His and Her Circumstances

Alternate Titles:  Kareshi to Kanojo no Jijou

Original Japanese Release Date: October 2nd, 1998

Episode Length/Run-time: 26 Episodes

Summary:

This is the story of Miyazawa and Arima, two model students with a secret; they aren’t really the people they pretend to be.  At school they are perfect, but outside of the classroom they are just normal, fun loving, silly people.  After discovering each other’s secret, the two fall in love begin dating.  Of course, they’ll have to defend their relationship against many people including their parents and teachers.

Review:
His and Her Circumstances is one of those rare lovestories that actually delivers a believable set of characters and circumstances.  Much like Kimi ni Todoke, it is one of those shows where two characters know that they love each other and the show takes off from there.  Kare Kano starts out with two characters with strong personalities actually disliking each other.  They both put on this facade for their public school life that isn’t anywhere near their real selves.  After divulging their true personalities to each other in a VERY interesting way, the two fall in love.  It’s rare for anime, but soon after, the two are kissing and fighting for their relationship against those that do not approve of it.  This kind of thing is seen rarely in anime as its even rare for the characters to develop a relationship at all.

Still, Kare Kano is an interesting show in that it gives such incite into the personalities of the two main characters. They do this through monologue and through a great deal of on screen text.  The latter of the two certainly offer both pros and cons.  It can be very inciteful to see into the minds of the characters but unfortunately, especially subtitled, it can be difficult to read all the on screen text and the subtitles at the same time.

While the first half of the series is filled with wonderful romance, comedy and drama, the second half of rife with filler episodes, recap episodes, and in an, oh so typical Gainax way, an ending mostly unfinished.   Think Evangelion; crayon and pencil.  Still, I don’t want to emphasize the last 13 episodes of the series because the show’s first 13 episodes are some of the best in all of anime.  Still, it cannot be completely overlooked.  As a warning, be prepared to be enthralled and ultimately disappointed by Kare Kano.

[starrater]