Finished season 2
I just finished season 2 of Kimi ni Todoke. To say that it was brutal is an understatement, but there is so much that is hinted to but never explicitly said.
Finally seeing Shouta Kazehaya as he really is, an insecure 16 year old boy hiding behind the popularity mask. In the first season we see the happy shiny person through the eyes of Sawako. Season 2 shows a boy that misunderstands everything and jumps to conclusions, or basically a totally normal clueless 16 year old. He doesn't "save" Sawako because he is a knight in shining armor, that is the popular story his peers tell. He simply likes Sawako and wants her to see him. Just like we see him "save" Kurumi, who he also likes.
We also see Shouta's personal redemption arc. I believe that in middle school he had a crush on Kurumi, but he never acted on it. Exhibit A is the fact that while Kurumi schemes to keep girls from confessing to Shouta, we never see Shouta confessing to any girl. Not one. As Kent Miura puts it, the popular boy with his pick of girls went three years without asking anyone out. That is strange, unless his heart was already taken by someone. Kurumi. As Shouta was too scared to confess to Sawako, he was also too scared to confess to Kurumi. And on her part, Kurumi spent 3 years sitting there waiting for Shouta to make a move. Exhibit B is the fact that when Kent makes that comment, Shouta's reaction is aggressive, which means that Kent hit a raw nerve and there is something that Shouta is embarrassed about. So my take was that either Shouta was gay or he regrets not having taken a risk in middle school with the girl he liked. Kurumi. But Sawako is not like Kurumi. Kurumi is flashy, but she is a coward. Sawako is quiet, but she has a strong spine. And at the end of season 2 she is the one that pushes things over the finish line. Shouta never even apologizes for his part in the whole mess and if Sawako had waited for him, he would have Forrest Gumped his way through, making a mess of it, and spent another 3 years believing that his love was unrequited. I think Kent's offhand comment basically tells Shouta that he's headed for 3 more years like middle school. The tragedy is that for all of Kurumi's scheming, she missed her opportunity. By high school the window closed when Shouta met Sawako.
Then there are Ayane, Chizu, and Ryu. Ryu is stuck in the shadow of his big brother and Chizu's childhood crush. As for Chizu and Ayane, we never see their homes and families. In fact Chizu pretty much lives in the Sanada ramen shop and Ryu's room. Even Ryu's father says something to the effect of wishing that Chizu was his own daughter. This seems to imply that Chizu's home environment is not that great. Ayane is shown dating an older guy who is insecure, controlling, and violent. We see him for a brief moment and he appears disheveled, possibly he drinks a lot. This seems to imply that Chizu's home environment is not that great either. And it explains why Ayane, a very feminine gyaru, and Chizu, a loud tomboy, complete opposites, find each other. They kind of become each other's family, they are sisters. It also explains how they respond to Sawako. They see her as one of them. This also explains Chizu's pain when she finds out that Toru is getting married. As the Sanada family is like her family, Chizu sees Toru getting married as losing this family too. While Toru is a childhood crush, the whole issue is about loss, losing the family she found. Which then explains Toru coming back to talk to her to reassure her that she is not a neighbor, she is family, and she isn't losing him.
What a roller coaster. On to season 3.