Le situazioni di lui & lei

Man, Kare Kano really surprised me. I finally finished the final volume and I want MORE!

GAINAX first got its hooks into me with FLCL. After a little research, I heard they also made Kare Kano which I decided to try. With Hideaki Anno at the helm, these characters are well-defined and development is solid throughout. The whole concept of masks and true self are key to finding out about the two main characters Yukino and Arima. Add a cast of classmates, family, and others and you have a group that really begin to grow on you as the series progresses.

I definitely think the characters help make this one so enjoyable: from the determined Yukino, all-around good guy Arima, ultra smooth Asaba (BAAAAA!), the young but wise Kano, the manic munching ultra-kawaii gal Tsubasa (voiced by Mayumi Shintani who also was Haruko in "FLCL" - an anime MUST see), PERO PERO, Yukino's dad who's great for laughs, and many more. Kare Kano has a great (and effective) musical score and I dare you to try and get the opening theme out of your head!

This one has a little bit of everything and you might even learn a thing or two!

If you like the funny complications of teenagers, mixed with some serious situations, then this is the anime for you. Watching Yukino, I could see bits of myself in her, and while that was scary to admit, it was endearing at the same time. All teenagers want to fit in on some level, and Yukino is the most obvious example of that!

Now mixed that in with Arima: the boy who in every sense is perfect, yet still hides a dark past! There is drama with the comedy, and that just makes this anime believable to watch! Arima is green when another man looks at Yukino and is overbearing of her. Yet even her love doesn't exactly help him.

Through in the other characters such as Kano, Asaba and Maho and this is a winning combination, meaning that you could watch this anime for hours!

After "His and her circumstances" Hideaki Anno has become one of my 2-3 favorite anime directors, and also one of my favorite directors generally. I am still a little uneasy for claiming his anime "Fushigi no Umi no Nadia" is only good, but "Shin Seiki Evangelin" is still my 2nd favorite anime. Anno just simply knows how to connect the styles of Jean-Luc Godard and Steven Spielberg: he is artistic, deep and innovative, but at the same time amusing and light, captivating also a wide audience. I can't wait to find his live action movie "Cutey Honey" somewhere on DVD!

What is "His and her" about? Well, it's a drama/comedy/romance series centering over 2 teenagers falling in love, Yukino and Arima. Yukino is a brilliant character: at home she is wearing glasses and ugly jogging suit, but at school she is COMPLETELY different. She wears contact lenses and classy school uniform to present herself as a perfect, handsome student. When Arima ( I loved his voice in English ) becomes no.1 on the list of best students and she only no.2 she get's furious! But later on they fall in love.

---------------------

The directing style is brilliant. If Golden Globes and Oscars would be giving awards to anime TV series, Anno would have surely won one for this. It's truly art to make something out of nothing, and boy, some scenes here are classic. For example, the pilot episode. When Yukino is asking herself how do other people see her she is shown walking together with some girls who are praising her- and in the background the subtitles are saying: "Public approval". When Arima asks her what her favorite music is she is saying Brahms and Mozart, but her "ghost" from her face is saying the truth to the audience: rock 'n 'roll! The intercourse sequence between them in episode 18 ( which is presented in symbolic pictures like glowing spots uniting in the dark ) is pure poetry! Be sure not to miss it!

Still, as much as I love it, I have to admit that Anno failed me on 2 things. One is a minor point: the animation is a yo-yo, full of caricature design that's a little too goofy sometimes. The other one is a major point: the open ( unfinished ) ending. I am so sad that they didn't end this properly because the story was still continuing in the Manga. And I'm afraid there wont be a sequel to this. "His and her" is in my top 10 anime list. It's currently no.3. If it weren't for the awful end, it may have truly been my no.1. But still, it's story about the first love between Yukino and Arima is more beautiful than my first love ever was.

Grade: 8/10

His and Her Circumstances was one of the finest pieces of anime I have ever seen, its definitely among my favourites with Fruits Basket and Inital D.

The story centers on over-achiever Yukinon, loved by all for her looks, intelligence and all around niceness...well thats not the Yukinon we the viewers we see, it is all an act to be loved, thats all she cares about is being loved by people (oh and raking in the dough), she doesn't care how hard she has to work to hide her somewhat crazy side haha. That is until she meets Arima...equal to her in looks and intelligence...but something dark lurks within Arima.

The love story is developed beautifully, and the sidekicks are hilarious as well, including Yukinon's family and Arima's best friend (can't remember his name) and Tsubasa is so evil and cute haha.

The only thing that lets this anime down is the ending or lack thereof...it never concludes and all viewers are left hanging for more. Apparently there was an argument between the writers of the anime and the creator of the manga or something.

9/10

This is a good, dare I say great, example of animation. Yes, it has some flaws and they are similar to the flaws that Neon Genesis Evangelion suffered--primarily, a bit of repetitiveness and an ending to the series that leaves a lot of loose ends untied.

Surprisingly, I didn't really mind that the end didn't wrap up the story lines, but I can see how it might annoy most viewers. It introduces a cyclical overtheme to the series (and I guess it makes you want to read the comic books to get the rest of the story).

I didn't like the repetitiveness. The series is bogged down with three episodes that are (for the most part) recaps of the series up until that point. That's three out of twenty-six. Furthermore, most shows open up with a recap eliminating the need for the larger recaps, as the opening recap sums up the series pretty well (and much more quickly than the show-long recaps). Also, there are multiple (three, I think) times where a monologue about the state of Japan in the 1990's appears, followed by a recap. It was fine the first time, but the following two times--at full length--was a little too much.

Other than that, the show is excellent. The characters are well drawn out and complex and the plot lines are believable. The art is fantastic and often changes genres and modes but still maintains a consistency. When the show is funny, it's hilarious and when it's serious, it's often moving. The introspective nature of the characters are a plus too. Although normally it's not that good to listen to the inner monologues of the characters, sometimes, such as in The Wonder Years and also in this show and Evangelion, it really adds to the depth of the characters.

This is a series that really affected me and in a good way. It almost always left a smile on my face (the exceptions being those aforementioned recap episodes). This show and Cowboy Bebop are now my favorite anime series. Highly recommended. 10/10.