Karuho Shiina was born and reared in the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Despite the fact that Kimi ni Todoke is only her second series after a string of one-shots, it has already received honors from a number of Best Manga of the Year lists. Kimi ni Todoke also came fifth in the first-ever Manga Taisho (Cartoon Grand Prize) contest in 2008, winning the Kodansha Manga Award for the shojo genre. In Japan, an animated television series premiered in October 2009, followed by a live-action feature in 2010.