Initially I approached His and Her Circumstances (or Kare Kano to its fans) with a little trepidation. The adaptation of Masami Tsuda’s manga series, it was directed by Hideaki Anno, who is (in)famous for treading the line between genius and downright odd. Unlike his previous efforts though this is quite a shoujo-orientated series with no epic journeys, no battling mecha — not even a love triangle.

Kare Kano could have been a disaster. In fact it nearly was. The perennial problems of funding, scheduling and ‘creative differences’ threatened to scupper the project on numerous occasions, which shows through in periodic moments of cheap animation and repetitive recaps. For all its faults though, I can’t help but love it.

The story is simple enough. Two ordinary teenagers meet, fall in love and then we follow their day-to-day life as they deal with school, friends, family and their own relationship. Yukino Miyazawa is a troubled student who hides behind a façade of perfection and pride; Souichiro Arima is an equally bright and capable individual who conceals insecurities of his own. Only when they realise the feelings they have for each other can they truly be themselves.

Right from the outset the two leads win the viewer over: as anime romances go, this is as sincere and as sweet as you are likely to find anywhere. Yukino and Souichiro are portrayed as flawed but fundamentally good people who deserve each other in every sense; showed to great effect by Anno’s remarkable ability to examine human emotions to great depth and bringing them spectacularly to life.

Their eccentric family and friends make up a varied and thoughtfully-conceived supporting cast who get their own moments in the spotlight as the series progresses; scenes of zany slapstick and rapid-fire wordplay sit alongside the heartfelt romance without either aspect detracting from the impact of the other. The soundtrack, another great Shiro Sagisu effort, comprises of tender piano and orchestral melodies with two brilliantly catchy and uplifting J-pop numbers as the op/end themes.

The aforementioned production issues cannot be ignored however, having resulted in the studio taking some interesting measures to counter them. Sometimes it is turned to the show’s advantage with unusual and stylised animation techniques that fit in with Gainax’s penchant for innovation. At times it actually adds to its charm but at others the artwork style really takes some getting used to. The main problem unfortunately is that of the ending. That’s right, Gainax have done it again!

Most of the episodes start off with a short ‘story so far’ section but after the halfway point full episodes of recap footage begin to creep in and the finale feels rushed and unfinished. The linear storyline doesn’t suffer as much as other series might (particularly those that work towards a defined destination rather than focusing on day-to-day events) but it doesn’t work in a show’s favour when you have to read the manga version just to walk away satisfied.

As disappointing as the ending is (calling such an abrupt ending a ‘conclusion’ is stretching it a bit) Kare Kano still stands as a masterfully directed and heart-warming tale of young love that captures the most powerful yet elusive of emotions.

In Summary

Hideaki Anno shows, perhaps surprisingly, that his forte lies in not the melodramatic sci-fi epic but a straightforward and down-to-earth tale of teen romance. Cute, funny, tear-jerking and compelling, this is a gem of a show that somehow overcomes its own limitations to deliver something truly special.