***warning: may contain spoilers***

Masami Tsuda’s Kare Kano, otherwise known as His and Hers Circumstances, is one of those anime you wish never ended until it was suppose to have ended. (I read somewhere that there were differing opinions on how it should be so the director left.) Having made only twenty-six episodes and leaving right at a crucial time in its characters’ life, Kare Kano has made me wonder about its characters. Will the two protagonists ever find happiness? I guess I will find out when all the manga has been released.

Here’s a brief synopsis of Kare Kano: Yukino Miyazawa, a Japanese high school freshman, is the envy of her classmates because of her good grades and immaculate appearance. However, this is just a charade she maintains to win praise—at home and in private, she is spoiled, stubborn, and a slob, and studies relentlessly instead of spending time with her sisters. She wears gym clothes, too, while studying!

However, her position is threatened by Soichiro Arima, a handsome young man who also gets top grades. And he’s quite good-looking and is well-liked by everyone. Yukino-chan considers Arima-kun’s very existence to be a challenge to her class leadership positions and a threat to the praise on which she thrives. At the entrance ceremony, Arima is chosen to be the freshman class representative over Yukino, and so she vows to destroy him. But after some misunderstandings, they see past each other’s facades and fall in love. (I knew this was where the anime was headed, but it’s so cliche.) The series follows their relationship as they are tested by school, family problems, and friends.

Having just read the first ten volumes of the manga and having seen all of the anime, I’m not quite sure. I think Yukino and Arima deserve some happiness, but this shoujo has reached soap opera epic-ness.

Animation-wise, I thought it was very reminiscent of FLCL. And there are strong manga-like scenes, too, which surprisingly I liked. The anime stops right before the start of play in their cultural festival, and I think it stopped at a crucial place in the two main characters’ life.

The music of the anime is good. It matches well with the scenes. But what truly got me involved into Kare Kano is the characters. Aside from Yukino and Arima, the secondary characters of the show are truly amazing. They have their own plot-lines, their own stories.

The anime is incredibly rich in story. All the characters interact on a level that I don’t quite understand, but somehow I envy. I know its animation, but the closeness that exist between characters… I somewhat envy. I don’t have that kind of a close relationship to anyone, not even my best friend truly knows who I am. And with Yukino and Arima, they know exactly who they are and accept each other for it.

Perhaps I need to examine my “circumstances”… hmm that’s a thought.

Gomen. I got a bit introspective for this entry. In any case, this anime/manga gets ten out of ten Pocky sticks. If you like drama, comedy, and romance, this anime is for you. It definitely weaved its way on my top five.

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Hello ^_^ I'm Melissa! Nice to meet you. If you want to know anything, don't hesitate to ask. And my personal motto is :: just be yourself; you'll be fine. >.