Chizuru Yoshida

"Chizuru is a good person. If someone attacks her, she'll fight back head-on. Even if she comes into contact with something painful about herself, she'll fight back. Even if it hurts her." - Ayane explaining Chizuru's strong-willed personality

Name
Japanese	吉田 千鶴
Rōmaji	Yoshida Chizuru
Alias	Chizu (Ayane) Chizu-chan (Sawako) Chii (Toru)
Personal Information
Birthday	June 1
Sign	Gemini
Age	15 (Debut)
Gender	Female
Height	167 cm (5'5")
Weight	53 kg (117 lbs)
Blood Type	A
Relatives	Chiaki Yoshida (mother) Ryu Sanada (Husband)
Motto	"Eat until 80% full"
Professional Status
Occupation	Student
Affiliation	Kitahoro High School
First Appearance
Manga	Chapter 00
Anime	Episode 01
Voiced by
Japanese	Yūko Sanpei
English	Morgan Berry
French	Justine Hostekint (Black Box), Victoria Grosbois (Netflix)
Latin-American Spanish	Marysol Lobo
Portrayed by
Movie	Misako Renbutsu
TV series	Riho Nakamura

Chizuru Yoshida (吉田 千鶴, Yoshida Chizuru) is a character in the series Kimi ni Todoke.

Chizuru in the manga.

She studied at Kitahoro High School together with her childhood friend, neighbor, and later fiance Ryu Sanada, and is Sawako Kuronuma's and Ayane Yano's classmate and close friend. Her nickname is "Chizu". She is in Kitahoro's basic school program. Out of the 4 heroines, she is the tallest and most athletic, boasting a streak of 99 victories wrestling guys in middle school. Though not very feminine, she likes wearing miniskirts and sports shorts to accent her legs. Because of her tomboyish appearance, she has often been mistaken for a former Yankee since childhood.

Appearance

Chizuru is a high school girl with shoulder length brown hair, and dark brown eyes. She is almost always seen wearing a bright smile. She's the tallest of her female friends, and her breasts are almost nonexistent. She is mostly seen wearing either her school uniform, consisting of a white button-up shirt underneath a yellow vest, a blue skirt, and black knee socks, or in a red and white long sleeved shirt, and denim jeans.

Personality

Her personality is fearless and hot-blooded, with a strong sense of duty and justice. Unlike Sawako and Ayane, Chizuru is extremely loud, brash, and talkative, always ready to speak her mind. She is cheerful with a large amount of fortitude enabling her to show courage in the face of adversity. Despite her intimidating nature, Chizuru has an unexpected sentimental side, often crying out of fear, frustration, anger, humiliation, or even comical effect. Not one of the brightest students, a running gag throughout the series is that she is constantly having classes during school breaks to make up her failed academic assignments. Additionally, she is often oblivious to her surroundings and insensitive to the feelings of others.

Chizuru is also a big fan of ramen, as shown when she wrote that she would like to study it in her career questionnaire, and Ayane onced joked that Chizuru was ramen in a previous life. Her favorite ramen shop is "Tetsuryuken", run by her childhood friend and neighbor Ryu Sanada's father, and she eventually ends up working there.

Relationships

Ryu Sanada

Chizuru and Ryu as elementary schoolers

Ryu is Chizuru's childhood friend, next door neighbor, and later fiancé. As their parents were close, they were inseparable from the time they were toddlers to the time they graduated from Kitahoro High School. For a long time, their relationship was that of siblings, or as Chizuru joked, "brothers".

During their early childhood days, while their parents visited each other, they would often play, fight, and eat together. Ryu's personality was quiet, while Chizuru's was loud, and he not easily understood by his peers or even his own family. But since Chizuru was always with him, she was somehow always able to understand his feelings.

Their lives changed forever in elementary school when Ryu's mother Tetsuko Sanada tragically died in a car accident. During the aftermath, Ryu went under depression and did not smile for many months. Chizuru was unable to understand what he was thinking during this time, but realizing that Ryu was probably suffering, went as far as to leave his favorite food, Onigiri, at his doorstep. After finding Chizuru standing at his doorstep crying with Onigiri, Ryu finally let down his stoic face and broke down crying for the first time since his mother's death, and they hugged each other.

