His and Her Circumstances

What's there that hasn't been said about this tale? In all honesty, Kare Kano is a love story through and through. Not to say that it lacks any other aspect besides romance but, it's the kind of show where you become intertwined with the heart more than the funny side-comments or the playful animation. The story is simply about two people in high school who meet, share common-ground, and fall head over heels for each other. Perfect for you hopeless romantics, eh? Character(s) & Their Development This one is certainly major for this show. The emotional interaction is at such a high level that at times, Iwas amazed at how lifelike it was. I felt I could meet each and every character if I walked around my own school long enough. It's not that their all completely realistic or even that they have no uniqueness but, the fact is that these people make you believe they exist is some space. Yukino was certainly a character I had to keep a keen eye on. At first, I couldn't find the strength to actually like her but, by the second episode I found herself thinking the same thoughts I had just that very day. She has an extremely worrisome type of behavior when it comes to her relationship to Soichiro. It's not that she is meek but, it's that she has no idea how any of this is suppose to work because of the way she's lived her life. She was always so cheerful to her classmates, but she was distant. So far away, in fact, that no one could tell until this secret was disclosed when Yukino was not guarding herself. She finds the relationship to Soichiro difficult at times, and yet that's only because of her own thinking. She thinks and thinks, doubting how well she can read him and be close to him. How much can she give, she really, truly wonders. A lot of the show is her ideals on her love towards Soichiro. I related to her, and at times was dumbfounded how much her very thoughts seemed like they were straight from my own mind. Soichiro, on the other hand, doesn't get as much time to shed his concept on himself or Yukino as much as his counterpart; however, you don't need to hear his development to really know that he is changing. He becomes much more lively and socially active even though he still holds his own secrets & demons from the person he holds dear. In a way, it's a bit sad that Soichiro never comes to terms with his emotions in the anime, as he is cut off from overcoming his shadows since the show was never finished. Animation I've never understood completely why but, the majority absolutely despise the art in Kare Kano. As I said, I can't comprehend it since the studio had such a tight budget and because of that, I think they deserve some slack. The anime was also made in 1998, and there was a huge decline in money during that time in Japan (or something or another). Honestly, I don't judge too hard when it comes to this aspect. Story and characters are much more important to me, and they certainly come up strong while the animation is a tad weak. Despite all that, the style has a plain cuteness while being soft. I've never had an anime where it was realistic but the style made me think: charming. Music The sound had to grow on me before I drowned into the youthful, playful melodies this anime has to offer. While some of it was increasingly fitting, the ending theme always had me bored. While I adored the lyrics, I could never get into the beat, but that was probably just me. The opening was certainly a gem though. I find myself singing to it even if I don't want to, it just had a perfect tune that couldn't deny the anime's own attraction in itself. Dubbing/Subbing Oh, I adored the dubbing in Kare Kano. The actor for Soichiro is dead-on, no question. Soichiro is more of an emotionless, hold-it-all-in type of guy and the inexperience of his actor actually aides in defining the character. Yukino had the hyper, somewhat angry, yet politeness you would expect from a role model with a weird personality. I was surprised to find the actress is really the voice of Ash Ketchem from Pokemon though. Overall In general, Kare Kano has a slice of the anime pie all to it's own. It's graceful in it's deliverance yet funny within it's own boundaries. The blandness witnessed is some episodes is picked up by the pure innocence of each character's quirks. This is the type of anime that is more than just a simple-minded cartoon, it actually lives and breathes like a human being that can grow and morph. It's charming and realistic in thought and action. There's little Kare Kano misses when explaining a relationship, and it doesn't miss at all the heartbeats, doubts, fears, and sadness faced with a first love. However, this show is not depressing despite situations where characters suffer; it remains optimistic. This a show that's certain to give you that warm feeling, not for the cuteness (because, in all honesty, there isn't too much of that), but for watching the way these characters live out their lives, hardships, and accomplishments. (Last note: Pick up the manga, it ends the story and it's worth it!)

