Kimi ni Todoke episode 3 review; Not just any smile will do, and scary girls need loving too!

 

       This episode begins with Yano and Yoshida greeting Sadako at school, and when she tells them how happy she is they tell her to smile when she’s happy So, Sawako tries to force a smile but  it comes off as really scary, and they tell her it might be better off if she just relied on her good personality. 

 

       Later, in class, Kazehaya tells Sawako that he needs to give the dog a name and he asks her to do the honor. As Sawako is thinking about this, Pin (a fill in teacher, and the school’s PE instructor) interrupts Kazehaya and Sawako little chit chat fest and after he thinks about Sadako reputation he gives her the stare down and comes away unaffected, to which, Yano and Yoshida think is a good thing for Sadako. Then after seeing Pin give Sawako the stare down Kazehaya tries the same thing but soon overheats after staring into Sawako’s eyes for just a few seconds. Both, Yani and Yoshida notice this but they think it’s more funny than serious. Well, Pin suggests that they should name the dog after Pedro Martinez the baseball player, but Sawako comes up with Maru-chan after hearing his name.

      Later, during a break, Yano and Yoshida talk with Sadako about long long they’ve known both Ryuu and Kazehaya, and Sawako finds out that Kazehaya was so popular with the girls in middle school that all the girls considered him group property. Then Pin announces to the class that he needs someone to stay after class and work on the attendance book, and Sawako volunteers to do it and is soon joined by Kazehaya, then others also ask to help. Well, Pin seems upset because Sadako and Kazehaya ruined his bit of fun, so he demands to speak with Kazehaya in the office. A while later Kazehaya sneaks back to help Sawako, and later on, she’s joined by Hirano and Endo after a few seconds of awkward silence. They tell Sadako that they had aways wondered if she was angry and liked being alone until she greeted them and they became curious so they stopped for a look. Well, after a couple of minutes of talking, it seems that Sawako is getting along fine with the girls.

      After class, Sawako and Kazehaya meet in a stairway and Sawako tells him how good of a time she had, and Kazehaya tells her that she’s changed but she’s also changed Yano, Yoshida, and him.We see mysterious stalker girl listening to the two of them talking from around a corner.

 

      Later, we get to see Kazehaya passing Sawako a note in class and he almost gets busted because Sawako doesn’t think the note is for her. When Sawako finally read the note we see that he’s telling  Sawako that he’ll be walking Maru-chan (the dog) down along the river where they found him and does she want to join him. Well, she sends him a note saying yes. When they meet by the river they talk about school, and what Sawako does in her free time. Then Kazehaya asks Sawako if she’s told anyone about the dog, and when she says no he tells her that he wants her to keep it their special secret. OK.

 

     When Sawako and Kazehaya are back in class he asks Sawako to help him with a problem, so she begins to teach him. After a while Hirano and Endo join them and soon the rest of the class joins in the study group. After Sadako finishes helping everyone she gets thanked and Sawako gives off a true unforced smile that catches every one’s attention but it soon fades once she notices she’s being watched, Kazehaya really notices.

 

     After school, Sawako catches up with Kazehaya and tells him that it really made her happy when he said teach me, he admits to Sawako that he’s being a little selfish because he wishes that her smile was just for him. Later, as Yano and Yoshida are getting ready to leave they talk about how when Sadako smiles she almost seems like a normal girl. Yano and Yoshida’s talk is interrupted when they overhear other girls talking about them, how Yoshida used to be in a reform school, how Yano had over 100 guys by middle school. When Yoshida confronts the girls, she demands to know who started the rumors, and the girl tells her it was Sadako. Well, that’s all for this episode.

      Well, I think this was another fine episode, Sawako/Sadako continues her journey/process of becoming more integrated in the social order of the class. While Sawako continues to give a lot of credit for her small gains to Kazehaya, Yano, and Yoshida she also needs to take some credit for her successes, clearly her efforts to be more friendly and talkative are also paying off.

      What I really like about this series is how all the small touches make this a very enjoyable series, I love how the show uses small examples of Sawako normal girly reactions to common things to make her more human and sympathetic. See the below examples of Sawako playing with her hair while thinking about Kazehaya’s gaze, and her reaction to getting a note from him.

I also like how the animators continue to give us really nice backgrounds, and the use of lighting is wonderful.

For a really good post examining the use background, lighting, and the feeling of nostalgia in Kimi ni Todoke click on this link to a post by Ghostlightning.

      Another interesting thing was watching Yano’s, Yoshida’s, Kazehaya’s, and the rest of the classes’s reaction to Sadako’s real smile. When Sawako tried to smile on command for Yano and Yoshida at the beginning of the episode it came off as creepy and scary, but when her smile came as a natural expression of true happiness it was stunning, it caused the class to pause, Kazehaya’s heart missed a beat, and I think a few of the other guys must have noticed too.

Come on Kazeyaha, just tell her how you feel, you came close in the stairway. Give Sawako her Jerry Maguire moment, you complete me.

      I think that trouble is just beginning for Sawako because she violated the community property rule surrounding Kazehaya, beware of French Dolls that look too sweet to be true. Oh, Kazehaya better snatch Sadako up quickly because I think that other guys have started to notice her. If I was in her class, I’d try to date her, rumors of supernatural powers don’t frighten me, you wouldn’t have to bother looking for scary things in your closet or under your bed if she was snuggling next to you, after all, scary girls need loving too.