The same year, his older brother Toru would have to leave for college. Aware that Ryu now would only have his father, Toru asked Chizuru to look after Ryu. On the evening Toru left, Chizuru vowed to Ryu, while they both sat looking out at the sea, that she would become his "sister" (sometimes interchanged with brothers due to Chizuru's tomboyish nature) and be by his side forever. It would be upon this promise that their relationship akin to siblings would be founded until Ryu confessed his unrequited romantic feelings to the horrified Chizuru at the age of 16.

From a young age, Ryu had known that Chizuru wished to become his older brother Toru's bride and presumably Ryu's sister-in-law. However, he also knew that her wish was in vain, for Toru only saw her as a little sister. Ryu himself had developed his own crush on Chizuru, though was patient, accepting that Chizuru probably wouldn't see him in a romantic light, at least not right away.

Ryu confesses to Chizuru.

Before the start of the series, Chizuru was shown to be studying hard for the entrance exams to get into Kitahoro High School. Ryu believes that it is because Toru graduated from there. Later this is revealed to actually be because Ryu was going there, and she did not wish to become separated from him.

At the start of the series, Ryu is one of Chizuru's only friends (the other being Shouta Kazehaya) until she meets Ayane Yano. Before the summer break, she and Ayane also meet and befriend Sawako Kuronuma. Later when rumors about Ayane and herself began spreading throughout the school, Ryu has enough confidence to not believe in them. When Chizuru begins to doubt Sawako's credibility, Ryu lends a listening ear and offers to comfort her if things don't go well. Things do end up well, however, and feeling grateful, Chizuru invites Sawako and Chizuru over to Ryu's house to let him know.

Chizuru bursts into tears when she realizes that her friendship with Ryu has ended.

Near the end of their freshman year, Ryu discovers that Toru has found a fiancée and is visiting during Christmas/New Year Break. He does not know how to properly tell Chizuru the news without distressing her. Chizuru also hurts his feelings by kicking him out of her house before he can explain, though it is only because she wanted to hide her birthday present for Ryu until his birthday. As a result a misunderstanding ensues, and while visiting Ryu one night along with friends, Chizuru discovers with horror that Toru is getting married. Feeling out of place, Chizuru hides her sorrow and avoids Ryu's house, waiting until Toru has left to give her present to Ryu. Misinterpreting her arrival as a means to visit Toru, Ryu becomes annoyed at her indifference towards him. Remorselessly repeating that Toru never had feelings for her, Ryu coldly expresses his happiness that they would never get together. Chizuru throws the present at Ryu's face in a rage, calling him a "baseball freakazoid". As she runs away, Ryu angrily mutters that she's an "idiot".

The next day, they get into a fight in the school cafeteria. Chizuru ignores Ryu, and Ryu grabs her arm. Elbowing him, Chizuru explains that she never thought of visiting Toru because it wasn't her place to do so. Instead, she came to visit Ryu. Ryu realizes that she was the only person who remembered his birthday (because his entire family was more worried about Toru), and that he misunderstood her intentions this whole time. Feeling guilty but thankful, Ryu calls Toru to come back and visit Chizuru one last time before his marriage. Despite her heartbreak, Chizuru is glad that Toru came to visit, and realizes that Ryu must have called him back.

After Toru left, Ryu finds Chizuru sitting at the same place near the sea, where she promised to be by his side forever. Ryu offers once again to comfort her. Chizuru thanks him for calling Toru, and reminisces their times together. She begins to deny her own feelings for Toru, hypothesizing that she only thought of him as an older brother deep down. But Ryu, who had always been watching her, affirms that she had "really liked him". At this, Chizuru begins to cry, asking for Ryu to comfort her. Ryu hugs her, and they reconcile.