His and Her Circumstances by Hideaki Anno is among the most polarizing shows I've come across on MAL. People either think it's brilliant and one of the best romance anime ever created, or complete garbage. When you have a MAL rating below 7.70, you KNOW you done fucked up. That means the average MAL user thinks this show is worse than Future Diary or Elfen Lied. Despite this, His and Her Circumstances has a small but dedicated fandom who hold it up as an all time masterpiece. So who is right in this dispute? Are the casuals simply too naïve to notice its brilliance? Arethe elitists being pretentious assholes again and placing garbage on a pedestal? The answer is complicated. His and Her is both brilliant and highly flawed. In order to enjoy it, you have to look past its many issues. Pros: Miyazawa and Arima are one of the most interesting couples in anime. Both suffer from psychological issues and create a fake persona to use in public. As the series progresses, both must learn to discard their masks and be truthful with themselves and each other. Miyazawa has a bad inferiority complex. She is jealous that she isn't naturally a genius or athletic, so she spends all her effort trying to trick others into thinking she is. She has a low self esteem and has a pathological need for constant praise. Without it, she would fall into a helpless depression. Arima was born to abusive parents who were a disgrace to his wealthy, extended family. He is so terrified that he will become like his parents or that people will associate him with his parents, that he creates an angelic persona. Even though many of his extended family hate him anyways, he must act perfectly or he fears he will lose the love of his aunt and uncle who raised him. We create masks to deceive others into thinking we're better than we actually are. However, no good can ever come of lying to yourself. “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” - The Brothers Karamazov Besides the excellent main couple, His and Her breaks free of several constraints that anime places on itself. Both main characters actually have family that you meet! I want you to think about how rare that is. I've seen over 950 anime and less than 10 of them have 2 main characters that each have a father, mother, and siblings that we meet. Anime characters always are orphans or only have a mother or their parents are overseas. Despite the great emphasis that Japan places on family, anime is paradoxically terrified of portraying families! You know what other taboo this show breaks? The 2 main characters ACTUALLY HAVE SEX in a shoujo anime! If you're new to anime, you probably can't appreciate how rare this is. Space Brothers lasts 99 episodes and the main couple never have sex or get physical in any way. Nodame Cantabile is the same way. What about Spice and Wolf, which always makes the top 5 for best couple in anime? Nope! No sex, no kissing, nothing. You sit through 26 episodes of economics lectures to watch the main couple get together and...you get a Wonka ending. "You get NOTHING! You LOSE! Good Day Sir!" The only anime I can think of where the main couple have sex are Berserk (good example) and Future Diary (bad example). As a shoujo, His and Her stands almost alone in very rarely explored waters. Finally, you get all the psychology and character drama of Eva without suffering through the most laughably obscurantist plot in the history of anime. A plot filled to the brim with half baked ideas and homages to ancient mecha like Ideon. The central conflict of the entire series is that the Angels are attacking humans. After 26 episodes you never learn why. After Death/Rebirth and End of Eva, you STILL don't know why. If you want to learn basic, essential plot details without consulting the internet, you have to watch the reboot movies, buy the 15 video games and the Japanese Daizenshuu. Can you imagine any other work of art that's held in any esteem getting away with that shit? "Yeah Bro! I just finished Werckmeister Harmonies. Now I need to beat the video game in order to make sense of it! I got through the circus level, but the whale boss keeps kicking my ass!" Cons: The character art is shit. I can't tell which characters are adults and which are children. Miyazawa's parents don't look any older than her younger siblings. Due to massive budget issues, the first 5 minutes of every episode are a recap using previous animation. That way, they only have to animate 17 minutes of new footage each episode. Even that wasn't enough, so we get popsicle stick characters and animation that's so bare bones it's a joke. Also episode 13 is entirely recap. What the FUCK was wrong with Gainax and meeting their budgets? I think they must have blown all their cash on cocaine and hookers. The secondary characters aren't really that great. They don't get enough time to really develop, but do get just enough time to steal from the main characters in a way that hurts the show. The original mangaka allegedly HATED this adaptation and apparently thought it was pretentious. There was even a rumor that she drove down to Gainax, screamed at Anno, and pulled the plug on a second season. Anno went into a deep depression and walked off the series after episode 18. The rest of the anime after that point is garbage. Even the most diehard fans of this show don't watch episodes 19-26. It's like the Post-Kyoto Arc part of the Rurouni Kenshin anime. It's so bad it doesn't exist in the minds of the fans. Overall: His and Her Circumstances isn't a series for everyone. However, if you have patience and can get over its shortcomings, you will witness one of the most unique and moving romances in anime! Hell, it just might be the greatest anime that Hideaki Anno has ever made (that isn't Re: Cutie Honey). I can't get my offline friends to watch this one, and half my online friends dislike it. However, I love this anime and beg anyone who hasn't seen it to try it out!

