Reviews & Ratings for
"Circumstances of a Boyfriend and Girlfriend" More at IMDbPro »"Kareshi kanojo no jijou" (original title)

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12 reviews in total

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6 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Looking for a non-clichéd animé romance? This is it., 14 August 2001
Author: Brendan Brown (evilkeen) from Canada

You have to admit that a great deal of the allure towards Japanese Animation is the relief from the clichés of American Film and Television.

However, if you have watched animé for any real period of time, you'll come to the painful realization that it too has it's own set of horribly predictable clichés.

Take the Romance genre for example. Female Heroines seem to all be infected with the dreaded "Who do I like this week?" syndrome. Love Triangles/Cubes/Dodecahedrons are rampant throughout these storylines.

This is why Gainax's "Kareshi Kanojo no Jijyou" is such a breath of fresh air. Gone are the dizzy female characters with the cheesy inner monologues, gone are the overattractive male characters that exist only as temptations. Karekano is the simple story of a boy and a girl who have difficulty being truthful to others, and the difficulty of maintaining an honest public image (a theme dealt in Gainax Studio's "Neon Genesis Evangelion".) The show smoothly switches from serious drama to high comedy with nary a glaring disparity. Which is how it should be. High School--especially High School Romance--can indeed (at least in hindsight) be remembered by many real people as a very humorous period in their life.

Karekano was directed by Hideaki "Man am I ever depressed" Anno (his first animated work since "Evangelion") and he imbues his world with a unique visual presentation. Characters can be animated in an unbelievably over-the-top way when the situation calls for it. Yet in another scene appear as a beautiful monochromatic pencil rendering that is absolutely dead on emotionally. Anno's style for this series is to show situations in an indirect visual way. The time of day is indicated wordlessly by a series of outdoor vignettes that astonishes me with their verisimilitude. Shots of traffic control lights and construction signs can indicate a character's emotional cycle.

To digress. You should definitely try this series out if your tastes run deeper then a "Fight of the week show" and if you are getting disillusioned with the frustrating unoriginality of many modern animé.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
A shining anime, 12 December 2004

Author: IkuharaKunihiko from Croatia, Europe

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.

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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: 9/10

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
a completely insane show that works so well on all levels!, 22 February 2004
Author: AmyroNightfire from London, England

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!

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
Most Touching Love Story since Romeo and Juliet, 2 February 2004
Author: Jonathan Agnew (Spokaliman) from Spokane, Washington, USA

That's right, you read it, this is the best love story since Romeo and Juliet. Actually, in terms of content it's better than R&J, because that's love at first sight and it's Shakespeare so it's just very well written. This isn't just the story of two people falling in love, but the story of that love. They fall in love and start dating by the fifth episode and it's no secret to anyone that they are. It goes into so much detail about not only their relationship, but the reasons they love each other, who they are and whay their relationship is. It really is beutiful, but what do you expect from the man who made Neon Genesis Evangelion, he did the screenplay and he directed (up to episode 16 i believe).

The characters in this show is what really gets me interested. Yukino is this shallow attention hungry person who has some serious inferiority complex problems she fixes with good grades and being the best, Souichiro is similar in that he must proove to his family (himself, let's be honest) that he's a person worthy of life and that he is a good human being, as opposed to his parents, who he subconciously takes after but conciously denies. They fill in each others emotional gaps so well, Yukino's energy can support Arima and Arima stoic persona creates a air of confidence for Yukino, they are absolutly perfect for each other in every way. Plus the way the show is presented they look perfect for each other. The other characters deserve mention to, Tsukino and Kano are probably my two favorite characters, there eccentric and cool to watch, Yukino's friend are lively as is Tsubasa.

That aside, the style of this show overall is mind bogglingly good, the constant change in shape, size and color of the world is constantly changing in connection to the characters psychological and emotional state, when they kiss in episode eight, the simple outline style excentuates the emotions exponentially. The way the environment is always an allagory for state of mind and in same ways connectivity and in some ways seperation of the characters is simply amazing, I was thoroughly impressed the first time I watched the series and intellectually involved the next ten times (I've lost count how many times I've seen this series). And one last kudos, the music as always is this laughable combonation of Japanese pop-rock and Bach, just what I would expect from Hideaki Anno. I love this series and it is absolutly my second favorite anime behind Neon Genesis Evangelion.

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:
One of the best series I've ever seen., 12 June 2000
Author: JG2001 from Seattle, Washington

Kareshi Kanojo no Jiyou, or Kare Kano for short, is a great series. It tells the story of a pair of high school students, Yukino and Arima, two over-achievers who finally loosen up when they meet each other. The series details the ups and downs that they have in their new relationship as it blossoms into romance.

The show alternates between comedy and drama, with the art style alternating to fit the situation. The balance of extreme comedy and drama is wonderful. It shows how life can be deadly serious one moment and undeniably absurd the next. This is a show that no one should miss.

