Season 3 of the Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You anime adaptation will be coming to Netflix worldwide in 2024. The sequel comes 13 years after the end of the second season in 2011. Mamiko Noto and Daisuke Namikawa are reprising their roles as Sawako Kuronuma and Shota Kazehaya. Production I.G is returning to animate.
Production I.G also animated the first two seasons of the rom-com series, along with all the specials that came out of it. The first season of the Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You TV anime premiered in the Fall of 2009. It ran for 25 episodes (ended in 2010). The 12-episode sequel followed in 2011.
The anime is based on the Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You manga, written and illustrated by Karuho Shiina. The manga was serialized in Bessatsu Margaret from 2005 to 2017 and it ended after 123 chapters, collected into 30 volumes. A light novel adaptation by Kanae Shimokawa (known for the novelization of Nana series) ran from 2007 to 2015 under the Cobalt Bunko imprint. Shiina did the illustrations for it. A spin-off story, set after the events of the main manga, titled Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You – Soulmate was also serialized in Bessatsu Margaret from 2018 to 2022 and collected into three volumes. A one-volume prequel novel, Kimi ni Todoke: Ashita ni Nareba, by Shimokawa also exists: it was published while Shiina was taking maternity leave and paused the manga in Bessatsu Margaret.
Karuho Shiina commented on the third season’s announcement and also revealed a special illustration:
The return of the series over time must be a great surprise to those of you who enjoyed the anime back then. I was one of the people who enjoyed it back then. I was very surprised and very, very happy. I was able to observe the postrecording, and Sawako is Sawako and Kazahaya is Kazahaya. I couldn’t believe that more than 10 years had passed, and I was so moved by the wonderful performances of the cast. The pictures are also very cute! The cohesion of each episode is too nice, so please come back and enjoy it with us again!
Viz Media licensed the manga and describes the plot as:
Sawako Kuronuma is the perfect heroine…for a horror movie. With striking similarities to a haunting movie character–jet-black hair, sinister smile and silent demeanor–she’s mistakenly called Sadako by those around her. But behind her scary façade is a very misunderstood teenager. Too shy to fit in, all she wants to do is make some friends. But when the most popular boy in class befriends her, she’s sure to make more than just that–she’s about to make some enemies too!
A live-action movie based on the manga was released in 2010. Netflix and TV Tokyo co-produced a new movie, which premiered this March. Netflix is also streaming the anime. Check out the trailer below:
Source: Netflix Twitter
© Karuho Shiina / SHUEISHA © DNDP, VAP, Shueisha, Production I.G