Kare Kano: [ His and Her Circumstances ] Introduction: Yukino Miyazawa is what you can call the perfect schoolgirl in any possible way. At first she was very conceited and wanted others to respect ("worship" could be a better word) her. Then she met Arima, the perfect schoolboy in all respects. Her first instict was to defeat this arch-enemy of hers. However, people say that Hate is what`s closest to Love, and as you may have guessed, hatred soon turned to love between these two. Here`s Kare Kano`s story in a nutshell. Animation: Gainax did 2K (Kare Kano). They also did Furi Kuri (FLCL) which has a reputation forbeing "weird". Even in 2K you see that same weirdness. In many episodes, the dialogues are written instead of spoken. And often, there is no motion picture, just a set of slide shows to show a scene. You will also notice that there is a lot of scene-display. Like showing buildings, roads, traffic lights and stuff. Another point to note is that the characters` emotions are very much exaggerated, just like in FLCL. Big teeth, hyper-wide grins and the like. Finally, the animation will often reach an extreme climax with shouts, lots of fast actions and just after, die down to a low hum. This can often disorient the viewer. However, the animation is fluid and there are no major flaws. Sound: Like in my other reviews, I don`t pay much attention to sound. The OP and ED have nothing special. However, there are some in-movie music tracks that are worth listening. Nothing bad. Nothing great. Story: Here comes the interesting part! As you know, 2K is a love story involving the 2 main characters Yukino and Arima. So, expect these 2 to get lots and lots of screen time. The story of 2K evolves around those 2, depicting their problems, how they strengthen their love-bond and how the characters around them react. There is also some emphasis on friendship and helping friends in need. The series will also illustrate people and the problems they face in their lives, particularly in their emotions. The first 20 or so episodes are nicely laid out. However, there are 2 things I hate: The flashbacks/recaps and the ending. Every 2-3 episodes, you will get some kind of recap. It becomes very very annoying in the end, with a full 1.5-2 episodes of recap. That really annoyed me. Why do we need recaps that often. We are not amnesia patients! It seems that these recaps are there to fill holes in the series, where the people who made 2K had no idea what to do/write/draw. So they just stuffed a recap and it`s a go. Next, the ending is really poor. Seems that the budget got drained completely at the end of the series. The drawings just suk! Trust me, you don`t want to watch those again. There is almost no sense in the last 2-3 episodes. The main characters completely vanish, leaving only 2 secondary characters and their budding love story. Even then, we are not told clearly what`s happening. You have to witness that horror of last episode to know what I`m talking about. It`s very incoherent and difficult to understand. Basically, that ending totally ruined the whole series. And mind you, we are not told, even in the end, as to what happens to Arima and Yukino, or the other characters. What becomes of the 2 brightest students of the school? Get married supposedly.. We don`t know, we just hope.. P.s. Another annoying thing: The number of times you will hear the name "Arima" in the series is overwhelming! Character: I can say that the characters are well developed and well introduced. At least for the main characters. We are given elaborate details about their lives, their likes and dislikes, and the detail particulars about them. Each of them has their own particular personalities and distinct feelings. This is nice to see. The problem here is that sometimes, characters disappear randomly and without reason. Eg. Tsubasa`s "brother" completely disappears and for no apparent reason! I thought he was going to come into play later in the series when he was introduced, but alas.. he disappeared into nothingness! :S Likewise, the 2 main characters completely vanish from the scene in the last few episodes! But the way the characters are introduced and maintained through 2K covers for this flaw and earns an 8 from me. Value and Enjoyment: Not much to say here. It`s just a nice romance story for people who like the genre. However, do not expect very much from the series. And if you can bear with some dark points, like vanishing characters and difficult-to-understand stories, then you might give this series a try. Personally I enjoyed it for the first 20 or so episodes. But after that, I nearly dropped it. But I didn`t just because I wanted to know how it would end, but I was deceived there. Not much rewatch value, except if you really like the genre and got nothing else to watch. That`s all from me! :P

You're not going to get what you expect. At first the series is very similar to your standard Shoujo anime. The main character is a cannonball of humor and humanity - not a dainty wussy female heroine. She's someone a real female can relate to. Visually, as the anime progresses, it delves deeper into an avant-garde style of presentation. It becomes less of an animated series and more an experiment in visual storytelling. I actually appreciated this aspect of the series and looked forward to seeing how the story would be told in each episode. From the popsicle stick figures, cityscapes, flashing images, sketch book drawings, etc.everything was very different and very interesting to watch. The story itself is great - it branches off gracefully from the stories of our two main characters as they progress in high school and develop into adulthood. The behind the scenes problems led to a number of useless recap fillers and a hanging final episode. I presume there was the intention of continuing beyond 26 episodes because the final episode does nothing to wrap up any loose ends. (Typical, right? The bright side is that the manga continues well beyond this final episode and any individual who desperately wants to know how all these fantastic and complex characters will end up is able to read on to a very satisfactory and complete ending.) Understanding that this is incomplete, experimental, and yet totally emotionally captivating this series is recommended.