From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke – Episode 5 Recap & Review

The Party

Episode 5 of From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke titled ‘Christmas with Friends’ starts off with Sawako seeing a Christmas party poster and Kazehaya asking her to go to it together. She is excited as she knits gifts and says she always wanted to go to a party with friends.

In class, Ryu tries to talk to Yoshida but she is still angry with him. She says she knew she had no chance with Toru and had gone over to give him his birthday gift. She runs off before he can thank her for the gift.

Sawako and Yano follow Yoshida who says she is angry that Ryu said her love is hopeless when all she wanted to do was give him his gift. As she cries, Yano is relieved that she is not keeping it in anymore. 

They then head to a mall with Yoshida saying she just wanted to talk to Toru once more. Taking it out on Ryu made her realise that she knew she didn’t have a chance with Toru. They spot Toru who says he wants to talk to her alone. Before they leave, Sawako points out that Yoshida is wearing a mini skirt and she is happy she at least got to fulfil her wish.

Once they are alone, Yoshida asks him about her skirt and he just compliments her for braving the cold which annoys her. They walk by their old hangout spots and reminisce about their childhood. He asks if Ryu still makes her cry and she says he just annoys her now but he is honest. She then tries to congratulate Toru on his marriage but can’t and she looks miserable.

He points out that he calls her by the nickname Chi because one smiles when they say it. She finally gets her courage and declares that she likes him. He says he does too as a little sister and she accepts it. She finally congratulates him and they part ways. He heads home and spots Ryu sulking as he asks about Yoshida. Toru says Ryu is a better fit and he thinks so too as he goes to find her.

Ryu finds Yoshida sulking by the bridge. She realises he is the one who asked Toru to meet her once more before he leaves and thanks him and he thanks her for her gift. She wonders if she always just saw Toru as a big brother and Ryu says it was real. She cries and he comforts her.

Meanwhile, Sawako is having dinner at home and is about to ask about the party. But her father says he has taken the day off just for her. Her parents say that she was supposed to be born on 24th December but ended up being born on New Year’s Eve and that she is the best gift ever. She feels guilty and decides not to go to the Christmas party. 

She gives Yoshida and Yano their gifts earlier and they love it. But Kazehaya is disappointed as Sawako tells them to have fun at the party without her. She wants to thank him for helping her have a good year but can’t. Kazehaya just wishes her happy holidays and leaves.

At the party, he sits alone while everyone is having fun. At home, Sawako realises that she forgot to give him his gift which was the beanie she was knitting. She instead gives it to her father. While they have dinner together, she gets a call from Yoshida who say they missed her and they have a Christmas present for her as they give the phone to Kazehaya.

Her mom is excited to talk to him and he says it would be fun if she could join the party. Her father allows her but just wishes she would have told him sooner. 

Sawako runs to the venue but the party is over. However, she finds Kazehaya waiting for her as he gives her a keychain as a gift. She says she had a gift for him too but doesn’t anymore. And so, she gives him a knitted belly warmer for his grandparents. He says he loves it and wants to keep it.

He reveals that the party has moved to a karaoke room and they join them. Pin also shows up as a chaperone and wishes everyone. Turns out his group cancelled so he is hanging out with them. He notices Sawako sitting with Kazehaya and tells her he is a good guy while she says she is thankful to him. 

As the party ends, Kazehaya accompanies Sawako home. On the way, she stops him and closes her eyes. He thinks they are about to kiss and goes close to her. Just as they are about to kiss, she opens her eyes and is shocked to see him so close. They apologise for the confusion as she says Pin suggested that she should close her eyes to show him gratitude as she is thankful for him. Kazehaya gets shy and tries to lighten the mood by joking.

On NYE, Yoshida and Yano dress Sawako up and say it’s their bday gift for her along with a group hangout. But the girls and Ryu back out at the last minute as they trick Sawako and Kazehaya into going on a date together. The three spy on them from afar and Yoshida is excited as she thinks the date is going well. She calls Kazehaya and informs him that it is Sawako’s birthday and he is surprised.

He wishes her and is disappointed that he didn’t get her anything. However, Sawako says he already did by helping her have new experiences. They spend the New Year countdown together and wish each other. They then get their fortune read but Sawako’s fortune paper says that she has bad luck that will get better. Kazehaya trades it and gives her his good luck fortune paper as his gift to her as he says he has luck on his side while looking at her.

The Episode Review

While most episodic shows just move on to the next story, it was nice to see that we got some type of closure on the Toru-Yoshida-Ryu love triangle. Honestly, Yoshida is such a refreshing and relatable character as she is the typical teen in love who throws tantrums but is also pretty aware and respectful when she is turned down. She didn’t make it awkward for Toru who only thinks of her as a little sister. 

She also made sure to let Ryu know that she wasn’t actually angry at him but took out her frustration on him because she was angry with herself. Ryu also happens to be pretty mature, something we don’t see among teen boys especially.

It was so sweet that he helped Yoshida fulfil her wish and talk to Toru one last time. And while he could have easily imposed himself and confessed his feelings to her right when she was going through heartbreak like many iconic but red-flaggy drama characters, he didn’t. So, he definitely gets some major brownie points there.