Series Synopsis
High school
freshman, Yukino Miyazawa (voiced by Atsuko Enomoto) has dedicated her life to
being number one; whether it is in academics, looks, sports, etc. However this
is not her true self. It is all a façade due to Yukino’s desire to be adored
and praised by everyone at all times.
Upon
entering high school, Yukino is shocked to learn that there is another student
who is able to outperform her; Arima Souichirou (voiced by Chihiro Suzuki).
Feeling threatened, Yukino tries everything to overtake Arima while still
keeping up her model student persona.
One day
Arima discovers the truth. Terrified that her secret will be revealed, Yukino
begrudgingly and desperately does anything she can to keep Arima quiet. Slowly
though, Yukino and Arima start to form a deeper relationship; first as friends,
then as love interests, to eventually becoming boyfriend and girlfriend.
Despite
displaying a calm and well-mannered front, Yukino is actually very energetic,
loud, and expressive. For most of her life, the only ones to see this side of
Yukino has been her family. After Arima found out and the two of them became a
couple, Yukino realized how selfish she had been by deceiving everyone for so
long. Slowly she lets her true personality come out for all to see. Although
Yukino originally despised Arima, once she got to know him, she soon began to
fall deeply in love with her former rival.
Arima, in
much the same way as Yukino, was also putting on an act; though Arima's false
personality was a result of a rather difficult and dark childhood. It was not
until meeting Yukino did he finally realize what he was really doing. Before
discovering her secret, Arima had actually confessed his love for the fake
Yukino. However, his feeling did not change once the two knew each other better
and as a couple, Arima loves Yukino unconditionally.
Series Positives
Animation Style
In most
episodes, the story is told normally. However, there are times when Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou, which from this
point will be referred to as Kare Kano,
gets a little more experimental.
The series
becomes less standard animation and becomes something to what I would describe
as stop motion comic panels. And it’s just fantastic.
These scenes
are fun and can be hilarious. Even when the story becomes dull and slow, the
uniqueness of this style is able to keep your attention.
As an added bonus,
for those who are learning Japanese, it is a great chance to work on your
reading skills.
Yukino and Arima’s Relationship
I do have a
soft spot when it comes to romance stories. To me it is great to see two
characters develop a relationship with one another. Often, an entire series is
built around the process of becoming a couple. There is a ton of wondering if a
person likes this other person, dramatic and over the top denials, awkward
romantic and/or sexual tension, all leading up to the climactic moment where
they finally confess their love for each other.
Kare Kano does this in about three
episodes.
What sets
this series apart is that it deals with how a romantic relationship grows when
two people are actually together. Many anime actually do this with secondary or
side characters. It is not common where it happens to the main protagonists.
To add to
this, the growth of Arima and Yukino is a real highlight. This growth is not
just in terms of boyfriend and girlfriend, but growth as people. The two work
well together, bringing out the best qualities of each other.
While Arima
and Yukino can be a hard core lovey dovey couple at times (which is just as
annoying as the real life counterpart) they do run into issues they have to
deal with as partners. Not to mention that there are some strong romantic
moments between them.
Humor
The show is
funny. While there are indeed great romantic moments, not to mention some
rather dark bits, the series always finds a way to be light hearted and
humorous.
The over the
top and expressive nature of anime comedy is alive and well here. The best part
is that it knows when to tone it down when it needs to.
Much of the
humor comes from interactions with Yukino. She is capable of being mature, but
can go off the rails when agitated. Since becoming more relaxed after forgoing
her strict model student act, Yukino easily befriends most people she meets,
allowing for more opportunities for silly antics. Watching all of this, there
were plenty of times where the show had me laughing out loud.
Series Negatives
It is a real
shame that Kare Kano is so funny
because there are just too many things holding this show back.
The Voice Acting
The word of
the day is “consistency”. This series has none of it.
It was
something I noticed in the first episode and only saw repeated throughout. Many
times the voice acting did not match the energy of the animation.
Fast erratic
movements, over-sized limbs flailing all over the place, strong facial
expressions, it’s all part of what makes anime, anime. But there is more to it
than that. The best compliment to all this vibrant motion is a voice actor that
is able to match what we are seeing on screen.
There are so
many times when you could hear the lack of emotion in a character’s voice. When
a person is mad, they need to sound mad. When a person is sporadic, they need
to sound sporadic. When a person is menacing, they need to sound menacing. Does
Kare Kano do this; sometimes.
This is
where the consistency problem comes in. At times the show goes from solid
delivery, to sub-par efforts within the same episode. It comes off sounding
lazy and it takes away from your sense of immersion while watching.
For example,
half way through the first episode Yukino is calmly talking with her family.
Then her sisters say something that sets Yukino off. You can see that she is
angry, but her voice sounds exactly as it did when she was calm and friendly.
The Ending *Possible Spoilers*
Why is the
ending so bad? It’s because there isn’t one.
Leading up
to the final episodes, our characters have set in motion several events. The
show built these up quite well. They hinted at the idea of different characters
getting together and dabbled into Arima’s jealous side. And we end up seeing
none of it. Instead of a satisfying closing, what we get is something from the
page of Evangelion.
For those
who don’t know what I am talking about, the first series of Neon Genesis Evangelion has one of the
strangest endings in all of anime. The show was about giant robot monsters
fighting gigantic alien invaders. And it was all really cool and poised for an
exciting final show down. I never saw it. Instead the final two episodes were
some kind of weird psychological mind game that came out of nowhere. It is
truly something you need to see to understand. Thankfully, Evangelion does actually have an ending, as rectified through later
movies and series.
Although not
going as extreme as Evangelion, Kare Kano’s ending still leaves you
going “What!?” The reason behind this is due to creative differences between
the series creator Masami Tsuda and Gainax, the studio that made Kare Kano (and Evangelion for that matter).
Whatever the
reason may have been, it’s a true shame to end on such a poor note.
Final Thoughts
Is Kare Kano a good show? The best answer
is that it can be.
Again if you
are looking for a romance fix or just want to have a good laugh, go ahead and
check it out. There are plenty of moments that will keep you smiling. Plus the
animation style is worth a look.
However due
to inconstant voice acting and a disappointing ending, the show will you leave
wanting more than it can deliver. When it is all said and done, Kare Kano is a
series that, sadly, can easily be forgotten.
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