P.S.: To fans of the film My Neighbor Totoro, be sure to watch episode 11. It's got a hilarious gag you don't want to miss!

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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
great anime...too bad about the ending, 4 May 2005
Author: sundae_245 from Australia

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

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2 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
This one really affected me, 9 February 2007

Author: refresh daemon from United States

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.

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1 out of 1 people found the following review useful:
One of the best anime ever made., 9 June 2003
Author: Wayne Smith (tsundae@aol.com) from Managua, Nicaragua

I first heard of Kareshi Kanojo no Jijoo when I was looking at Gainax's website after watching the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. It was their next big project after Neon Genesis and after being blown away with that series, I had to see about this next one.

I instantly fell in love with the series, watching it completely through until its sad first and last season run. I felt a bit empty after watching the series and ending with too many open ends. The manga cheered me up, though, buying every tankoubon of the series for only 3 bucks a piece.

There are summaries about the series already, so let me just make my statement on why I fell in love with the series.

It didn't base itself off of the never-obtaining-love plots that saturate American TV shows, such as Gilmore Girls, Friends, Good Morning, Miami, etc. The show gives wonderful depth as to first loves and how relationships build, rather than collapse, like most shows.

My fiance and I enjoyed sitting down and watching this series together because of its honesty and cuteness. Watching the warmth of a first kiss, the first time one holds hands... its very endearing.

I would recommend this to those Shoujo lovers out there, but I would say stay away to fanboys.

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2 out of 3 people found the following review useful:
Starts strong but falls apart, 10 June 2006

Author: Brian Kendig from United States

"His and Her Circumstances" starts out with an interesting premise: competitive-streak overachiever girl meets calm overachiever boy, and his academic prowess sparks her to want to ruin him; but gradually they learn to see each other - and themselves - for who they truly are, and they fall in love.

At its best, this series tells a tender lovestory. Early on, it focuses on the girl Yukino, showing the image she works to present to other people while giving insight as to *why* she behaves as she does - it's a mature character drama, giving surprisingly real motivations behind her actions. Arima, the boy, gets somewhat less attention from the script, but his levels of depth are also explored. When the two of them are together, there's lots of innocent blushing going on, and it's sweet to see.

And it's obvious the animators had fun with this series. Characters are drawn in all styles from realistic to chibi to fit the mood, and the animation is exaggerated and sometimes wild when called for. Visual humor abounds.

The problem, however, is that beyond the first few episodes, the series begins to fall apart. Far too much time in the beginning of most episodes is given to recapping the entire series up to that point; a whole episode and a half in the middle of the series is devoted to recapping again, and the second half of episode 24 (out of 26) is nothing but replays of recaps from earlier in the series as well as another run of the opening credits. The main characters become less important in the series, and later episodes focus on secondary characters and other people brought in to support the secondaries. The relationship between Yukino and Arima is never resolved; Arima himself doesn't appear very often towards the end. The final episode is a strange low-budget abstract thing which ends the series abruptly without tying up any loose ends.

It feels like, near the end, the production staff stopped making an effort; and that's just a shame.

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1 out of 2 people found the following review useful:
Gainax does it again!, 17 November 2003

Author: Otaku50 from Honolulu, Hawaii

*Warning: Spoilers Within*

When I first read about, "His and Her Circumstances" in an issue of the Honolulu Star Bulletin, I was intrigued that this product came from Gainax, the creators of another of my favorite anime series, "Neon Genesis Evangelion". In addition, I had heard that it was also directed by none other than Hideaki Anno, whose work on "Evangelion" I had also respected.

At the same time, I began to wonder: What would happen when Gainax/Anno teamed up to stage a romantic comedy? Having already created a massive following of both supporters and detractors from "Evangelion", what fiendish mayhem would this duo come up with?

Thankfully, upon viewing 21 episodes of this series on DVD (I am still waiting to purchase the last DVD), I can say with a great deal of confidence that Gainax did not disappoint. While some say that they only stayed true to the core elements of Romantic Comedy, the great strength of this series in in the character development. After the first six episodes, I began to care for the lead couple, and hoped that in the end (which I still haven't seen), their relationship will prevail. Also, I noticed that in retrospect, the story contains rarely any filler episodes (despite an episode summarizing the events of the series up to that point). The small switches in focus (the Tsubasa storyline, for example) are justified, and only add to the overall enjoyment of the series.

My only pet peeve is the extreme amount of on screen text, with does seem distracting if you're not used to it. But you should be relieved to note that the text either explains certain aspects of the characters or accentuates what it seen on screen. In essence, it's like reading a moving comic book (which is what Anime is, to some extent.)

I encourage everyone with a love for Anime to go out and try out this series. You won't be disappointed!

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