Story 9/10
I think, at least in my experience, that it is rare to find a literary work where you can actually follow people's life for a long period of time and remain interested until the end. What I loved about this manga is that we saw the whole process of Sawako knowing the others, they all becoming friends, beginning relationships, falling in love, struggling in their relationships, Sawako finally being able to express herself without fears and how each characters' life path likely concludes. I think this manga will be very interesting to people that like slice of life style. I read the manga after watching the anime, because the story is so well told and developed that I really needed to see what happened next. The manga did not disappoint, and actually gets a higher score than the anime because of the many details we didn't get to see in the anime, as usually happens with adaptations (however, I must say, I think Kimi Ni Todoke is one of the most faithful adaptation to its original source that I have ever seen! you can literally start the manga where the anime left off and you wouldn't be missing anything at all..I had to double check myself though). You know, this manga might not have the most original script, but the story is so consistently well presented, that it does seem unique within is genre.
Art 10/10
So, I haven't read much manga, but I found the drawings in this manga to be absolutely beautiful and captivating. I usually prefer anime than manga because the drawings are more realistic, however, in this manga, if you could add soundtrack, and voices, it would feel totally like watching an anime.
Characters 10/10
I have never seen a show or movie, or read a book where ALL characters were so likable and would make you interested into knowing more about them. In this manga, none of the characters feel like secondary or extra as they all have clear roles. I really really liked the strong characters developments we see happening with ALL of the characters. In the anime, and beginning of the manga, Sawako was so frustrating and exasperating, but by the end of it (manga) she is a completely different person. None of the "villains" (Kurumi or Kento) feel like villains at all and they actually also have many positive inputs and development. Yano is another character whose journey was beautifully put. Well, all of them really! and I hope that someday we can get to read about Ruy's and Chizu's wedding, whether Pin and Yano get together and what happens to Kento and Kurumi (we all know Sawako and Shouta will be a item forever, so not that curious about them).
Enjoyment 9/10
This part is not getting a 10 because yes, as much as I loved this manga and the characters development, Sawako was very annoying at the beginning and I couldn't deal with her most of the times.
Overall 8/10
This might not be fair to the mangaka, but I am giving this a 9 because a 10 to me means something insanely good, mind-blowingly out of this world, and Kimi Ni Todoke is not that. However, I really really enjoyed this manga and would recommend it to people, especially if you have seen the anime. I have been engaged with this material for a while, haven't I? so that means it is really good!
