Oh how I wanted to say, I love you to Sukitte Ii na yo... but I just can’t because you’re a flat two dimensional romance that just didn’t live up to my expectations. It really is a shame, because Suki na yo had a tremendous amount of potential and gave us some things we don’t often get to see in the romance genre. But as the series winds down I found myself lamenting what could have been.
It’s hard for me to be too hard on the romance anime plot premise, I mean they have pretty much already all been done before and
...
they are all mostly silly as well. Suki na yo is no different, with the unlikely story of the hot and most popular guy in school falling for a shy, friendless loner who kicked him down the stairs because she mistakenly thought he flipped her skirt. The beginnings of true and lasting love if I ever saw it. The girl Mei, and the boy Yamato, both have some interesting personality issues on the surface and despite the silliness of their meeting there was some enormous amount of potential in their relationship. However this is sadly mostly wasted over the course of the story.
Now here is where Suki na yo is a bit different from its other romance cousins. For the most part our lead characters are in a relationship together from the beginning to the end of the series. The typical format is 99% courting with the eventual payoff at the end when our little lovebirds finally realize their mutual affections. While it can often be frustrating when it is drug out with silly misunderstandings and character cockblocks at least by then we have a clear understanding why they both love each other. The show is called Say I love you, but it should probably more aptly called Say why I love you.
Even though I have some pretty serious complaints about the way the shows romance and plot unfolds, I can’t say I didn’t enjoy watching this series. But when you compare it with its peers within the genre and even shows that were airing during the same time as this, it comes across as distinctly average and ordinary.
Much in the same way as the story is underwhelming, so are the series main characters. A romance is by nature very character driven and if we don’t get compelling leads it’s pretty difficult to care if they end up falling in love with each other. Mei is your standard "everyman" kind of girl typical in shoujo romances. She’s cute, though not particularly beautiful, and pretty much average in every other way. She’s a nice girl with a strong spirit but very vulnerable as well. Exactly the kind of girl most people can relate too and can root for as well. It’s sweet how she slowly comes out of her shell and makes friends and learns to trust people again as well. Even though this mostly comes across pretty corny and clichéd. Though hell I like corny and clichéd anyway.
Yamato is less interesting and in many ways is also your typical bishounen leading man. Though I will give him some credit for breaking the trend and not being a cold, aloof, and unfeeling jerk. You get the feeling most of the time he has genuine feelings for Mei but at other times he’s actions around her seemed to be a bit condescending and they he was treating her more like a pet and as an equal partner. I felt some aspects of his personality were also very inconsistent, especially later in the series. For a guy who came across as supremely confident he was surprisingly weak willed at times and his distrust of Mei's feelings at times was implausible considering what the pair had been through to that point already.
The supporting cast is the weakest link though and stereotypical shoujo fair. This plays in to the weakness of the plot but basically the same themes are repeated multiple times over the course of the story. Girl appears, of course hopefully in love with Yamato, drama unfolds, girl is rejected and our leads love continues. And the rejected gets new love and becomes best friends with our dear Mei. While I mostly liked the supporting characters they simply lack the depth for them to be actually interesting. Then of course you have to look past the unlikelihood that two romantic rivals are going to be besties afterwards, particularly when one side was involved in some pretty nasty schemes and bullying.
Despite all these flaws though what Suki na yo really does best is both its artwork and musical soundtrack. Both are typical of the genre but I really did love both of the songs. The seiyuu cast is comprised of mostly veterans but none of them are real stars. I thought they did solid, if unspectacular work. While the artwork may not be a masterwork, it is very fluid and reality based, with clothes and body types that stay in the realm of possibility.
Even though in the end I have quite a few complaints about Suki na yo, it’s still a good watch. If you’re really starved, as I was, for a romance anime with a sweet ending and are not demanding to be shown some that’s never been seen before then you should have a good time with it as well.
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Suki-tte Ii na yo., Sukinayo
Japanese: 好きっていいなよ。
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
13
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Oct 7, 2012 to Dec 30, 2012
Premiered:
Fall 2012
Broadcast:
Sundays at 01:00 (JST)
Licensors:
Sentai Filmworks
Studios:
Zexcs
Source:
Manga
Theme:
School
Demographic:
Shoujo
Duration:
23 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Statistics
Ranked:
#22972
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#318
Members:
654,171
Favorites:
4,876
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 195 / 200
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Your Feelings Categories Dec 30, 2012
Oh how I wanted to say, I love you to Sukitte Ii na yo... but I just can’t because you’re a flat two dimensional romance that just didn’t live up to my expectations. It really is a shame, because Suki na yo had a tremendous amount of potential and gave us some things we don’t often get to see in the romance genre. But as the series winds down I found myself lamenting what could have been.