Ryu and Chizuru remain close friends. During the next summer, Chizuru finds out that a girl has confessed to Ryu on the class school trip, and that Ryu rejected the girl, saying he already liked someone else. The girl confronts Chizu and asks her to leave Ryu alone, claiming that it's unfair for her to spend so much time around Ryu if she doesn't like him in that way. Chizu is angry, and also feels jealous and upset that Ryu likes someone and hasn't told her. This results in a conversation during which Ryu confesses his feelings to Chizu, who is taken aback and rejects him, admitting that she's never looked at him in that way. The two stay friends and continue to act normally for a while, but Chizu is privately confused and anxious about their changing friendship. She skips school to avoid Ryu, and later confronts him, accusing him of ruining their friendship. Ryu shouts back at her that he'd wanted their friendship to end, stunning her into silence. Later, the pair reconcile and give each other gifts at the school Christmas party, although Chizu is still confused about the nature of their relationship and her own feelings.

Slowly, Chizuru begins to realise her own feelings for Ryu, but she worries both due to her previous feelings for Toru and her fear that they could break up and lose one another. Although she had been assuming the pair would both stay in town, Chizuru later discovers that Ryu plans to go away to play baseball at university. She tries to support him, but gradually becomes more despondent, especially as Ryu is busy training and has less time for her. When Ryu goes to talk to her outside her house on the evening of her birthday, Chizuru tries to offer him encouragement but begins to cry instead. Yelling out her feelings of not wanting to be separated from Ryu, Chizuru eventually confesses her own realized feelings for him. At this, Ryu finally kisses her, starting a relationship.

Although Chizuru feels guilt over holding Ryu back, and conflicted about his going away, she eventually comes around to support him in his plans. When Ryu's team lose an important game, she goes to comfort him and reassures him that he can go away to play baseball at university and she'll wait for him. The pair have a close relationship for the rest of the series. Chizuru works at Ryu's dad's ramen store, having realised that this is what she wants to do, and she and Ryu agree to have a long-distance relationship until Ryu returns from university and they can start a family together whilst running the business.

Ayane Yano

Chizuru and Ayane were first at odds with each other at the start of their first year in Kitahoro High School, after finding out that they came from rival middle schools. Thus, they were initially uncomfortable with sitting next to each other at first. However, after Chizuru defended Ayane from a group of guys harassing her, and they challenged each other to long-distance running at their next P.E. class, they began to respect each other and develop more of a friendship, though they still have minor bugbears with each other - Ayane, due to an obsession with her weight, often refuses to dine at the ramen bar with Chizuru, while Chizuru prefers not to hear ghost stories or watch horror movies.

Sawako Kuronuma

Chizuru's initial interactions with Sawako are seen jointly alongside Ayane, both initially scared of her but soon accepting her as a friend. Sawako took the first step by submitting her name to the attendance sheet for the end-of-term test of courage, and being rewarded with a bottle of green tea for her ghost role. The next term, Sawako causes a misunderstanding by telling her old classmate Shino that Ayane and Chizuru aren't her friends, the latter two having heard through eavesdropping on their conversation. This was also around the time that they were hearing rumors about themselves, allegedly being spread by Sawako. Despite clearly being unhappy with her, they continue to talk to each other about her, both realizing they want to be friends with Sawako. Thus, when they find out that Sawako was confronting the rumor-spreaders themselves, they come to Sawako's rescue.

Later on, Chizuru confides with Sawako on a deeper level - though it is unclear whether she already told Ayane first, she does tell Sawako that she likes Ryu's brother. When the truth about Toru is revealed to Chizuru, Sawako and Ayane all at once, the latter two end up worrying for Chizuru, whose unusually bright mood after the event they perceive as a coping mechanism. Sawako and Ayane later witness Chizuru storm off after arguing with Ryu, and catch up to her. When Sawako cries after Chizuru tries to brush off the argument, Chizuru lets her guard down and cries too, finally letting out her feelings regarding the events.

During the second year, when it's Sawako's turn to be more upfront over her own feelings, Chizuru at one point scolds her. This turned out to be enough to make Sawako admit later on that the friendship she made with Chizuru and Ayane was special. Sawako later returns the favor by seeing Chizuru when she skipped class in an attempt to avoid Ryu.

