[Categories: Anime Reviews]
Kare Kano (His and Her Circumstances) episodes 7-11: Setbacks and special moments for Yukino and Arima
At the end of the first volume of His and Her Circumstances we see Yukino and Arima meet, fall in love and begin their relationship. All six episodes were very concerned with their feelings, hopes and fears; this time the focus goes outward to the family and friends and we see how their romance affects those around them, and vice-versa.
The incessant dating that they have been going on is beginning to make itself felt: their grades (particularly Yukino’s, much to her own dismay) have suffered and they are pulled up in front of the teachers for some unpleasant home truths (below). They are told that unless they refuse to see each other, their parents will be called in - can their relationship survive the harshness of studying?
As if this wasn’t enough, Arima has to contend with a not-so-secret admirer who has returned to school only to find he is now with Yukino…at the same time Yukino is coming to terms with the unwanted attention and jealousy that her new approach to life brings.
The opening episode is pretty serious stuff, dealing with the issue of how social and academic lives clash - compounded with Yukino’s and Arima’s recent changes in attitude and priorities, this makes for some of the most serious (and compelling) drama so far. The way in which both sets of parents react to the news is both surprising and insightful - it’s good to see that the writers have taken care into the supporting cast.
Speaking of supporting cast, Yukino’s experiences are an eye-opening insight into high school social politics, in which scheming classmates (such as Maho Izawa, above) try to bring her down. When one of them has a crush on her boyfriend this is hardly going to help; Tsubasa, the girl in question, is an interesting character who injects a lot of manic fury into the situations that present themselves.
As before, the distinctive Anno-isms and the less desirable money-saving animation measures are very much in evidence. Fortunately this adds to the charm and enjoyment rather than detracting from it and the zany humour is almost always spot-on with its timing. Sometimes the simplest techniques work best; a lingering glance or a holding of hands saying more than any amount of dialogue could. The biggest pleasant surprise of all is that, even though it’s a teen rom-com from GAINAX, there is no fanservice whatsoever. During the entirety of this disc I didn’t notice a single panty flash, cleavage shot or dash of toilet humour - as someone who at best tolerates fanservice and at worst is actually put off by it, I cannot stress enough how refreshing this is.
So, the second helping of Kare Kano is another triumph of romantic comedy-drama - the comedy really is funny, the romance feels genuine and the drama really makes the viewer care about what happens to the characters. On top of this Anno adds his trademark moments of deep introspection and unconventional direction to create an absolute gem.
You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll be humming the theme tune for days.
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