It’s hard for me to be too hard on the romance anime plot premise, I mean they have pretty much already all been done before and ... Dec 8, 2012
I've sat and tried to figure out what is so special about this anime. It really doesn't bring anything new to the table. You have your awkward girl, the hot guy who seems to like her, and some competition for his affections. Pretty standard formula.
However, this anime actually accomplishes it WELL. Where it stands out is how dead on and absolutely accurate it depicts falling in love HARD the first time. Even if you've been in love several times, you'll find something in Mei and Yamato's relationship that may bring tear to your eye. Mei is a good character. Several female leads in this ... Jul 30, 2013
Say 'I Love You.'
Where do I even start with this anime. The title even gives off an exceedingly romantic, unrealistic atmosphere. If there was ever a competition for "The Most Generic Shoujo," Say 'I Love You' would take the cake. Let's start off with a brief summarization. A reserved young girl who has no social connection whatsoever plays as the object of desire for the most popular, handsome boy in the school. They eventually establish an awkward relationship filled with uncomfortable dialogue and well, there you have it. There really isn't much else to say about this anime. It's simplistic, it doesn't try to break ... Dec 29, 2012
Sukitte Ii na yo is a gem. I mean it as a gem that sparkles, shines, and is one of those rare classic shoujo that is pleasing to audience who are into the drama medium. The series is quite something to take an insight on because of the way it presents itself. Let's think of it this way and picture yourself in the story:
You're an individual who has a troubled past. You have been ostracized by various circumstances and nowadays, you don't give a damn what anyone thinks about you or your life. That is till you meet one of the hottest student at school ... Jun 16, 2013
Sukitte Ii na yo was my first romance anime to watch and I decided to write this review in order to convey to you all of my thoughts about it. Well, when I was watching the earliest episodes, I thought it was really underrated. There are many out there that don’t really like it (and I’m talking about girls certainly) and that was always leads it to be given really unfair ratings.
Well that’s exactly the problem with romance animes. Their stories redound to become mainstream and that’s why they don’t appeal much on their viewers, so that makes them complete them without considerate them as ... Oct 23, 2012
It is all about the looks? Is your appearance really all that matters?
This anime brings a serious problem to our attention in a modern way taking a quite complicated school life as an example. Not becoming an outsider or being bullied means being nice to everybody, wearing designer clothes, accessories, make-up, as well as keeping your mouth shut, when someone gets hurt. So much effort to survive in school. Do I really need to be like everybody else? It’s difficult to be an individual in this school. Having fake friends is better than having none, you would think. None of us likes to be betrayed, but at ... Jan 26, 2013
This is my first review, and I never thought I would actually write one. But I feel like what I have to say needs to be heard. This is all my own opinion, and if you don't agree with it, then that's okay too. We are all entitled to our opinions.
Sukitte Ii na yo (Say "I Love You") was an anime I knowingly walked into as the new love story of the year. Except it surprised me, in the best way possible. The story seemed to rush into the love story at the beginning, I didn't really expect anything more than that. ... Dec 12, 2013
This anime was far too cliche for me. I'm an avid lover of romance anime, or anything for that matter, but it was literally frustrating and painful to complete this series. Classic loser heroine and popular boy likes girl.
Oh, sure, the art was pretty good, but that's all. The only reason this anime was eye-catching was because of the artwork, IMO. However, I did enjoy the soundtrack. It matched the anime and feel of it. Very little character development. She was basically a loner, never doing anything or having any friends. He was a classical hot-popular guy with floods of girls who has a ... May 24, 2014
Sadly, I didn't enjoy this anime at all.
Story (3) I didn't find anything particularly interesting about the story, and sometimes it was ridiculously predictive. Just your typical high school setting, except that there was nothing interesting about it in the slightest. Art (7) I would say the art is the best thing about this anime, even though it's not really my type. It is quite beautiful at times, but it's nothing spectacular. Sound (5) Not much to say here. ... Apr 19, 2015
"Having friends is the same as setting yourself up for a fall." - Someone probably.
Sukitte Ii na yo or Say "I Love You." is an anime mainly about trying to manage a relationship with THE most popular dude in high school with you being the unpopular 'emo' girl, while at the same time is about making and sometimes find out what a true friend is. Now people have told me that, to be blunt, my reviews are sometimes a bit shit so I'm going to try a different formula and see how that goes. THE GOOD: The characters in this anime are great, and you really ... Dec 20, 2014
Sukitte ii na yo (eng. Say ”I love you”) had potential to be a blissful romantic drama - for the most part, it is. It nails many aspects of a good story which make up for its flawed plot. The best part of this show is the cast of characters: they are solid, varied and interesting. All of them have their upsides, downsides, flaws and rivalries.