Shouta Kazehaya

Chizuru was in Shouta's class during middle school. Shouta initially has a low opinion of Chizuru because of the numerous times she tried to set Shouta up with a girl who wanted to confess to him. However, he doesn't break off relations completely because he knows his best friend, Ryu, has a crush on Chizuru, and thus acts as a mediator for Ryu's attempts to get closer to her. Soon, Chizuru is aware of Sawako's feelings for Shouta, but when approached by Shouta about it, Chizuru gives Shouta the wrong idea by claiming he never understood Sawako as well as he thought he did.

Toru Sanada

Chizuru has always liked Toru since she was in elementary school and had wished to marry him when she grew up. Toru would always laugh and pat her head after Chizuru would bring an insect to him. When she learns that Toru is getting married, she pretends that it was OK, only to cry later. She confessed to Toru before Toru left the town. Toru replied by saying that he had always seen her as a little sister and that will never change. Afterwards, Chizuru admitted to Ryu that she ended up seeing Toru as a big brother too, and cried over the realization. After being allowed to attend Toru's wedding as a bridesmaid, Chizuru solidifies her sibling-like association with Toru by also getting along with his wife, especially after they have their first child.

Quotes

"I'm ashamed for doubting you even a little bit. Sorry, Sadako. Please don't get used to being alone, okay? Did you know, we, think you're great? Did you know? Without realizing it, we were already friends! We were already friends, Sadako!" - Chizuru's response to Sawako's apology in chapter 7 (episode 6)

"Don't worry about it! I know that I'm still too young and he isn't interested! So I'm gonna grow up to be gorgeous! Maybe he'll like me when I'm an adult! You know, I do get lonely. I don't get to see him that often. He lives in Sapporo. There's nothing I can do about that! He didn't come home last summer, so I haven't seen him in about a year! But I know he's gonna come home for shogatsu, so I'm really stoked! He hasn't seen me since I started high school! I'm gonna wear a miniskirt when I go see him!" - Chizuru talks about Toru (before Sawako asks for clarification), chapter 19 (episode 18)

"He's so annoying! Ryu's so annoying! That idiot! Yesterday, I visited him to give him a present! I was uncomfortable seeing him. I forced myself to go out, but he told me he's happy I can give Toru up. Damn it! He said I have no chance. He agreed. He's too honest. That idiot! He'd been feeling sorry for me the whole time. Actually, what's annoying is... me blaming Ryu. I wanted to give that present to him in happier circumstances. But I just threw it at him. I hate myself. I don't know much about marriage, but this frustrates me." - Chizuru's regret over arguing with Ryu, chapter 22 (episode 20)

"We couldn't accept she was gone. It's funny that there are people you won't see again although they're still alive. People who leave and people who die are the same in that way. Even though it's not the same at all. Even if you won't see them again, knowing they're alive somewhere is enough. You will always have me. We're the same age, So we'll be together forever. Forever and always. Always... There was a loss, and time passed. Our feelings turned numb, and we forgot. The future is bright, as if nothing happened. Do we want that future? We haven't been alone since then." - Chizuru's thoughts when faced with redefining her relationship with Ryu, chapter 63

"I've only been thinking about Ryu. When did it start? How long has it been since he's the only one I noticed? Since when? He's the only one I have eyes for. And so, I know what I have to tell him. The only thing I can do for him is lend my support."
"Wrong. I've had it all wrong. I was the one who didn't want us to be apart. I was the one who wanted to be with him. My feelings for him will only hold him back." - Chizuru finally realizes her feelings for Ryu, chapter 88

Etymology

• The name Chizuru means "thousand" (千) (chi) and "crane, stork" (鶴) (tsuru/zuru).
  • An ancient Japanese legend stated that a person who could fold one thousand origami cranes by himself within one year would be granted eternal good luck or one wish.
• Chizuru's surname Yoshida means "lucky, good" (吉) (yoshi) and "field, rice paddy" (田) (ta/da).
• The surname she will take when she marries Ryu : Sanada means "braid, plait" (真田).