From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke

This is the live-action version of Kimi ni Todoke and just as heartwarming. This is the first time I watched manga series adaptations back-to-back with each other and was bemused at how the live cast members match their animated versions, embodying their characters so well that it was easy to tell who they were before they opened their mouths. Shota Kazehaya's (Daisuke Namikawa) smile is just as refreshing. Mamiko Noto captured Sawako Kuronuma's shyness, quiet grace and inner strength.

With 12 30-minute episodes compared to the 38 25-minute episodes of two seasons of the animation, it's a compressed version with less of the angsty musings of Sawako. But it delves deeper into Yano Ayane's (Miyuki Sawashiro) and Yoshida Chizuru's (Yûko Sanpei) love lives. It also deals more with the young people's struggles in deciding what to do after high school. My favorite part is knowing what happens when Sawako and Shota finish college. The closure is truly sweet after their angsty romance.