I used to watch Crunchyroll to stay on top of the latest anime season.

Now I use it to to discover new-to-me old series that I definitely missed the first time around. Lately I’ve been watching Kimi Ni Todoke (From Me to You), which was originally part of the Fall 2009 season.

If you haven’t heard of the show, it’s about a loner high schooler named Sawako whose long, black hair, social awkwardness, and similar name cause her peers to mistake her for Sadako, the eerie ghost from The Ring. Then on the first day of high school, a popular boy—the gregarious Kazehaya—treats her normally and helps her begin to make friends.

I turned to Kimi Ni Todoke because I wanted to turn off my brain. I had been pretty stressed out lately with last minute preparations for Anime USA and I wanted a reminder about why I got into anime conventions in the first place. This didn’t disappoint.

It’s not just the relaxing soundtrack, floaty shoujo-bubble art, or the fact that Sawako’s most difficult problems could only be daunting to other high school freshmen. It’s her attitude about life. Sawako knows she’s lucky to have finally made friends, and savors every moment. She doesn’t worry about the past, and she certainly doesn’t—for an example from my own life—get distracted by her cell phone. (She doesn’t even have a phone until the end of the season!)

She lives in the present.

In episode 19, Sawako finds herself surrounded by friends, classmates, and her love interest at a party. Not a single detail escapes her.

“This whole experience is a reality I am facing at this very moment,” she thinks.

Later in episode 24, on a frosty New Year’s Eve, Kazehaya sums up Sawako’s attitude toward life perfectly. This is a girl who is living life with both eyes open:

“I used to think you enjoyed being alone. Now I realize you enjoy everything.”

Also, totally unrelated, Kurumi, Sawako’s rival in love, definitely keeps this season from ever having a dull moment. That hair! That attitude! That sass that bounces right back even after all her schemes go awry! I would love to cosplay her one day.

If you’re interested in watching Kimi Ni Todoke but you don’t have a Crunchyroll subscription, send me an email and I’ll gift you one of my three 48-hour guest passes—first come, first served. And if you’re not a hikikomori capable of marathoning the whole thing within that time, I seriously recommend buying a year-long pass. I got mine last year during their Black Friday sale for just $50, so I’m really hoping they hold that deal again.