anime, anime naruto, naruto, anime one piece, anime bleach, manga, manga naruto, manga one piece, manga bleach, anime dvd, anime sales
His & Her Circumstances
Title:His & Her Circumstances
aka:Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, Kare Kano
Type:Anime
Genre:Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
Language Reviewed:Japanese
AnimeDates Score: 7.9
Storyline: 8.2
Animation: 7.7
Sound & Music: 8.2
Gotta-Buy Rating: 7.7
User Score: 2.9
Storyline: 3.6
Animation: 2.6
Sound & Music: 3.1
Gotta-Buy Rating: 2.4
His Review
by adam
Total Score:7.6
Storyline:8.0
Animation: 7.5
Sound & Music: 8.0
Gotta-Buy Rating:7.0
 
Kare Kano is an anime that is frequently discussed among otaku. It delivers a pleasure mix of comedy and romance, even if sometimes it's in a very oblique way.

Miyazawa Yukino is a first-year high school student at Hokuei High School. Throughout middle school, she spent most of her time exuding an aura of absolute perfection to those her entire class. She was the best overall in sports, studies, social relationships, and every other possible area. At least, until Arima Souichiro appeared. Arima scores higher on the Hokuei Entrance Exams, instantly snatching the top spot from Yukino. To make matters worse, Arima catches Yukino at one of her "less-than-perfect" moments. Rather than lose the image of perfection she's built up, she allows Arima to blackmail her. Thus begins an incredibly bizarre series of events detailing the relationship between Arima and Yukino (and their close friends).

Kare Kano starts off very light and amusing and it's very easy to get drawn into it quickly. Personally, I take a little something extra out of the anime I watch and try to pick up a little Japanese. If anyone can relate, then Kare Kano is a big help with Kanji flying all over the screen, almost without stopping. Unfortunately, that is also one of it's downsides. There is so much to read, that to take in even 50% of the unspoken dialog, you must rely heavily on the "Pause" button of your DVD Player's remote control.

The Storyline is common to anime of this genre, but with a unique twist. Kare Kano has a way of side-stepping the main plot for entire episodes with side storylines. Personally, I found most of them to be interesting and fun to watch as they detail the lives of the many side characters (Tsubasa is a personal favorite). It begins to fall apart towards the end, but this show was very good overall. Although, I will never be able to understand the point of having two or more recap episodes in a 26-episode series (a la Chobits).

The Animation changes style from stick figures to oil paintings to classic anime without a moment's notice. Sometimes the art is drawn with deep detail that it looks nearly real. Yet there's an entire episode where the characters appear to be cardboard cutouts with less animation and detail than South Park. It is very obvious that the Producers of the show attempted to infuse deep emotional meaning by doing so, but it was lost on me. In fact, I found myself wondering "When did this become a French Art Film?" well before Agie asked me for the 17th time.

Nothing special about the Sound and Music, although both the Opening and Ending Songs are good.

This one is definitely worth watching if you haven't seen it already. Unlike many other couples in anime, the relationship between Arima and Yukino actually advances as the show progresses. The experiences they share range from childishly entertaining to seriously adult in nature. I enjoyed the story enough that I plan on buying the manga, since it (like many anime) continues the storyline well past the last episode.
 
Her Review
by agie
Total Score:8.3
Storyline:8.5
Animation: 7.8
Sound & Music: 8.5
Gotta-Buy Rating:8.3
 
Kare Kano is a great little romantic comedy with a full ensemble of likeable characters. The story is centered around Miyazawa Yukino but spins into other plotlines about the other characters in the show.

Miyazawa Yukino is the model student in every possible way while perfectly shielding that she is actually a self-absorbed narcissist who thrives on the praises and accolades she receives from those around her. She is greatly admired by her classmates for her ability to excel at everything in school, from academics and sports to student council, all while consistently offering help to her fellow classmates. Only at home with her parents and two younger sisters, does Yukino act like her true self. Because she always acts the role of the perfect student, she lacks any genuine friendships with any of her peers.

Everything is going well for Yukino until Souichiro Arima enrolls at her high school. He is handsome, smart and kind to all those around him, very much like how Yukino acts, except his actions seem genuine. Everything Arima does seems to annoy Yukino. She decides that she must work even harder to beat Arima, when he plans a surprise visit to her home and catches the real Yukino in action.

Even though Yukino feels that her whole world has collapsed because of Arima finding her out, they soon realize how much they have in common and their growing feelings for each other. Together they decide to drop their perfect exteriors and just be themselves. Now, Yukino must earn trust back from the girls in her class as they have turned on her because they feel she is a fraud who nabbed the class' most desirable guy.

The style of the animation changes at times to achieve the mood of the scene. Overall, the effects the animators create give the story increased depth (for those tense, romantic or sad scenes) but sometimes the animation goes overboard and you are left scratching your head.

Kare Kano takes much of the 26 episodes to introduce all the characters and does a great job of developing each role. They are all unique yet they come together in the storyline so perfectly that it makes you think of your own clique in high school. Unfortunately, because of how short the series is, it leaves the viewer feeling like they have met all these wonderful characters that they must now say goodbye to. At least the manga continues which I will soon be reading.
 
Overall Male User Score
Total Score:5.9
Storyline:7.3
Animation: 5.3
Sound & Music: 6.1
Gotta-Buy Rating:4.9
Based on 3 User Responses
Overall Female User Score
Total Score:0.0
Storyline:0.0
Animation: 0.0
Sound & Music: 0.0
Gotta-Buy Rating:0.0
There have been 0 Responses
 
Buy this DVD here!
 



         Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | FAQ | Buy Anime
         AnimeConPics | Cosplay War | AlternativeNicheNetwork
            Copyright 2005-2007 AnimeDates