Kimi ni Todoke: Soulmate is a spin off series made after the ending of the original series. Kimi ni Todoke was a very popular long running manga series that spawned a an anime, a live action film, and a Netflix TV Show. Soulmate was completed in three volumes.
High School rivals turned friends go to college together. One girl, Kurumi is healing after her first love(which is now her friend Sawako's boyfriend). As love blossoms around her, she must find herself before she can come close to having a soulmate.
Let's cut right to the chase: Kurumi isn't a very likable character. If you read the original series, then you know the drama she brewed up and for Sawako to take her as a friend was such an amazing turn of events in the original story. I still don't really like her but Soulmate puts more in perspective within her inner dialogues. We see her have a lot of self doubt when she starts to have feelings for Sawako's cousin. We see her be a complete bitch as a defense against hurt. I think this was suppose to be her sympathy ark to a lot of fans of the series. However, I didn't really feel anything for her character. I was very indifferent to her as I read through each volume. The only thing that I felt for was her self reflection of where she went wrong in her action then and now. What I did love about this spin off story was the update on Sawako's life as a side character. Sawako's cousin as a new character was cool too. He was like a male version of Sawako which I adored. My favorite parts of the story were volumes one and two.
The art style is the same as the original series. I've always loved the kick back at home feel of the art and panels. The creator loves using random prints in the background of her panels as well.
You will enjoy this series if you're an original fan of Kimi Ni Todoke. If not, then you won't get too much out of this. Kimi No Todoke is a long series so maybe watch the Netflix show to get a feel of the story in a nutshell.
