"Makes me wonder how the mayority can be wrong... and believe something bad is good."


That happens in the US every four years.

Calstine is right...look at how popular the retarded twilight series is.

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"Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived."- Dalai lama

i agree with the idea that a story's popularity does not necessarily indicate that it's good. The criteria for what makes something "good" would be different for all of us. Some of us like stories with cliches, while other prefers something more thought-provoking and leaves us with open-ended questions near the end.

If someone enjoy stories with darker themes/mood, etc, then it's very likely the reader might not like Kimi ni Todoke. If however, someone who hates the romance genre happens to like Kimi ni Todoke, then maybe the story is good and worthwhile to read for another reader who also dislike romance mangas.

If an authoritative figure or literary group judged Kimi ni Todoke as "good" and wants to give it an award, etc, then would it now be considered a good manga for the rest of us and presumably be or become a popular series?

Though I haven't read the manga for Mushishi and Himitsu, I watched the anime and loved them both. They were incredible pieces of work, similarily to Kino's Journey, in my opinion.

A less popular manga might be extremely "good", and just be low in rankings because readers have not discovered it yet, perhaps b/c they do not usually read the genre of the less popular manga, etc.

I have not watched any of the Twilight series yet... I was extremely excited when the first movie came out and I wanted to watch. However, now that everyone are hyped up about it, I'm less motivated to watch. I must be contradicting myself?

kimi ni todoke is on top, simply because they are more readers for it than other manga. it does not necessarily mean the manga is good or is bad. It comes to, if kimi ni todoke has what most readers are looking for, then they'll read it and the manga becomes popular. i don't think the majority is wrong, nor right. I don't believe that should be an issue.

it's the same as our taste buds. bananas are good for you health-wise (lots of potassium and other nutrients). however, if most people just don't like the taste and don't eat it compared to other fruits, then it's not very popular -- it doesn't mean bananas are bad or that this majority is wrong.

(sorry if i went off topic in this long rant.)

Look, the reasons its on top are pretty simple.

In terms of popularity, it's not actually number 1 overall, I would venture, but it lacks detractors. For every couple of fans of any shounen epic, there are going to be a lot of people who utterly despise it- especially given the amount that sort of think is directly shoved in the community's faces. Kimi no Todoke doesn't have that in the same numbers, just because no one's obsessive beyond the point of typical readers. In addition, shoujo readers are more numerous than shounen readers on this site (we've done a number of polls), and Kimi no Todoke appeals very strongly amongst that group for obvious reasons- it retains enough cliches for the typical reader to find it enjoyable, but not so many to turn off the majority.

Basically it's just a combination of wide appeal and fewer naysayers. As much as I would like to see Mushishi or Nijigahara Holograph or even Yotsubato! at number one, that's just not going to happen because all of their appeals has a certain niche quality. People just enjoy what they like. Condescending elitists like myself might have a lower opinion of certain fanbases, but that doesn't mean all that much in the long run for anything other than my [or perhaps our] opinions of that readership.

All that aside, I might point out that in terms of ratings, rather than readership, Otoyome-gatari is actually on top, meaning that Kimi no Todoke's readership success is at least partially based in its longevity, rather than favoritism.

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Reviews of my Work:
You are kind of boring - Blackorion
Congratulations! Ur an asshole! - tokyo_homi
Your awesome!!! - Cherelle_Ashley
NightSwan also said that she wanted to peg me, once, but I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or a threat...

KnT is amazing in so many ways. The most outstanding reason is probably that it's different than your average shoujo; it's realistic yet it's not too realistic.. I don't even know how to put it in words myself. All I can say is that I enjoy KnT very much, much more than my favourite school life/romance manga like I''s and Bokura ga Ita.

Main point being, it's real enough that I can relate to it, and reflect on it, while reminiscing good times of my own.

i don't know either, i don't find it interesting, rather I got bored of it.

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As an avid shoujo reader, I was confused as well. ._. I read two chapters, then promptly went back to reading Skp Beat or something. Later, when I checked the top shoujo list (or w/e) on MU, I did a double take when I saw that it topped everything. Meh. Well, to each their own, I suppose.

