Among the top shojo romance anime, Kimi Ni Todoke has remained a beloved series next to Toradora, Fruits Basket, and Ouran High School Host Club. For years, these anime have remained uncontested series in the anime community, especially among fans of high school romances. However, this past Spring season of anime has given the top shojo series a run for their money, especially Kimi Ni Todoke.
This past Spring season, Skip and Loafer has become a stand-out among Shojo fans, despite carrying themes and tropes seen before and not even being a Shojo series. In hindsight, its seinen demographic might be why the anime has found such success in its first season. It is certainly not the typical shojo anime. Since its debut back in April, Skip and Loafer has been compared to the beloved Shojo classic anime Kimi Ni Todoke. They both share similar uplifting and wholesome vibes as well as similar character dynamics. With the first season of Skip and Loafer having come to a close, fans are raving about the series and so far have given it higher praise than the classic shojo romance.
Uncanny School Romances
For those who missed out on Skip and Loafer, the series follows freshman-year student Mitsumi Iwakura who takes the bold step of moving from her quiet countryside home to live as a student in Tokyo to attend a prestigious high school. Her dream is to become a politician and support small towns like the one she grew up in, but her first big hurdle is coming to understand the complicated world of high school. Despite there being personality clashes with her classmates, Mitsumi learns to make friends and balance her impressive grades with enjoying her youth. While this may sound lackluster in plot, fans have fallen in love with the wholesome vibes of this anime as well as the carefully crafted cast of characters who are finding themselves in this heartwarming coming-of-age story.
Many viewers have compared this series to Kimi Ni Todoke because the classic shojo series also had the most wholesome vibes and delighted audiences with its limited drama, especially between the male and female leads. The themes of making new friends, and fitting in during high school are shared between Kimi Ni Todoke's lead Sawako and Skip and Loafer's Mitsumi, two young women who are pure and friendly yet socially awkward on the surface. Many of the characters across these two series are trying to find their way despite the pressures of high school and being a teenager. The romance between a socially awkward heroine and the most popular boy in school is also a trope of sorts that is shared between these two series. The most beloved part of this romance is minimal tension within the main couple and in its place there is a lot of love and support, making them examples of healthy relationships. This comparison certainly makes Skip and Loafer appear to be the ideal romance anime for fans of Kimi Ni Todoke, but in fact, the romance is scaled-down in favor of something more wholesome and far better than what the classic shojo anime had.
Skip and Loafer's Strong Sense of Character
For the biggest fans of romance, Skip and Loafer might be a let down if one lacks an open mind. The main focus of this series is not Mitsumi starting a relationship with the ever-popular boy Sousuke Shima. The anime is centered around the growth of a group of high schoolers, with hints of an uplifting romance on the side between Mitsumi and Sousuke. What keeps the anime so engaging is the deep character development of each individual character. As the lead, Mitsumi is the one who inspires everyone around her to be themselves and to try their best, even when plans go awry. This leads Sousuke to begin to think differently about his past, and his future. It leads Mika and Makoto to showing more compassionate sides of themselves and trying new things, and also helps Yuzuki and Tokiko to feel more at ease and relaxed during their high school days.
With a greater sense of character development than most high school anime, viewers are not only uplifted with the resolution that comes with these moments of growth, but they can also enjoy an original series that manages to rise above any tropes. Because of the deep development of these character, this series feels like more than fiction to viewers. The main cast feels relatable, thus when something good happens to any individual character in the anime it's an even greater celebration for the audience. This deep connection holds an emotional grip on viewers and because these scenes are more than just flat tropes thanks to the time taken to build the characters, Skip and Loafer has found such immense success. Without relying on the cliches associated with romance, this anime is far more engaging and enjoyable to watch than most anime that shares its themes and settings. In this way, Skip and Loafer has proven to be more wholesome and genuine than Kimi Ni Todoke.
Kimi Ni Todoke's Worst Cliche
While Kimi Ni Todoke has a wonderful focus on the character growth of its protagonist Sawako, that focus doesn't last. The emphasis on Sawako's growing social life is often balanced with the focus on her romantic relationship with the popular boy Shouta Kazehaya. In fact, Sawako's growth is jumpstarted because of Shouta, a common trope across romance series. In hindsight, a reliance of a romantic partner to bring out the lead character's best qualities isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's often treated as a sign that the main couple compliments one another, however, without enough substance and independant agency, this scenario can come across as a flat and overdone trope. In the case of many female characters, it also continues the tradition of women who need men to grow and can't thirve independently, an issue in it of itself.
Sawako certainly has independent desire to make friends, but so much of her growth and her story at large is wrapped around her crush that it leaves viewers wanting more from her character. The same can be said about the rest of the cast. Once characters are done talking about Sawako and Shouta's relationship status, there isn't much more conversation aside from romantic "girl talk." Even Chizuru and Ayane's stories as delinquents isn't tapped into even though it is so crucial to their character journeys. Despite having opportunities for a diversity of sub-plots, the anime zeroes in on romane with decent substance. While the sweet moments between Sawako and Shouta and even Chizuru and Ryuu are enough to make one's heart skip a beat, it's not long lasting and hasn't aged well.
Though the similarities between Kimi Ni Todoke and Skip and Loafer make them both the most wholesome and uplifting high school anime, it's their differences that set them leagues apart, and reveal Kimi Ni Todoke's worst quality. A romance anime about a young girl who comes out of her shell with the help of a boy isn't very original anymore. There is still something to say about Sawako and Shouta's wonderfully healthy romance, but the anime doesn't have much more to offer viewers. On the other hand, Skip and Loafer does something vastly different with its school theme. It pushes the romance to the side and focuses on genuine character development to truly capture the audience. With the most wholesome moments of growth viewers can feel the highest degree of upbeat emotion that isn't cheapened by empty and half-baked tropes. This is not just an anime about an awkward girl who begins to fall for the most popular boy in school, it's about her following her dreams and being her authentic self against all the odds, and by extension, how that helps her closest friends to do the same. In this way, Skip and Loafer is far more wholesome than Kimi Ni Todoke and brings the full package of what high school and romance anime can offer.
Skip and Loafer is available to stream on Crunchyroll.