Even without an external plot, the emotional plot alone carries this show far. The animation is really sick too: The lines are sharp and everything from backgrounds to people is finely detailed. Both the guys and the girls are attractive ... Nov 28, 2015
I can't decide whether to praise or diss this anime. I could write a review gushing about how great it is, or a scalding one about it's downfalls. I'll do both.
Pros: -The romance itself is quite good. It's interesting to see the different sides of each other they bring out. They make one another less boring and have a truly touching love story, as sudden and maybe even forced as it was. They have heavy chemistry and you can understand why they love each other, even if seems that they fell in love rather fast. -That being said, Mei's character isn't your regular happy, cheerful, submissive ... Jun 29, 2015
In a world full of strangers, full of people who hate you, no matter which way you turn, you can't trust anyone. Even if you reach out to someone, they will only end up using you or simply outright betray you.
Sukitte Il Na Yo, or Say I Love You, builds upon that premise with an added twist: what if the first person you begin to trust is your first love? This is quite a daunting situation because trust, as well as listening to each other, and spending time together, is an important element to a healthy relationship. It is similar to being forced to ... Aug 12, 2014
Sukitte Ii na yo. A very underrated anime, many people slate this anime but I believe if you're a fan of the romance genre you'll very much enjoy this and hence throughout this review I will tell you what the producers did well!
Please note due to the nature of this review I will reveal a very 'slight' spoiler, not of great importance and revealed about two episodes into the series anyway, however; please be cautious before reading on! Story - First of all, let's start with what I believe this anime did right in terms of its story line. As I'm sure you're aware most ... Apr 1, 2023
Whatever attempts it had on conveying the optimistic side of human relationships and the acceptance of connecting with oneself and with others as a way to achieve emotional growth was stale at best. It had messages that, despite being oversaturated, were still beautiful and helpful. At least, hypothetically. Say I Love You falls short in creatively telling a story about a high school misanthrope without any friends and a romantic partner and her daily school adventures with your quintessential campus crush and how they learn to acknowledge their scars, how to forgive ourselves, and how to trust. Already on the "pessimistic introverted female" and the
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Nov 18, 2019
There have been many anime out there that take the theme of romance between popular boys with lonely girls or vice versa. Likewise with Sukitte Ii na Yo.
Okay now it's time to discuss the aspects that distinguish this anime from other romance anime. If anime romance in general has the concept of a story about "how to establish a relationship", then there is a slight difference with Sukitte Ii na Yo, because this anime discusses "how to maintain a relationship". Therefore, from the 13 episodes, Sukitte Ii na Yo had quite a lot of conflicts that they tried to present to the audience. However, these ... Apr 6, 2013
Sukitte Ii na yo is a hard pill to swallow. One can be overwhelmed by the ambition that this anime tries to achieve, however such stray from the norm can overwhelm the audience to weaken its premise as a memorable romcom.
The art and music is presented with emotion that heightens the story. The anime's ED features Suneohair, who has also made EDs from other romances such as Honey and Clover and Arakawa Under the Bridge. In addition, the voice cast works hand and glove with each other, conveying the character's feelings that feels fit towards each person. Having said that, the character development is left ... Jan 6, 2013
Honestly, I loved this anime. It sure isn't the most original anime but it's wonderful in it's own way.
Story: It's your typical popular boy falls for shy girl romance blooms. However this is probably one of the most realistic romances I've seen in a while. Mei falls for Yamato but that doesn't mean everything is perfect between them. She's still painfully shy around him and sometimes says things she doesn't mean because she doesn't know how else to react in that situation. Sure there's lots of cliché jealousy but that happens in real life. There's just something so sweet about this couple you ... Dec 13, 2015
A mediocre tale written about a mediocre girl who falls in love with a mediocre guy, how cute.
Say I Love You is the story about a girl who is never noticed falling in love with a guy that everyone noticed. In other words, it is the even more basic version of every high school drama series ever created. Story: 4 The storyline isn't the worst and at times it comes off as quite adorable. It is also a storyline that many of us can relate to, if you were the kind of kid who was never popular in high school. Basically, Mei (female protagonist) is ... Jan 25, 2013
Hot guy + anti-social girl ? I thought the same, but after watching it you feel a certain way that's describable. THE LOVE IS REAL AND IMPRESSIONABLE, YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS ANIME, AND HAVE NO IDEA WHY.
ITS THAT AMAZING. wow. First review I've ever written, and this anime just took my breath away, while warming my heart at the same time. Its SO good that I can't think of a better way of spending my time. I really don't know why it's so good, it's a typical shouja... But I can't stop thinking about this anime. The story itself just leaves ... |