But, there are a lot of 'realistic, yet not too realistic' shoujos thare have a much more interesting premise than KnT's 'lol, another love story between an isolated girl and a popular awkward boy'. Like Lovely Complex (ha), Kare Kano (hee), or Saruyama! (keke). And hey, Bokura ga Ita is pretty good. Better than KnT imo. Not the best, but I was so happy when the mangaka returned from hiatus. I

LOL @ Hainuwele

warning - spoilers ahead?

SHY INNOCENT girl falls in LURV with KIND but POPULAR boy --> cliche!

He likes her BACK! --> cliche!

PRETTIER RIVAL steps onto the scene and fights for the same boy... but loses! --> cliche!

SHY girl and KIND boy get together! But not without crossing some 10000 hurdles first! --> cliche!


I'd say what sets this shoujo apart from the rest are the awesome SIDEKICK characters! I want to see more of them!!

I don't have good taste when it comes to manga or music so I kind of DO like Kimi ni Todoke. That said, I don't think it ranks anywhere close to my top ten. (And I have to admit I got tired of this manga after reading about Great Misunderstanding #157.)

My two shoujo faves, to this day, are: Lovely Complex (hella funny) and Nana (hella bad@ss - plus genuinely tragic and unpredictable, rare qualities among manga these days).

I'm the Romantic Comedy type, so I don't mind cliche - it just better be GOOD cliche.

Jeez why is everyone complaining about one poll. It doesn't necessary reflect everyone's opinion and nor does it show that the majority is right. Don't get me wrong, everyone's entitled to their own opinion but why are some of the members slandering the opinions’ of others?
Heck, every time I watch the Brits or Oscars, I wish that people who voted had more sense but that doesn't mean I throw a tantrum. It doesn't belittle your opinion if it doesn't follow the majority nor does it make yours better if it does.

Maybe because it's awesome?

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"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

I haven't watched the anime yet but I have been reading this manga since it has been at chapter 5 and I'm still following it and love it. I'm not really active reading it anymore because it's a bit slow...
However I still find it adorable and yes it is pretty much a cliché but you know what makes this shoujo less a cliche? it's not only about the main characters!!! the sidechars also have their own role and get pretty much attention.
I'm not really fond of typical shoujo-cliché but I like this one. It's cute,sad and funny at the same time.

and @iamaspen:
you only read first 2 chapters, so basically you don;t know it very well yet right? I'd say; try it again, maybe you'll like it.

Well, I don't think that's true. Isn't it instinctive that "a story is popular because it is good"? I know there are pointed exceptions, but in general it holds true.

Secondly, in a world of democratic choice, it's true that what's good to the individual (provides highest individual marginal returns) may not be the same as what's good to society (provides greatest social marginal benefit). Therefore, the closest to objective truth we can achieve is via the collective decision of every unit participating in the society IE the poll.

In effect, I agree that especially for art it is "each to his own", but I would advise you to respect the opinion of everyone else nonetheless. FYI I'm a guy and I rate KnT 10 alongside Fairy Tail, because I like the art, I like the plot, and I admire the characterization - especially of the side characters, which is disregarded in many other mangas focussing only on the main character. (Very disappointed in that regard with Bleach - I'm rather tired of Ichigo, I wonder where Rukia went and I miss Ulquiorra.)

i've been wondering about that too..the series is very cliche and theres nothing special about it



ditto! even though im a girl i find myself more drawn to mangas with subtle romance and heavy psychological material...ive dropped almost all top-rated shoujos,i personally find them shallow and lacking in terms of plot...whats really funny is most of them are tagged as "slice-of-life"...seriously?they're too unrealistic and over-the-top to the point where i find myself laughing

this manga certainly doesnt deserve the high ratings
but meh...to each his own i guess

This manga fulfills every girl's little dream: That no matter how hated and misunderstood you are by everyone around you there will always be a popular guy who is handsome/smart/whatever that will get the real you and love you. The end.
And that's why it is so popular.

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Does not compute.

Maybe it's because of the anime. The other reasons might be Nana's on hiatus, Skip Beat new release take too much time, etc...

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