So ghostlightning said that I should write up a little something about the art in Kimi ni Todoke. At first I was like, “I am bad at art.” But then I realized it gave me an excuse to re-watch Kimi ni Todoke.
I am not an art person, so if this comes off as incredibly simplistic or dumb or “You are bad at this”, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.
One thing I noticed about a majority of the scenes is not a simple coloring or shading of lineart, but a watercolor effect. I used to hate watercolors, simply because we were forced to do it in gradeschool and it ran OHGOD everywhich way and was a complete mess. A few years back I realized I LOVED watercolor art, just not making watercolor art. What with its soft hues blending into one another, especially with what would otherwise be contrasting colors… SO GOOD.
This anime has LIGHT. It’s not BLOOM, either. It’s sunlight filtering through the trees, reflecting off the water and sparkling, and illuminating the characters when they feel happy. Then you have your typical shoujo sparkles and circle-y bubble things representing special moments which I can’t ever seem to get enough of.
The OP and ED have a combination of lots of cool things. There’s PATTERNS. Patterns aren’t tacky, guys! And they’re not just there to fill up large empty spaces where you can’t think of putting anything else. What else? COLORED PENCIL. God, it’s like a sketchbook of awesome. And don’t forget the watercolors.
Lastly, something that seems so elementary but should not be forgotten is that the animation seems to have been done with care. There’s little to no skimping on character animation, even for unimportant filler people in the background. The backgrounds are just breathtaking, I don’t think anyone has complaints there.
For those of you who haven’t watched Kimi ni Todoke yet, go NOW. It’s like going outside on a beautiful day, minus bugs and in anime form.
Wow. Great selection of frames and nice layout too. It’s pretty cool to be able to show this many images without cluttering up the post. Very nice.
Like you, I’m terrible at watercolor, but I couldn’t hate them because I love looking at watercolored illustrations. They’re so soft and it feels like there’s really so much going on even if the subject is rather simple and static.
You also noted light. Given your selection of stills, I think this show nailed light down. Not so much in a realistic way, but the sensibility is there that compliments the style of the drawings. One can certainly tell the difference between morning sunlight and dusk, as well as midday. I appreciate this level of detail.
Awesome selection of shots, especially compared to the ‘fugly screenshots’ I chose for my post (or so that’s what Author said). Production I.G. has brought this manga to life oh so beautifully, no doubt. Sad how some people are nitpicking on the character designs and totally miss out on the real beauty of KnT…
Great frames indeed. The art is so beautiful. Production I.G. doesn’t hold back, and I think that adds value to the series.
Oh watercolor
I recall going to a uni art class with my artist cousin and painting watercolor, except… I was only able to paint “ice worlds” as he called it. 
It was still fun I suppose.
Cheerios.
@ghostlightning: Well, I think the light was captured realistically, at least in scenic shots. I kept noticing the shadows from trees on the ground — a nice detail.
@usagijen: Your screencaps were FIIIINE. I heartily disagree with Author on this.
@Ryan A: Ice worlds? Shoooow meee
Did this post just made me want to watch the show? I guess it did.
Being the background fag that I am (background drawing being my weakness in drawing manga), I guess this really hits the spot.
The scenery is indeed very pretty and high quality. Those are amazing screenshots you chose; they really highlight the use of lighting. They’re almost a bit reminiscent of Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, which is just an amazing movie btw.