Ryu as well as Sawako and Kazehaya’s friendship.
I’ll first talk about Ryu and Chizu’s friendship. We’ve seen a lot of childhood friends in anime or manga, haven’t we? Ryu and Chizu aren’t any different so why am I such a huge fan of theirs? After reading this volume, I think it’s because their friendship has always been caring, supportive and sweet. Ryu stood by Chizu when she was confused and worried about her situation with Sawako. He didn’t give the best advice. He simply only showed that he cared. In return, Chizu included Ryu in the loop of all her activities. Meaning to say, whether or not she hung out with Ryu doesn’t matter – at the end of the day, Ryu will know everything anyway. There’s this strong sense of trust between these two friends. They don’t need words to express their concerns and emotions. One look at each other, they’ll know what’s wrong and what’s right. At least, this applies to Ryu.
Moving on to Sawako and Kazehaya’s friendship. Despite Kazehaya’s growing attraction to Sawako, he had remained as a supportive friend to Sawako throughout this ordeal. He had pulled her out of her misery and set the path right for her. If I may, I’ll say Kazehaya is the light when Sawako’s going through her darkest days. He simply doesn’t know when to give up. Of course, we can all say it’s because Kazehaya couldn’t stand a classmate not fitting with the rest. But seriously, he has always been there for Sawako. It’s funny how she never thought of wanting to be his friend (in her context). She only thought about Ayane and Chizu. Poor Kazehaya. I wonder how he felt…
Now to the highlight of this volume – the friendship between Ayane, Chizu and Sawako. I always thought things would’ve been a lot simpler if the correct questions were asked and there’s a universal definition for the term “friend”. The questions Chizu asked Sawako were vague and open for interpretations. She didn’t even bother to listen to Sawako’s full answer. To be fair, if correct questions were asked and Sawako didn’t over-analyze the word “friend”, then we’ll probably won’t be able to see the painful but sweet development of a new friendship. One can tell how much Sawako treasures her first friends. Oh, she’s so cute when she embarked on one of her little missions to find out who was the one who started the rumor. Anyway, one thing I like about those girls is they always seek to clarify things. It’s really a good thing to do. Instead of assuming things and live with their own assumptions, they ask directly. It’s a risky action if you ask me because things can break with question of doubts. But it’s something I’d rather do, and I’m glad they do too.
As I began to think why Sawako went through all those troubles for Ayane and Chizu, I sensed that she was indeed a very strong girl. Much stronger than anyone else in the series. On her own strong will and with a little push from Kazehaya, she had overcome a difficult wall and found herself friends for life (I hope).
World of Yamaguchi Hoshiko 
The manga seems to be give even more development to some of the characters than the anime did, especially side characters like Ryu. I got pretty interested in Ryu while watching the anime, but he never quite got that much screen time. It seems like he gets a lot more in the manga. Ryu x Chizu needs more love. ^ ^
I’d say the character development for Kimi ni Todoke is pretty similar between manga and anime. I like how Ryu doesn’t talk much but he still manage to express his concerns through actions, and he does that a lot with Chizu. Agreed, I want to see more of Ryu X Chizu! =)
I remember this arc in the anime having a rather heart-warming and almost tear-inducing end (if I remember correctly, the bathroom scene?) Man, all this would’ve been cleared earlier too is they didn’t jump the gun on Sawako’s answer. ^^
As for Ryu’s and Chizu’s friendship, I guess you could say they have that brother-sister connection since they practically grew up together.
Yes, yes, you’re right – the bathroom scene is one of the most touching scenes in Kimi ni Todoke. I like that part a lot. Chizu and Ayane were so cool in defending Sawako from the other bullies. I know right? I remember wanting to scream at Chizu for cutting Sawako’s off when the latter wanted to express her true feelings.
Ryu did say he and Chizu are like brothers. I always feel that their friendship is unique among all childhood friends I ever read about. Maybe it’s their character.
The great thing about Sawako is seeing her manage to succeed despite all of her problems with communicating. It wouldn’t be as interesting, I think, if she were able to solve her problems right away. This lets moments like the resolution of this volume feel so much sweeter.
That’s right. The way she’s trying to overcome her shyness and learning to express herself makes me want to do nothing but cheer for her. Definitely, which is why the bathroom scene was absolutely brilliant. For me, anyways. But that still won’t stop me from thinking how easy things could’ve been if Chizu hadn’t cut Sawako off.
Sawako has those unique personality that no other female character has. She is the most strongest girl i’ve seen in an anime. How I wish I could get a girl like her 😀 She is such a innocent girl, and I love Ayane and Chizu for supporting them till the end. Oh and Ryu is the best character ever in Kimi ni Todoke, no doubt about it (Y)
Now that you’ve mentioned it, I agree that Sawako has quite a unique personality compared to a lot of other series’ main character. She had really try her best, making great effort to pursue a dream she wanted. We see her struggled and how she overcame her barrier with pure determination and bravery. What a character. And I hope you’ll find a girl like her =).
Absolutely! Ryu is the best! >.<
Yeah it’s gonna be hard. Wish me good luck :p
Thumbs up for RYU!! (Y)
Good luck! =)
I think Sawako would’ve had an easier time making friends if she had been able to tell them everything instead of overthinking things in her head. That would clear up any confusion between them.
The situation could be generally easier if both parties, Sawako vs Ayane and Chizu, had clearly expressed their thoughts. If only Sawako had approached Ayane and Chizu about the rumors. If only Chizu and Ayane let Sawako finished answering their questions before making assumptions. But then again, like the others said, if either of these had happened, the emotional impact of Kimi ni Todoke may not be as strong.
One thing I loved about this volume of Kimi ni Todoke is that it examines something I feel most manga don’t: what it means to be friends. It shows that friendship doesn’t always happen organically and that awkward in-between period when you haven’t quite defined yourself as friends. I love that the series focused on Sawako gaining meaningful friendships rather than focusing on her getting a boyfriend, which is seen other shojo series do.
Very true. Also, I always appreciate that Kimi ni Todoke takes the time to develop the relationships, be it friendly or romantic, between all the characters. It allows me to understand the sense of closeness these friends share and why they feel the way they do.
Buhuhu, this part of the story was so mean 😦 Sawako who has nearly next to zero social experience was confronted with such a difficult problem, which was actually caused by
the mean girls. Made me quite angry as they pushed her inside the bathroom, but I was glad that Sawako could solve that on her own, I was proud of her ^-^
Haha, it’s like watching the movie Mean Girls at some point. You’re right, I’m proud of Sawako too. I adore her determination to take things into her own hands, had the initiative to solve her issues and didn’t sulk for too long. That’s why it’s so easy to just want to cheer for her =)