Zelkiiro
03-07-2006, 04:16 PM
Title: His and Her Circumstances, a.k.a. Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, a.k.a. Kare Kano
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Company: Gainax
Format: 26 episodes
Dates: 10/2/1998 to 3/26/1999
Miyazawa Yukino is used to being the center of attention. For years she has played the role of the model student: humble, and scholastically and athletically superior to others. Though idolized by her peers, she is nevertheless left without any friends because of the facade she plays out on a daily basis. Only her family knows that she is a self-serving, ambitious workaholic who thrives off of the adoration from others. Her plan was turning for the best, that is until a young man named Arima Souichirou proves to be her equal as a student... and thus becomes her rival. Being the vindictive person that helped her make it to the top, she sets on a path of destruction with Arima being her chosen target. - summary by Kain
Grade: 83%
Highs: Likeable and well-written characters; catchy songs; extremely well thought-out and hilarious
Lows: Too much time spent on recaps; they call that an ending?!?
Review: There are some anime out there that make you laugh until it hurts. There are some anime that bore you with endless recaps of every little thing. There are also some anime out there that will move you emotionally. And, there are also anime that end abruptly, leaving you wanting more. Both fortunately and unfortunately, His and Her Circumstances embodies all of those things.
Right from the get-go, we have detailed character analysis, detailing Miyazawa Yukino's and Arima Souichiro's personalities to quite an extent without becoming boring or overwhelming, which is awfully ambitious for any show to try to pull off in its first episode. Other characters soon enter and get their share of the spotlight, as well as their share of development. So, what you get in the end is a fairly large cast of lovable and memorable characters, all with their own unique quirks and traits.
The art and animation are nothing special; just the normal quality you'd expect from the late 90's, but the OST and the voice acting as nothing less than superb. With a cast as big as this show offers, it's hard to imagine that you would eventually remember whose voice belongs to which character whenever they're offscreen, but you do, so it's all good. Also, the use of music is one of His and Her Circumstances greatest achievements. Whether the mood is light and airy or moody and sullen, the music fits perfectly, and you'll find yourself humming Yume no Naka e, the ending theme, when you least expect it.
On another note, while the characters are written well enough, it wouldn't work at all if the interaction and storyline sucked. However, there's no need to worry about such things; His and Her Circumstances boasts quite an intelligent script. Of course, at times the intellect is easily confused with insanity, since there are so many absurdly hilarious moments scattered throughout the series. Whether it's super-deformed chase sequences or a photo-realistic face slapped onto a class official, there are hints of a slightly demented mind behind this production, and we all love slightly demented minds.
However, His and Her Circumstances is not without its annoyances, which is quite a shame. First off, every 2-3 episodes or so, they insist on having monotonous 5-minute-long recaps at the beginning of that episode, going into insane detail about things that we already understand! If that's not bad enough, episodes 14 and 15 are nothing but recap.
And to make matters worse, because they caught up with the manga, there is no real ending!! The series' last episode ends like any other episode would end, and I was quite baffled to see that it was labeled "Episode 26". Seriously, they could've tried to make an ending, and it would still be better than the way it currently is, no matter how much balls their version would've sucked.
So, there ya have it. A shining example of an anime that gets better and better and better and then just leaves you hanging; it's like going up the peak of a roller coaster and having the ride stop and with a lift sent to pick you up. Not only did you not get to finish riding the ride, you begin to feel that the time you spent riding it was gone to waste. For shame, Gainax.
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Company: Gainax
Format: 26 episodes
Dates: 10/2/1998 to 3/26/1999
Miyazawa Yukino is used to being the center of attention. For years she has played the role of the model student: humble, and scholastically and athletically superior to others. Though idolized by her peers, she is nevertheless left without any friends because of the facade she plays out on a daily basis. Only her family knows that she is a self-serving, ambitious workaholic who thrives off of the adoration from others. Her plan was turning for the best, that is until a young man named Arima Souichirou proves to be her equal as a student... and thus becomes her rival. Being the vindictive person that helped her make it to the top, she sets on a path of destruction with Arima being her chosen target. - summary by Kain
Grade: 83%
Highs: Likeable and well-written characters; catchy songs; extremely well thought-out and hilarious
Lows: Too much time spent on recaps; they call that an ending?!?
Review: There are some anime out there that make you laugh until it hurts. There are some anime that bore you with endless recaps of every little thing. There are also some anime out there that will move you emotionally. And, there are also anime that end abruptly, leaving you wanting more. Both fortunately and unfortunately, His and Her Circumstances embodies all of those things.
Right from the get-go, we have detailed character analysis, detailing Miyazawa Yukino's and Arima Souichiro's personalities to quite an extent without becoming boring or overwhelming, which is awfully ambitious for any show to try to pull off in its first episode. Other characters soon enter and get their share of the spotlight, as well as their share of development. So, what you get in the end is a fairly large cast of lovable and memorable characters, all with their own unique quirks and traits.
The art and animation are nothing special; just the normal quality you'd expect from the late 90's, but the OST and the voice acting as nothing less than superb. With a cast as big as this show offers, it's hard to imagine that you would eventually remember whose voice belongs to which character whenever they're offscreen, but you do, so it's all good. Also, the use of music is one of His and Her Circumstances greatest achievements. Whether the mood is light and airy or moody and sullen, the music fits perfectly, and you'll find yourself humming Yume no Naka e, the ending theme, when you least expect it.
On another note, while the characters are written well enough, it wouldn't work at all if the interaction and storyline sucked. However, there's no need to worry about such things; His and Her Circumstances boasts quite an intelligent script. Of course, at times the intellect is easily confused with insanity, since there are so many absurdly hilarious moments scattered throughout the series. Whether it's super-deformed chase sequences or a photo-realistic face slapped onto a class official, there are hints of a slightly demented mind behind this production, and we all love slightly demented minds.
However, His and Her Circumstances is not without its annoyances, which is quite a shame. First off, every 2-3 episodes or so, they insist on having monotonous 5-minute-long recaps at the beginning of that episode, going into insane detail about things that we already understand! If that's not bad enough, episodes 14 and 15 are nothing but recap.
And to make matters worse, because they caught up with the manga, there is no real ending!! The series' last episode ends like any other episode would end, and I was quite baffled to see that it was labeled "Episode 26". Seriously, they could've tried to make an ending, and it would still be better than the way it currently is, no matter how much balls their version would've sucked.
So, there ya have it. A shining example of an anime that gets better and better and better and then just leaves you hanging; it's like going up the peak of a roller coaster and having the ride stop and with a lift sent to pick you up. Not only did you not get to finish riding the ride, you begin to feel that the time you spent riding it was gone to waste. For shame, Gainax.