Scanlated: Complete
Type: Manga (read from right to left)
Year: 1996
Author: Tsuda Masami
Artist: Tsuda Masami
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Psychological, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life
Themes: Dark Past, Couple Growth, Time Skip, Angst
Summary: Yukino Miyazawa is the perfect model student. Pretty, kind, good at sports, always at the top of her class. But she's not all that she seems. It's all an act of deception; she is really the self-confessed 'queen of vanity,' and her only goal in life is winning the praise and admiration of everyone around her.
When she enters high school, she finally meets her match: Soichiro Arima, a handsome, athletic, popular, and very intelligent young boy. Ever since he stole the top seat in the class from her, Yukino has hated him, and has been plotting on how to take back her former place as the object of all other students' admiration.
What she wasn't expecting, however, was that Soichiro, the very boy she hated, would confess his love for her. Or that he would find out about her deception - and use it to blackmail her!
Together, they discover that they have more in common than they knew, and they slowly begin to bring out each others inner selves.
After watching a show like Ookami Kakushi which somehow managed to stop my hunger for fresh blood, I decided to take this manga serious since I've been placing it on-hold for way too long time. Kare Kano translated as "His and Her Circumstances" also known under the name, Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (Kare Kano I think it's an abbreviation from this title) stands as one of the most solid and exciting romantic mangas I've ever encountered.
Believe me when I say that I've read a lot of manga because if you do then I assure you, this is the best I encountered. I don't want to talk about romantic shit that feature sci-fi, fantasy or supernatural elements because that is just bullshit created to show that the author had a little bit more creativity and imagination. Something like Kare Kano cannot be made with just mere creativity and imagination, you need to have a lot more talent than just that, and I think the author grasped the themes depicted in this manga perfectly.
If I were to think about a show that or a manga (doesn't matter) that could share some similarities with this one I would choose Itazura na Kiss. It has a similar feeling to it but a different touching. Unlike Itazura na Kiss, Kare Kano has fast romance. It does not take more than 10 chapters (I think even less) until the main couple is already established.
Soichiro Arima and Yukino Miyazawa are not the typical students you can encounter, much less to understand. Yukino is the type of girls that does not reveal her true self in front of friends or society, she puts the mask of a prodigy, a student that does not have many friends and wants to show to the other classmates that when it comes to studying she is no.1. Unfortunately, her no.1 place in school was taken by Soichiro Arima, a refined, kind and talented student which is in love with Yukino.
Yukino's secret personality is exposed, once Soichiro finds out that she has been deceiving him and the whole school. But Soichiro is not shocked at all, in fact, he started to love her even more especially since he claimed that she found a shard of his true self in her. Once the couple is established, both Yukino and Soichiro swore that they will do their best to change their personality and be true to themselves and also to stop deceiving their friends and their classmates.
One good thing about this manga is that most of the characters are not dried and empty inside. Romance is not the only thing this manga depicts. It shows the background and the past of every character including the other side couples as well. Every main couple in this manga gets their own arc or chapters where stuff about their past and also stuff about their personality, habits and hobbies are revealed.
The characters and their stories are very touching and makes you emphasize with them. However the most interesting couple is by far Yukino and Soichiro, since one of them has a very dark past hidden in the depths of his soul and unfortunately, this love relationship will prove to be a great obstacle for the darkness hidden within.
One thing I can assure you, this manga will not disappoint. Romance fans must not be deceived by the clueless and pointless beginning of the manga since that is just a mere presentation. The fun starts after a few chapters when the characters are being developed. Though it is a little long, I feel that the ending of this manga covered every possible hole, it developed all the side characters and managed to put a closure.
The drawings are also not bad. Though the only thing that might've affected this manga is time since it has been started in the mid to late 90s you can feel a more older style of drawing which gets better as you advance through volumes.
Normally, I would advice people to make an effort and buy the volumes but unfortunately Tokyopop's US licenses have been revoked and the manga is no longer available in US, printed in english which in my opinion is really bad. I just hope that somebody will license it again and release it maybe in an omnibus format. It is available on online manga readers so if this review lighted the candle in your mind (or heart) go and check it up, it really is really worth reading.
And forget about the anime. Though it did well for a couple of episodes, it does not cover the entire manga and the ending is extremely disappointing. The manga presents more than the anime did and it is much more satisfying. At least the ending is far better.
Story: 10
Characters: 10
Drawing: 8
Delight: 10
Overall: 9.5
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| Hope I find a better manga out there! |
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