# Say "I Love You." (2012)

> A wary high school girl who has sworn off friendship finds her guarded heart tested by the charming boy who kisses her.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/47383

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 13
- Episode runtime: 24 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: animation, drama, romance
- Network: TOKYO MX
- Cast: Ai Kayano, Takahiro Sakurai, Risa Taneda, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Yumi Uchiyama, Minako Kotobuki, Tomoaki Maeno
- TMDB rating: 7.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2309312/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: wistful, sincere, tender, bittersweet

## What critics say

Audiences rate the single season as a positive, sweetly romantic shoujo anime, though it is a modest, conventional entry.

## Synopsis

Say "I Love You." (2012) is a Japanese shoujo anime series produced by ZEXCS and broadcast on TOKYO MX. Its guarded protagonist Mei Tachibana (voiced by Ai Kayano) has resolved never to make friends again after a painful heartbreak, a vow that becomes difficult to keep once the handsome and charming Yamato Kurosawa (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai) arrives and unsettles her carefully built walls. Their relationship is the engine of the thirteen-episode run: a tentative push and pull shaped by old betrayals and the fear of being hurt again. Around them, classmates Asami Oikawa (Risa Taneda), Kenji Nakanishi (Nobunaga Shimazaki) and Aiko Muto (Yumi Uchiyama) form a friendship circle that tests the leads' reluctance to trust. Set in an ordinary Japanese high school, the series is a single continuing story in a standard anime shoujo format, with a mood that is sincere, wistful and tender, and emotional tension that builds gradually. Fans of Toradora!, Horimiya and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War will find a similar blend of school life, awkward romance and emotional vulnerability.

## Shows like Say "I Love You."

- [Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and the Inexperienced Me (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/131532)
- [Sasaki and Miyano (2022)](https://ember.film/tv/105642)
- [I Cannot Reach You (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/150888)
- [Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart. (2017)](https://ember.film/tv/64429)
- [Bloom Into You (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/70742)
- [Days with My Stepsister (2024)](https://ember.film/tv/129036)
- [Yano-kun's Ordinary Days (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/183006)
- [From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke (2023)](https://ember.film/tv/131365)
- [The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (2025)](https://ember.film/tv/178658)
- [My Little Monster (2012)](https://ember.film/tv/41748)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt